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Coolant leak from oil filter housing

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majik2k5

15+ Year Contributor
799
18
Jul 13, 2005
Lemoore, California
I have a coolant leak coming from my oil filter housing (see picture). It seems to just drip out and not run down from something above. Is there a seal that can be replaced or is this just a common failure? I do know that coolant is in the oil filter housing to cool the oil.
 

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This just happened to me...I gurantee its a bad o-ring from the water pump to main water pipe(right behind the power streering). Your gonna have to take off the alternator and power streering just to be able to get to it. Also check the water lines in that area, maybe you'll get lucky!
 
If I were you I would very seriously look into finding a filter housing off a 90' and an external oil cooler. There have been countless problems with the one you have. Now onto the leak; Is it comming from up top or right out of the housing? You can't tell from the pictures. What was mentioned above is a very good possibility.:thumb:
 
Well, the O-ring is a possibility, but I doubt it. The coolant leak is a problem, but the bigger problem on hand is that oil is somehow getting into the coolant. I don't see how the bad O-ring could allow oil into the coolant? Plus, I just replaced the waterpump so the O-ring is brand new.

I thought maybe there was a seal in the oil filter housing that seperates the oil and the coolant since the '91 oil filter housings are internally cooled. Is this a possibility?

The odd thing is, the oil is getting into the coolant, and no vice-versa. The oil is fine and there is no coolant in it at all.

I talked with Brodie last night and we were stumped. Is it possible that there is oil left in the radiator that keeps surfacing? We flushed the system 2 or 3 times and it started to look better. But as soon as we put more coolant back in it, the oil came right back up.

Anyone have any ideas on this?
 
It's a common failure. If you screw down the filter too tighty, you crack the seals and the oil and coolant could potential mix together. If you don't tighten the filter enough, it could potentially back off and you lose all of your oil while driving.

Best bet is to replace that with a 1990 style oil filter housing that uses an air-to-air oil cooler. JNZ has the housings, and AN fittings will work with the stock oil cooler (I'm still trying to figure out what size fitting you need for the cooler and the housing)

BTW, DSMotorsport sells external oil coolers and 90-style housings as well.
 
Would a crack in the oil filter housing cause it to drip like that? It's just a drip, too. Not a huge leak. We pressure tested the system and only lost about 1 - 2 psi the whole time.

The thing that has us confused is where the oil is getting into the coolant, but the coolant isn't getting into the oil.
 
Well, it doesn't make sense. If the water line going to the housing was loose, it shouldn't be leaking clear over on the other side of the housing. Correct?
 
Quasimondo said:
It's a common failure. If you screw down the filter too tighty, you crack the seals and the oil and coolant could potential mix together. If you don't tighten the filter enough, it could potentially back off and you lose all of your oil while driving.

Best bet is to replace that with a 1990 style oil filter housing that uses an air-to-air oil cooler. JNZ has the housings, and AN fittings will work with the stock oil cooler (I'm still trying to figure out what size fitting you need for the cooler and the housing)

BTW, DSMotorsport sells external oil coolers and 90-style housings as well.

Those would be -6 AN fittings for the 90 style oil cooler, btw.
 
Boostedexcel said:
This just happened to me...I gurantee its a bad o-ring from the water pump to main water pipe(right behind the power streering). Your gonna have to take off the alternator and power streering just to be able to get to it. Also check the water lines in that area, maybe you'll get lucky!

I would have to agree with this post. If it was leaking out of the housing it would have oil mixed with it or something. This is a common 1g problem. The o-ring on the waterpump goes out and it leaks. It runs down the waterpump and drops straight down onto the oil filter housing and makes it appear that the housing it leaking. This was the first problem I had to fix on my 92 I had.
 
Well, it stopped altogether for a few days. Drained it and put new coolant in it, 50/50. Parked it last night and it snowed. Came out this morning and there was a circle where the coolant had leaked and melted the snow away. Opened the coolant cap and looked down inside.....oil.
 
olmytsi said:
I told you....shoulda listened to me LOL:)

We'll replace it when we can narrow down what the problem is. From what we've accumulated so far, it's not 100% certain that the oil filter housing could cause mixing.

And it's strange, because I'm losing oil... but the oil itself is fine. No coolant in it whatsoever.
 
From what i was told, the reason why you don't get coolant in the oil is because higher oil pressure forces oil in the coolant but not the other way around at the oil filter housing.
 
olmytsi said:
From what i was told, the reason why you don't get coolant in the oil is because higher oil pressure forces oil in the coolant but not the other way around at the oil filter housing.


Exactly. Drain the oild and use a 15/16 socket to get the cooler off. Replace the rubber seal and you will be done.
 
olmytsi said:
From what i was told, the reason why you don't get coolant in the oil is because higher oil pressure forces oil in the coolant but not the other way around at the oil filter housing.
But what about when you shut the car off and only have coolant pressure and no oil pressure? I would think coolant would get in the oil.
 
The oil filter mounting stud has been overtightened and crushed the cooling fins inside the cooler causing the oil to mix into the coolant. It probably cracked slightly on the outside also which is causing the coolant to spray when under pressure. There is no seal that can be replace to cure this due to the fact that the cooler is a sealed unit and no way for coolant and oil to mix unless damaged. The seal that boostedinaz is only there to seal the cooler to the housing to prvent oil leaks. It has nothing to do with yhe oil and coolant from mixing. As stated, the oil is getting in the coolant and not vice versa because the oil pressure is generally between 20-100+ psi in this location and your coolant system probably (shouldnt) go over 13psi of pressure. Now, quit driving it untill it is fixed because next thing you will be posting is "my engine died and I dont know why. The only problem to begin with was a faulty oil cooler"
 
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