Sorry to hear, Deluga.

As for the cooler being the problem, hard to tell. If metal got stuck in it previously, then it might well be. However, oil pressure is oil pressure and it is read after the cooler. Therefore if the oil pressure was good at first, then you could eliminate the cooler as being the culprit. My guess is your ignition timing.


Low octane fuel, timing too far advanced, too much compression, even overheating can all take out the bearings.

Be that as it may, if you are going to route the oil through the cooler again, make sure you flush it out thoroughly as well as all the lines.