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Oil Cooler lines are dangerous!!!

6K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Tboy 
#1 ·
I was thinking of Mike Saunders and his problem with his oil cooler line coming off and losing his oil and spinning a bearing. Today I went to lunch and then moved and saw a small baseball size oil spot on the passenger side of my car. After some diagnosis, I found I had a small pin-hole leak in my oil cooler line. How it got there I have no idea, but if I had not noticed the oil leak, I would have ran low and probably seized my motor:eek: I cut off the end behind the hole and re-attached the oil line... Whew, I was very lucky!!!

My oil light does not work, grounded the sensor, still no oil light on the dash, any ideas what is going on here?

Anyone with a aftermarket oil cooler, be very careful with your lines and I feel a oil pressure gage would be a very smart move!

John
 
#2 · (Edited)
John Z Williams said:
Anyone with a aftermarket oil cooler, be very careful with your lines and I feel a oil pressure gage would be a very smart move!

John
this is why you pull new lines from the block. "duck tape" solutions to existing lines is a no go:cheesy:
like this
http://www.npr.fi/~heikki/oilcooler/oilcoolervanhatletkut.jpg
http://www.npr.fi/~heikki/oilcooler/oilcooler-nipat3.jpg
http://www.npr.fi/~heikki/oilcooler/oilcoolerletkutpaikallaan1.jpg
http://www.npr.fi/~heikki/oilcooler/oilcoolerletkutpaikallaan3.jpg
http://www.npr.fi/~heikki/oilcooler/oilcoolerletkutpaikallaan4.jpg
 
#3 ·
That looks nice and I have a new oil cooler up front like you, but I ran them onto the nipples and used hose clamps. That part was not leaking, the line from the oil filter housing, about 3" from the nipple had a pin hole leak, when the car was running, it was a steady drip.... Not sure what you mean about the duct tape, thank god I do not go that ghetto...:p

John
 
#4 ·
John Z Williams said:
That looks nice and I have a new oil cooler up front like you, but I ran them onto the nipples and used hose clamps. That part was not leaking, the line from the oil filter housing, about 3" from the nipple had a pin hole leak, when the car was running, it was a steady drip.... Not sure what you mean about the duct tape, thank god I do not go that ghetto...:p

John
duct tape solutions = inadequate hoses (material, heat rating, pressure rating etc.), flimsy hose clamps etc.
New lines made from good material hoses from block to oil cooler with press fitted connector will cost you less than $100, so its not really a money saver to take a short cut.
 
#5 ·
I tell you, your set-up looks very nice. I bought the best oil cooler they had and the oil lines were with the kit and it came with oil resistant oil cooler lines. I really thought they would be ok to use. I did use hose clamps instead of the nice fittings like what you have. I would feel better with a nice set-up like yours.

I think what happened is the oil lines were very hard to get onto the oil filter housing nipples and I think I used vise grips or plyers to try and grap the oil line and force it onto the nipples. I may have put a small cut into the line when I did that and here a year and half later, it started leaking!!! I feel very lucky to have found it before I lost too much oil and ruined a bearing or something!

I was about 1.5 qts low on oil when I found the leak and it was on the money when I left home this morning. So it took less than 30 miles to lose 1.5 qts and if I had driven home and hammered it.... Oh boy, trouble on the way;)

John
 
#6 ·
I have a question regarding oil coolers....why?

I mean it makes sense that the oil will be running hotter with more spirited driving and increased HP. However, I've heard (local Indy) and read (forums) that one possible cause of sludge is the oil cooler in particular in cold climates.
Robert
 
#7 ·
You got it right, with increased hp and engine bay temps with a screaming turbo, a larger oil cooler will do a better job in my opinion. Another point is the stock oil cooler is in a horrible place for airflow and we move them up on top of the ic so that it gets lots of airflow, the stock one is down low behind the radiator! Heat is the enemy and a more efficient oil cooler will keep oil temps down and this will allow longer engine life in theory...

John
 
#9 ·
This is exactly why I love the V6's internal oil cooler. All the lines are hard plumbed so the lines are quite reliable. There is some chance of the cooler corroding in the coolant bath and then you get problems that mimic a headgasket failure (coolant in oil and vice versa).

It really goes to show you though, the engine is still as weak as the weakest link!

I've been watching this bullrun show on spike TV, one group with a nissan skyline and an imported japan motor had to leave cause they lost oil pressure on a hose and toasted the motor.

