This is my Suburban, the last of the old body style. Mine was manufactured in Wisconsin in 11/99, the last run week. At the time of installation, I had 5K miless. INTRODUCTION When I bought my 99 K1500 Chevrolet Suburban it had all of the options that I wanted, however it was lacking the heavy-duty factory oil cooler option. It did have a heavy-duty transmission cooler, however I wanted to increase my towing capacity to the maximum rated of my K1500 to 5k lbs from 2k without the cooler. (I have a 3.42 ratio axle). I do not tow anything extremely large but I do have a pop up camper and a boat and wanted the extra life adding comfort of the addition of the engine oil cooler. I initially investigated the components necessary to use factory parts to achieve goal of adding the oil cooler. Unfortunately, the ½ ton trucks only get the radiator cooler, not the air to liquid exchanger found in front of the air conditioning condenser as it is on the 8600 GVW and up trucks and I would have to use the same oil filter. With the cost of the radiator, and lines etc it was really not cost effective for what I would have ended up with. My other goal of this project was to increase the size of the oil filter that my truck used. As many of you are aware the IFS 4wd versions of the GM trucks' drive shaft passes directly under the oil filter causing GM to install a right angle adaptor to the block. In doing so they also use the smaller V6 sized filter (AC Delco PF 52) that is used on the 4.3 liter engine. It is also my understanding that the 7.4liter K2500 is the same setup. When relocating the filter from the normal small block location I had to fabricate a bracket to hold the relocation mount. I also had to fabricate a bracket to hold the Aluminum oil cooler. In the end my installation holds 2.5 quarts more than it did stock. |
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This is the location that I selected for my Remote Mount Oil Filter bracket. I looked for
the ideal location and ended up forward of the brake master cylinder and just to the left
of the anti lock brake controller. Some of the determining factors of why I ended up here
were that I did not want to occupy my spare battery location, I wanted the filter up high
so that in an off road situation it was more protected and obviously easy removal and
access. I fabricated this bracket out of ½" square tubing and some 3/8" round tubing and
MIG welded it together. It fastens to existing mounting points, two (2) under the anti
lock brake controller bracket and the other forward of the same on the inner fender. This
triangulated design is very strong, I have actually put my weight on this bracket once
bolted to the truck with no movement found. My intent was to have no additional holes
drilled for the Filter Bracket. |
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This is another angle of the same bracket. As you can see I have room for a second battery
still for a potential winch installation. One of my other filter bracket considerations
was getting a good quality one. After ordering several, I ended up with what appears to be
the best for the money. I opted for the Moroso aluminum unit; it is made from very good
cast material (high density) and machined with very precise tolerances. It is set up with
a inlet and two outlets from which you can choose one for plumbing and the other for a
temperature gauge or pressure sender. I have plugged the extra port for now, until I add
a temp gauge. |
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| This adaptor is another one that I searched for to find one of decent quality. I was told that Perma Cool adaptors were good, so I ordered one and when it arrived I was very disappointed. With the metal quality aside (and finish), the way the gasket groove was milled into the adaptor it looked sure to leak. Once again I went with a Moroso part. This part is extremely good quality, made from solid billet aluminum, and anodized blue. A double O-ring setup and an inner single O-ring achieve the seal. I used a little Toyota brand FIPG (Form in Place Gasket), to be sure that no leakage would occur in time. |
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Hoses and fittings. I wanted quality, leak free hose and fittings. I have used in the past Earls PerformOFlex hose rated at 1500 psi, and Swivel Seal fittings with great results. For this installation I used AN 10 hose and fittings, which has an inner diameter of 9/16". This size hose I felt would provide the volume of oil that I wanted and it still can bend a radius at 4" without kinking. On the top of the hose I installed Parker Fire Sleeve, this is rated at very high temperature and is designed for hose protection in high temperature areas, and aviation use. I used peen type Band-It brand clamps to hold it in place. This fire sleeve is also a great abrasion resistant sheath. |
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MATERIAL LIST
Description Part Number Quantiy AN 10, 90 degree 809110 4 AN 10, 120 degree 812010 2 ½" NPT to #10 AN. 981610 6 ½" Plug, Allen head 993205 1 1" Fire sleeve, Parker N/A 15' BandIt, S.S.bands N/A 20 Oil Cooler, Earls. 42503 1 Block Adaptor, Moroso 23782 1 Filter Adaptor, Moroso. 23700 1 PerformOflex, Earls 400100 15" Hose Holder, GM 15613086 3 |
