I just bought an air-oil cooler for the '83. Got the pedestal for the filter, too.

The only other items are the lines......right?

I'm not replacing the radiator. She only has 72500 miles. Mazdatrix wants over $100 for lines. seeing how the cooler & pedestal only cost $75 combined, they seem expensive.

I don't mind parting w/a Benji if that's what it takes.
just want to make sure I'm not overpaying.

Also, anyone have any hints before I begin???

 

You could ask around and probably have someone make you some braided lines. I'm not sure what this costs to most people as I have a guy who does mine for me cheap.

As for tips, the pedestal is simple. The oil cooler may require fabricating some mounts unless you have those too. I don't know for sure what your situation is (what rad, a/c, etc.), but it shouldn't be hard.

 

Ouch man, mine was like $7.50 for the whole setup out the door of the yard...

Heres a link to what I did for mine. Not necessarily what you need to do, just what I did.

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=150124

~T.J.

 

If we only got these great deals like you T.J......

I bought my oil cooler for $50 and it had a crack...

 

Yea mine was $50 and it was cracked too oh well

 

Go to a local hydrolic (sp) shop and have them make you some custom line so you can mount it anywhere you want. shop by me only charged $90 plus tax and it is nice to have the extra 4 inches of play in the line

 

I've got a Q. What would I need if I wanted to convert my 12aT from the air cooler back to water?? I swapped everything, and it seems to fit. I just sealed off the bottom rear oil hole in the block where the oil line would of come out. Is this ok??

 

WHY? The air cooler is so much better expecially in boost conditions.

 

Well I like the Water one........So anybody going to answer my q's?

 

No, because the water one has been proven to not do anything and eventually lead to o ring failure due to excess heat, its a piece of **** and all of them should be melted down and recycled into something useful.

 

I agree fully!

 

LOL, ok but what if I wanted to convert from air to water? I have my 12at block that was air cooled, but I dont have an air-oil cooler. Would I need anything if I wanted to convert it to water?

 

just the cooler, the oil line and the appropriate water hoses, but its more trouble than its worth.

 

My water/oil cooler has lasted 215k miles and still going--along with the original engine--and that's in the heat of Texas.

I won't argue the air unit is probably better but the water unit seems to do the job. Now if you're adding performance to the engine there's no doubt you need a better cooler. This particular water cooler design doesn't have any excess capability.

Side note: I can tell you water cooled motorcycles do seem to work better in the Texas heat--and they are much better when you're sitting at a street light and it's already 100 deg. f outside.

Scott

 

Water cooled bikes refer to the engine coolant not the method of cooling specifically the oil. Air-oil is the way to go. Bravo to Mazda for trying something new, but even they only used it for 2 years.

I like the saying "is the water cooling the oil or is the oil heating the water".

The air-oil method is proven.

Thanks Damon, I think that's a good idea. I live in a rather remote area.

Do you guys think that braided lines will work? If so, can't I just buy this in bulk with the correct fittings?

The cost doesn't concern me as much as the fact that this will probably not be in the exact position the factory would have used so the rigid lines may not match up correctly.