It kinda gives you an appreciation for how the OEM's have designed the system and make it last a long long time, we need to strive for the same.

Tboy
 
#11 ·
I watch that bullrun show too and did not see what happened to that nissan. That lambo burned a clutch I guess... I wish I could put my saab on that show:p Probably would have lost oil pressure too and fried my motor on those long trips without being able to check anything. My oil lines were brand new and lasted about 1.5 years, how a pin-hole got in the line is a mystery, but it sure could have been fatal!!!

John
 
#12 ·
John Z Williams said:
I watch that bullrun show too and did not see what happened to that nissan. That lambo burned a clutch I guess... I wish I could put my saab on that show:p Probably would have lost oil pressure too and fried my motor on those long trips without being able to check anything. My oil lines were brand new and lasted about 1.5 years, how a pin-hole got in the line is a mystery, but it sure could have been fatal!!!

John
I love the show! Its turning out that the factory spec cars are trouncing the others because of their reliability. The Nissan lost oil pressure and screwed up the motor (I don't know how bad, but bad enough to loose) and the mustang broke a push rod. So far I think thats it. My money is on the firebird, or F150. To me its all going to come down to reliability then performance, thats why I put the mostly stock firebird ahead of the F150.

It seems like the stock cars have the leg up as they have proven solutions that will last many miles. Like the 56 Chev guys who are wearing painters masks in their car because of all the exhaust fumes!! LOL!!

I'd LOVE to put my car in it too, but right now I think my teeth would rattle out of my head in the first few days. I'd have to put the stock springs back in.

Really, when I watch that show I dream about putting together a car that would win. It would be mildly aggressive, reliable as all get out, and one that I was supremly able to control (as in that lambo dude lost to the F150 in the slalom cause he couldn't drive his car).

Tboy
 
#13 ·
I would like to come up with a good car too. I think a lot of power can be had and can be reliable. I ran almost a year with 300whp and all I had to do is change the oil... Jak's going on 2 years with 280+ whp and now his car has 380whp and its a daily driver... Once you get all the bugs out of the car, they can have real power and be reliable. Things like new heater hoses, coolant hoses, oil lines and a fresh engine build would go a long way to having a lot of power and the car being reliable. Not doing do-nuts might help too;) Did you see when that lambo hit that racoon:eek: He says he has 60,000 worth of damage to his car so far... WOW, that sux! Can they go faster than the speed limit or are they limited? Why doesn't the lambo just go balls out at 100mph and smoke everyone on the times? I know speeding tickets, but you can get away with high speeds sometimes.... If you are lucky... I am surprised the bmw is not doing better. IF that car was turbo charged it would be mean and tuff to beat too... That is pretty cool, why didn't they call me for the show?
John
 
#14 ·
John Z Williams said:
I would like to come up with a good car too. I think a lot of power can be had and can be reliable. I ran almost a year with 300whp and all I had to do is change the oil... Jak's going on 2 years with 280+ whp and now his car has 380whp and its a daily driver... Once you get all the bugs out of the car, they can have real power and be reliable. Things like new heater hoses, coolant hoses, oil lines and a fresh engine build would go a long way to having a lot of power and the car being reliable. Not doing do-nuts might help too;) Did you see when that lambo hit that racoon:eek: He says he has 60,000 worth of damage to his car so far... WOW, that sux! Can they go faster than the speed limit or are they limited? Why doesn't the lambo just go balls out at 100mph and smoke everyone on the times? I know speeding tickets, but you can get away with high speeds sometimes.... If you are lucky... I am surprised the bmw is not doing better. IF that car was turbo charged it would be mean and tuff to beat too... That is pretty cool, why didn't they call me for the show?
John
Not sure about speed rules. I don't think they have any rules but there are those pesky speeding tickets. Not to mention the time you loose being pulled over, add to that if they revoked your liscense for going too fast (you do have a camera cre folowing and all!!). I think they go as fast as they can without getting caught, the civic did get pulled over last week.

I also think they limit their speed based on the routes they make them go. You just can't go TOO fast on some of those roads.

See that Lambo is the perfect example of a car that wouldn't excell. He'll probably put more mile on that thing during the show than a whole year. And its just not set up for road driving (like how that racoon almost took them out:eek: )

Good times though. Its the one show this season I don't tivo. I get to the TV when its on and watch it right then!! The wife goes to bed (she don't care!)
Tboy
 
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