Brief Description: IO-390 Oversized Oil Cooler Installation - Part 02
I orientated the oil cooler such that I was able to catch the mounting screw in the back of rear cylinder. This will take a huge amount of load off the baffling components and I'm really glad I noticed that I could use it with just a little bit of shifting. I also added a 4" long piece of .063" angle cut down on one side to the center rear baffle picking up the 1/4 mounting screw hole. This also really tightened up the structure.
I had to file a large half-moon shape out of the right-rear mounting ear on the oil cooler to clear the engine mount. It is not used structurally on the oil cooler so no harm done. I opted to use all six mounting screw holes on the oil cooler instead of the normal four. This also seems to stiffen up the installation.
The oil cooler is sufficiently mounted in toward the centerline such that there are no clearance issues with the cowling, although there would have been if I hadn't hogged out such a large half-moon from the oil cooler mount.
The best part of the installation is that the hose fittings are nearly in the stock location, so I will be able to use the standard hose that come with the FWF kit. Whew, for once, something works without modification.
All in all, I'm extremely pleased with the oil cooler installation. It is very solidly mounted, still uses the stock hoses, and clears the cowling.
