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[RESOLVED] 92 Style Oil Cooler Install Help

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chris9149

10+ Year Contributor
91
0
Jul 10, 2008
Lemoore, California
I searched around but all I found was info on external style oil cooler (90 style). Also, I am sorry this post is so long, I just want to give all the info I can.

Ok, so I had to replace my oil cooler, and I am too broke to change over to a 90 style right now, so I got another 92 oil cooler from dsmgraveyard. I went to install it today and its a no go. I pulled off the old one no problem, replaced all the rubber hose for the coolant to flow, put the new oil cooler back on and tightened that bolt that runs through the center of it down pretty tight. I didn't want to over tighten it, so I just did it with a 1/2" socket till it felt really snug, then torqued it down a little more after that. Point is I was pretty sure it was tight enough to be as tight as the old one was, so it should have been tight enough to seal. I used a new o-ring on the oil cooler when I installed it, and I used a new oil filter as well. The oil filter I tightened down only by hand, but still really tight.
When I started the car up, I could immediately hear that something was wrong, so I shut it off and checked it out. Oil was leaking pretty bad down there. I had a sizable puddle of oil on the floor. I lifted the car back up and looked around, but couldn't say for sure if it was leaking from between the oil filter and the oil cooler, or from between the cooler and the oil housing. I took the oil filter off and tightened the cooler down a little more, but like I said, it was already on there pretty tight. I also looked to see if it could need to be turned at a different angle, but there was no way I could see to rotate it more. There is a little tab on the oil cooler that wont let it spin clock wise past the spot it was in, and the top line for coolant wouldn't let it spin much farther down (maybe a few mm available). The coolant hoses also looked to be in the same spot that they where when I pulled the old oil cooler off.
Anyways I tried starting the car again after that, and its still the same situation. Oil leaking out, not just dripping, but leaking. Way too much to drive. :barf: So I had to pay to leave the car there overnight (I am in the Navy and we cant work on the cars out in the parking lot, we have to pay per hour to use the auto hobby shop).

So I am looking for any ideas to check when I go back over there tomorrow morning. Also if anyone knows if there is another o-ring or gasket or something that is on the oil housing side, cause it almost seems like there is one, the oil cooler sits a little bit out and I can see something that looks like it is a black ring, or seal of some sort. But then again it could be metal and just have oil on it from the leak. Again any help will be appreciated, I really cant afford to keep this thing there all day! :coy:
 
If i remember its a 24mm nut that tightens the cooler down correct? i would recheck your gaskets to make sure they are seated correctly and tighen it down some more....i know i had the same issue a little while back and i torqued the crap out of it to secure it.
 
Yeah there is a 24mm nut, it is attracted to the bolt that runs through the middle of the oil cooler and into the oil housing. That bolt is also what the oil filter attached to.
I just don't want to over tighten it and break the oil cooler or something, you know? I mean that oil cooler is almost like a radiator inside if I understand correctly, and it seems like too much pressure on that nut could smash the internals up or some s**t!
I guess it can't really get any worse than it is right now though. I will try tightening it up some more and see what happens. I wish my manual said something about torque specification for it...
 
Ok well I just got back, and it's fixed. I took the oil cooler back off and sure enough the o-ring that going on the oil cooler was messed up. I think it must have come out of its little slot and gotten bent up while I was tightening that thing down, cause it was tore up. But the good news is I still had the old one from the oil cooler I had pulled off, and it looked to be in good condition, so I slapped it in there and all my problems where solved. Soccerplayaz it looks like you where on the right path, thanks for the help! :thumb:

The oil cooler once I started taking it off again...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris9149/2833001853/" title="Oil Cooler by chris9149, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2833001853_5db5a2c3b5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Oil Cooler" /></a>

My O-Ring
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris9149/2833011015/" title="O-ring by chris9149, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2833011015_8d1bb6fd8c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="O-ring" /></a>
 
glad to hear you got it fixed! im about to go to a 90 style housing and a b&m cooler just so i dont have to worry about that thing ever again.
 
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