the very late years 351w have a factory oil cooler setup. it has an adapter that goes between the engine and the oil filter that cools the oil. the adapter is connected to the lower radiator hose to allow coolant to flow through the adapter.

theres a few flaws to this system. one flaw is the need for a special oil filter that is much smaller than the regualr filter that is normally used and has a metric thread and is less common. another flaw is added potential for issues such as oil leaks, coolant leaks or even worse coolant mixing with oil. third flaw is the costly lower radiaor hose which usually msut be special ordered if replaced.

while im sure this system does help cool the oil to some degree, i question how much it actually does cool it. the water in the lower hose should only be warm, not hot but how much can warm coolant actually cool oil as it passes through a small sandwich adapter? this is why i am going to do a big air cooled oil cooler

i plan on doing an oil filter relocation kit so i can move the oil filter to an easier to replace and safer location. i have had issues in the past when heavy offroading where the motor mounts would flex enough to let the oil filter hit the frame and damage it.

i have a air cooled oil cooler. it has 1/2 inch NPT threaded connections which i have pointed to the bottom. the cooler did not inclued any mounting hardware so i made my own mounts

this pic has it mocked up which is why its using zipties to hold it. i will be using bolts on final install

i had alot of conflicting ideas where to relocate the oil filter to. i wanted the filter to be easy to access to change the filter, open to the floor so oil will not get all over the truck when changing it, safe while offroading so it wont get damaged, clear of anything else that might get in the way, and still is a usable route or me to pipe to the cooler and engine, and still be easily enough to mount

while it is on the opposite side of the engine than i wanted, it was the best compromise and should only need a long hose made for it to work. i have the mount slightly tilted to help prevent the hoses from interfering with the engine serpentine belt

bottom frontal view of the mount

top view of mount with the radiator and fan shroud mocked into place. there should be plenty of room to clear everything

side view. the filter is only slightly exposed from the bottom of the frame. it should be well protected

the filter relocation kit comes with 2 short 36" hoses which i cant use and i dont trust very much as i had issues on my previous truck with them leaking. instead i measured how long of hoses i needed and ordered hydraulic hoses online. i have more faith in hydraulic hoses not leaking and they will defiantly be more durable. only real issue is they are not very flexible so routing can be tricky

i needed 3 hoses total. one from engine to cooler. one from cooler to filter. and finally one from filter back to the engine. both the engine to cooler and cooler to filter hoses were around the same length so i ordered 2 hoses of 48 inches long. the filter back tot he engine is much longer at 96 inches long. all 3 hoses use 1/2 inch MNPT (Male National Pipe Thread) on both sides. However one side is a rigid fitting while the other side is a swivel fitting allowing to be assembled

i got these hoses from an online supplier Universal Hose and Fitting. for the 3 hoses it only cost me 55$ plus 15$ shipping.

i have the 2 hoses installed on the engine side adapter. both ends of the hoses are the fixed non-swiveling ends to try and save as much space and allow as much flexing room for the hoses to run.

i screwed the hoses into the adapter first and then installed the whole thing with the hoses through the oil fitler cutout of the frame. this let them stay straight enough to screw the adapter onto the engine. . once fully screwed on then i pulled the hoses out of the cutout and ran them up and around the 4WABS pump. i have them on top of the plastic steering ragjoint cover so theres no issue with the steering shaft rubbing the hoses. i have the hoses where they are not kinked in any wayand tried to keep as much stress off them

i have the hoses ran over the top of the 4WABS pump between it and the wheel-well. i have the hose for the filter going through the opening on the side of the radiator. the hose going to the cooler is going under core support in a gap between it and the framerail. this will allow me to flex the hose and come up vertically straight to the cooler

i have an finned oil cooler installed in front of the condenser behind the grill in a nice open spot. i fabricated some mounts to keep it well secured to the core support without rubbing the condensor. the cooler used female 1/2 inch NPT ports. i have the ports pointing downward for this setup

the hose on the right connects to the engine and is ran through a gap under and between the core support and the frame. it allowed me to flex the hose to come up vertically with no stress on the pipe.

the hose on the left is running to the remote oil filter. it is going left through the cutout of the core support on passenger side. there was plenty of room for the hose to be pointed vertically and flex with no stress

both hoses connecting to the cooler have swivels on these ends

the hose on the right through the cutout of the core support is not connected to the cooler. it is running form the engine to the remote oil filter. it runs to the other side cutout

this is passenger side cutout of the core support where the hoses from the cooler and the engine are going through to meet at the filter

the hoses are running through the passenger side core support cutout and meeting at the filter. tho it doesnt appear to be, i have plenty of room between the hoses and the pulley of the engine.

the long hose from the engine has a swivel on this side. the hose from the cooler does not have the swivel

how it looks form the front. im gonig to paint the brackets for the cooler so it wont be seen easilly