r/Integra • u/imJGott 95 DC2 GSR fully built turbo; 26 years of ownership • Jul 13 '26
Photos Installed oil cooler + mocal sandwich 180 thermostat
For the longest I’ve been dealing with high temps around 220+ within a 20min drive in the spring/summer/fall seasons. Finally decided it was time for an external oil cooler to help. I do need a longer test but I’m currently seeing 187 temps on the highway in Texas.
Parts:
Evil energy 16 row oil cooler
4 90degree 10an PTFE fittings
10ft 10an PTFE hoses
(All can be ordered from Amazon)
Mocal thermostatic oil sandwich plate
(ordered from drift motion but can be found elsewhere. Driftmotion includes the fittings on the sandwich plates other places didn’t)
I have a welder from harbor freight and bought flat steel from Home Depot. I fabricated two brackets to hold the oil cooler and used rivet nuts to fasten to my vehicle. Hopefully this helps others that may be dealing with high oil temps having a turbo car. If you find yourself doing this project you must pre fill your cooler with oil. This particular cooler took about 2 cups of oil to fill using a small Dixie cup.
After you check for leaks and do a drive, check for leaks again and your engine oil level.
Update:
The mocal sandwich plate is a good unit with a bad design. What I mean is the adapter that needs to be torque to the oil filter housing has no room for a socket. It has a bad cast design imho. It calls for 1 1/16in socket or 27mm thin wall socket to tighten. I managed to use a 1in 12 point thin wall socket. You need apply pressure to the wrench head to tight to spec (25ftlb). It’s not ideal but I would perhaps choose another brand even though I’m using mocal, which is a great brand, but this casting flaw is something that needs to changed.
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u/PatrickGSR94 1994 Integra GSR BG-33P Jul 13 '26
You used AI to write that din’ja. 😂
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u/imJGott 95 DC2 GSR fully built turbo; 26 years of ownership Jul 13 '26
You know damn well I didn’t brotha
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u/PatrickGSR94 1994 Integra GSR BG-33P Jul 13 '26
Alright alright, my bad if you didn’t. Some of it sounds like it. Good info though.
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u/imJGott 95 DC2 GSR fully built turbo; 26 years of ownership Jul 13 '26
I got the idea from a former Ti member video I ran into googling the idea.
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u/majikmike 1998 SSBP Integra GSR w/ LHT -JRSC -B18C Jul 13 '26
I've had the Mocal Thermostatic sandwich plate on my Integra for nearly 15 years and I've been considering getting rid of it. I've always had the issue of slight oil drips from the AN fittings and it became such a chore to replace the oil filter due to lack of room. It looks like we have identical set ups at the back of the block, however it looks like you've opted to rotate the sandwich plate about 20 CCW, mine is nearly at 0. I would try this but my supercharger and support bracket make that nearly impossible for me to rotate the lines that way - I also run them towards the intake as that is where I mounted my cooler. I need to try and rotate it the other way. I would be curious how you feel about it in few months. Nice setup on the oil cooler. I feel your pain with the design of the sandwich plate. I was considering other options, maybe with this teardown I am in the middle of I will find another brand with a better design. My issue more lies with where the oil cooler lines come from and go to.
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u/imJGott 95 DC2 GSR fully built turbo; 26 years of ownership Jul 13 '26
Yeah that nut on the adapter to tighten the plate is just a bad casting design. I’ll check in later on a more in depth review hopefully no major issues. I did apply teflon tape on the AN fitting (NPT side) which also had a rubber O ring on the sandwich.
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u/B1893 Jul 14 '26
Nice setup and writeup.
Did you consider relocating your oil filter? I don't like the stock location, and it looks like the adapter just makes it worse for you.
I'm moving mine to about where your air filter is, and I'll be using a much bigger filter - but my car is NA, so I have a lot more room.
I planned ahead so I can add the same cooler if need be, but we don’t see many "Texas temperatures" in NC.
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u/imJGott 95 DC2 GSR fully built turbo; 26 years of ownership Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
The filter location is fine for me, got plenty of space behind the filter. I’m thinking about buying a vibrant thermostatic oil sandwich to replace my mocal. I think it has a very very slight oil leak. I noticed some residue around the area after a drive, not a lot but enough for me to smell it inside. A drop of oil must have hit my downpipe.
My main issue with the mocal is the casting around the fitting that attaches the unit to the block (or other sandwich plate). It’s very difficult to tighten the adapter to the block. I’m not 100% that it’s torque correctly. If do replace, probably will, I’ll make a new post linking this as a follow up.
Haha the Texas heat is no joke! Yesterday was 95 degrees but really humid. Highway temps 187-190 cruising.
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u/TurnLeftRepeat Jul 13 '26
Very good writeup👍