Does my 99 SR5 3.4 5spd have an oil cooler?

Soooo, I'm about to do a timing belt change.

The ads for the kits I've seen online want to know if I have an oil cooler. I don't see what I would think of as an oil cooler anywhere in the vicinity of the radiator, much less anywhere else.

Any advice on whether or not I have an oil cooler?

Thanks in advance....

 

Pretty sure the answer is NO, unless a previous owner installed something aftermarket.

 

^^This^^

 

Most do, it's not the typical style. The only relevance pertaining to t-belt "kits" would be the water pump. The non oil cooler pumps do not have a nipple for "No. 2 Oil Cooler Hose". The nipple in question is located on the outboard driver side of the t-stat housing/water pump.

 

Interesting. I don't see those parts on mine or my son's engines.

Where/how is the oil cooled?

 

Here is a water flow diagram. Oil flows in and out directly from the block just like an oil filter.
When I said "most", that may have been some what presumptuous on my part. All the 5vz trucks that have suffered my intrusions have had it and I remember a similar discussion where most of the folks had it.

The pic below while accurate, is clipped from a larger Toyota document pertaining to T100's.
The note for *2 reads "Except 2wd with auto trans". I have no idea which tacos got it or not.




Here's the oil flow diagram.

 

I just did the timing belt/water pump in mine, an 2002 3.4L, and it does have a oil cooler. The diagrams Dirty Pool & Norton shared show the components. You can check for oil cooler on the car at two points:

1. Lower radiator hose where it connects to thermostat housing and housing bolts to engine/waterpump. Right there on the back of the housing, in front of the thermostat, is a nipple protruding to the right (driver's side) of the truck. A rubber water hose connects to it and makes a dog leg following the engine (driver's side) back toward the firewall and the oil cooler on the back left side of the engine.

2. The actual Oil Cooler is the other part you can physically check for. It is closer to the firewall and pretty much in a line with the oil filter location (so maybe a foot?? to the right of the oil filter). If you get under and just behind the drivers side wheel and look up at the engine you should see it.

I am not sure if the pre-2001 3.4's had the oil cooler? When I look at my parts lists pdf's, it shows an oil cooler for 2001-2004, but I do not see that on the 1995-2000 parts list. Maybe others with the earlier 3.4's can weigh in.

 

Thanks for the education, guys! I'm going to look more closely, next time I drop the skid plate.

 

Thanks guys!!

I was waaaay off. I mistakenly thought that an oil cooler would cool the oil by transferring the heat into the air via a radiator-like device. It looks to me like the heat is transferred to the engine coolant at a relatively 'cool' point in the system. I can see the oil line leading from the thermostat housing from the top of the engine, just below the alternator. This is a lot like a fuel-cooled oil cooler in a jet engine....

I would not have believed this without the diagrams that Dirty Pool shared. Thanks man!

 

My 99 has it. There is no mention of it in the entire 99 "Tacoma sales brochure" under "options" or "option packages". Nothing noted on the original build sheet.

Gadget of URD once described the cooler as more of an (oil temp stabilizer) as it helps to warm cold oil quicker and keep it at a more uniform temp. He really liked it and felt there was no need for anything additional.

 

+1 to all of this. The oil cooler in my 2013 Shelby works exactly as you describe, transferring heat into the air via a small radiator, so that's what I looked for as well.

There's nothing in any of the documentation for my truck either. Gadget's "stabilizer" description does seem more accurate than calling this setup a "cooler". Thanks, again, for the education.

 

I did some online digging and Toyota's literature on their T100 5VZ-FE says,"The lubrication system of the 5VZ–FE engine is basically the same as that in the 3VZ–FE engine of the ’92 Camry. However, in order to lower the engine oil temperature on all models (except the 2WD model with automatic transmission), a water cooled oil cooler has been adopted."

I would guess the same holds true for Tacomas, that, "all but 2wd model with automatic transmission" have the oil cooler.

Regardless what we call it, it certainly is a slick way of providing for more consistent temperature control across the engine. No wonder these engines can routinely run a quarter million miles and more!

 

I'm about to hit 200k and a helpful member showed me this link. Thought I'd add to it to share what I saw. Crawled under the truck just behind the front drivers side tire.

 

My 1999 4x4 Taco definately HAS one and we just ‍♀️ordered the kit without ... My old man is not happy right now. On the other hand, i would bet that this design is one of the many reasons that this truck is so reliable! Sucks, but it looks like we'll be reordering and redoing this water pump and timing belt replacement like it pr not... While we're there, this time, we'll replace all the pulleys, belts, tensioners on this round... That way he feels as if he is doing a new fix not redoing one. Lol. ‍♀️