Oil Cooler for Auto-Conversions

I have received several email from people building auto engines for
their projects. A problem has come up because of the unavailability of
the Modine "Donut" water-to-oil cooler. This is a very nice heat
exchanger that fits between the engine block and spin-on oil filter. It
uses the coolant water of the engine to cool the oil and maintains oil
temps usually within 15º to 20º F of the coolant temp. It also brings
oil temp up to coolant temp quickly on startup. We used to be able to
buy this unit directly from Modine distributors. Modine has discontinued
this product for any but OEM auto manufacturers.

Today, with one in hand, I hit several salvage yards and performance
parts stores. Some had never even seen such a thing before. It used to
be installed on many of Ford's SHO vehicles ranging from 4 cylinder to
V-8 engines, but it was found mostly on the 3.0L and 3.8L V-6 engines.
It has also been an OEM part on several GM engines over the years. My
last stop was a Ford dealer. Dealers are usually difficult because they
want a year and model. The years in which I knew the cooler was
installed were old enough that part numbers were no longer supported.
The parts man I dealt with today was VERY indulgent with me to find this
part. After several minutes with no results or results that wouldn't fit
our application I suggested that the 4.2L V-6 was essentially the same
engine, was it used there? The parts man found that the cooler is still
in production and use on the 2001 Ford F-150 pickup truck with the 4.2L
V-6. The part number is 6A642. I do not know if that includes the
extension that screws onto the threads to which the filter spins on, so
ask when you order the part. Hope some of you find this useful.
--
Bruce A. Frank, Editor "Ford 3.8/4.2L Engine and V-6 STOL
Homebuilt Aircraft Newsletter"
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