Oil cooler and pipes leaking/repair

I thought I would share some info I just came to find out.

I decided to replace my oil cooler pipes as they were leaking.

I was aware that folks are having trouble removing the pipes from the cooler as they seem to weld themselves together.

On mine, the first pipe came off a dream, but sure enough, the second was seized and when undone, the threads were wasted.

Anyway, rather than just buy a new cooler, go to Pirtek and buy a replacement thread for £13.52.

I then had a local alloy welder do the repair for a tenner!

Simon1975 said:

I thought I would share some info I just came to find out.

I decided to replace my oil cooler pipes as they were leaking.

I was aware that folks are having trouble removing the pipes from the cooler as they seem to weld themselves together.

On mine, the first pipe came off a dream, but sure enough, the second was seized and when undone, the threads were wasted.

Anyway, rather than just buy a new cooler, go to Pirtek and buy a replacement thread for £13.52.

I then had a local alloy welder do the repair for a tenner!

Click to expand...

sounds a good idea to me

were did you get you oil cooler pipes pirtek as well made up.

When I had my engine changed the oil cooler threads were shot too, so they replaced the oil coller with a new one (free warranty job) but a few days later it was oil pumping out all over the place at one of the connections. On inspection found that they (not LR) had not used the proper genuine LESR1594L o-ring, the one fitted was too small and had split. Just a word of warning to all....

Hi,

How easy was it to change the pipes (aside from the thread issues) ? Do they come out and new ones feed in ok or do you have to remove other surrounding pipes i.e. PAS to get them through ?

Got a leak from mine and planning to change them in the next few weeks as I also want to renew the g/b oil at the same time. Did you get the pipes from Island 4x4 ?

Thanks

I got my pipes from L. R. Series - specialists in land rover, land rover series and range rover - gearbox, axle, transmission parts, spares and major units and I bought 4 o rings too, but you do not need them as the pipes have orings on them.

It's a fiddly job. you need to remove the grille, then the centre section where the bonnet latch is.

Then remove the air intercooler, then undo the oil cooler and als the 2 large bolts that secure the fans, this will allow you to get the oil cooler out. Its tight, but it will come out.

Then you undo the pipes. The pipes at the engine side are easy.

I bought the cheapest parts, and they look good quality.

Rather than risk ruining the aluminium threaded stud on the cooler, leave the pipe intact, cut through the straight section of the steel tube with a tube cutter NOT A HACKSAW, to ensure no swarf enters the tube and use a 1/2" O.D. brass compression coupler from any pneumatic supplier...these are good for far in excess of 10bar (150 p.s.i.), which is far in excess of any oil pressure that the system produces.
The compression fitting joint can be undone and reconnected as many times as you like.

Irishrover said:

Rather than risk ruining the aluminium threaded stud on the cooler, leave the pipe intact, cut through the straight section of the steel tube with a tube cutter NOT A HACKSAW, to ensure no swarf enters the tube and use a 1/2" O.D. brass compression coupler from any pneumatic supplier...these are good for far in excess of 10bar (150 p.s.i.), which is far in excess of any oil pressure that the system produces.
The compression fitting joint can be undone and reconnected as many times as you like.

Click to expand...

great repair tip:clap2::clap2::clap2:raise:

Irishrover said:

Rather than risk ruining the aluminium threaded stud on the cooler, leave the pipe intact, cut through the straight section of the steel tube with a tube cutter NOT A HACKSAW, to ensure no swarf enters the tube and use a 1/2" O.D. brass compression coupler from any pneumatic supplier...these are good for far in excess of 10bar (150 p.s.i.), which is far in excess of any oil pressure that the system produces.
The compression fitting joint can be undone and reconnected as many times as you like.

Click to expand...

Thats a great idea, I didn't realise the pipes were half inch. Wouldn't have worked on mine though, the pipes were too rusty

Does it matter if they are hydraulic or pneumatic fittings?

what tools do i need to replace these pipes?

will a 15mm copper pipe slicer work?

thanks

Irish, I haven't checked the configuration of the pipes but can the repair you describe be carried out without removing the cooler itself ?

The tube is steel and will cut with a "Wheel" type tube cutter.
Pneumatic suppliers usually stock the brass imperial compression fittings under the "Wade" or "Enots" brand...there may be others.
They are for pneumatic, liquid or gas applications, no need to go overboard with hydraulic fittings as they are more than capable of handling the oil or transmission fluid pressure.
Do not use the "Push on" type as any slight deformation in the tube diameter plus the heat of the oil will probably cause them to leak whereas the olive will be securely formed around the tube. Just put a smear of sealant, Hylomar, Hermatite Red etc. around the end of the tube where the olive sits to give a 100% seal.
I have them fitted to my engine oil cooler pipes and they have never leaked despite being reassembled several times.
I have also used them in the past on Power Steering systems without any problems.
In the UK, Economatics stocked them and in Ireland they can be obtained from Flomax - Ireland's Industrial Equipment Catalogue

Just realised, but although this is a great idea, how do you flush the crap out of the rad in situ?

Most of the crap will be collected by the oil filter but after I had cut the pipes I took the cooler out with the pipes attached and poured white spirit through it to flush out and finished off with a blast through with an airline. Remember that if the oil in the engine is clean, the oil in the cooler will be the same as it circulates through it.