M52 Turbo Oil Cooler Setup Help

[MrMuddle]

Hi All, I have a '96 E39 528i with a DIY turbo build on my M52B28. I want to install an oil cooler and was looking at ways to do it with the stock oil filter housing and not buying one of the filter caps you can get.

I had a few questions and wondered if anyone can help.

I've looked at various pics of the stock M5x housing compared to the M3 euro housing(s) and from what I can see, the M3 housing has both lines coming from the same chamber on the housing, but one has a thermostat before the line and the other is open, is that correct?

If the above is correct, once the thermostat is open, does that mean the cooler effectively would act as an expansion or does it actually flow in and out? Am I right in assuming I could effectively just copy this design, so tap into my filter housing and run both lines from the same chamber?

Ideally I would like it to feed and return and flow properly, so if the above is correct and it just acts as a cooled expansion, how effective is it at cooling the oil and would I be better off taking a single feed from that same chamber, but then having the return line go to the oil filter cap or the dipstick return?

This is what the m52 oil filter housing looks like...



...and then the m3 euro housing...



I appreciate the housings are different, but just wondering if this type of setup would work.

Any advice or help would be great.
Cheers
Rob

[328iFun]

I guess you could T off line from vanos bolt so it splits. One to turbo and one to cooler. Return cooler back to vanos sprocket bolt by replacing it with flanged bolt?

[MrMuddle]

Thanks very much, I've been thinking about it some more and was thinking about taking the feed from where the oil temp sensor would be in the side of the housing, then returning it to the oil filter cap. I know the oil cap kits you can get come with a seal to help direct the flow of oil through the cooler, so I guess that's something I need to think about as well, as I'd like it to be as cooled as possible, not just act like a cooled expansion.