Antifreeze Leak From Oil Cooler

[richosabroard 0]

My engine oil filter/cooler assembly appears to be leaking antifreeze and i am wondering if there is an o-ring that seperates the antifreeze side with the engine oil side.My car is a 1991 1.9 with air con

[joelpsmith 1]

i think there are to options. replace the whole oil cooler, or disconnect the water pipes as it is not really necessary to use an oil cooler if the car is standard.

[kenp 3]

My engine oil filter/cooler assembly appears to be leaking antifreeze and i am wondering if there is an o-ring that seperates the antifreeze side with the engine oil side.My car is a 1991 1.9 with air con

 

Is the coolant mixing with the oil? Is so it would suggest a leak internal to the cooler.

 

However, nomally the coolant pipes corrode or fatigue and leak where they enter the cooler/filter housing. Happened on my 1990 1.9. For a while I just disconnected the coolant hoses to the cooler - was ok as long as I kept sustained speeds below 80mph, otherwise the oil temp crept up.

 

In the end I threw that type of cooler away and fitted a proper radiator-type oil cooler from an earlier car.

Edited October 20, 2007 by kenp

[pug_ham 242 3 Cars]

If you have the remote oil & water heat excahnger fitted in front of the gearbox then there is nowhere for the water to leak from unless the body has sprung a leak or the pipes for it have been damaged.

 

The exchanger part of the system should be totally enclosed.

 

Graham.

[richosabroard 0]

Mine is the one bolted to the gearbox.So i guess thats its not repairable and i will have to bypass the cooler.There is no antifreeze/water mixing as the car has been stored in my garage and only noticed a small pool when moving the car and traced the leak to the cooler.

[kenp 3]

If you can get a decent second hand one then I'd suggest replacing it with the older proper oil cooler rad - you'll need the oil pipes and sandwich plate as well. However given your location and the time of year I guess you won't be having overheating probs at the moment!

[richosabroard 0]

Here on Vancouver Island we have the same climate as the U.K so i guess that i can just bypass the cooler for the winter but i will have to repair or replace the cooler as per kenp's recomendation before summer.

Did the 405 with a/c have the same set up as the 205 with a/c as they were sold in Canada in the early 1990's ?

[joelpsmith 1]

TBH i doubt you will even need it in summer. Mine has been disconected for about 3 years now, done some track days in it also and the oil as not ever come close to overheating.

[Ryan 99]

If it has a/c then you should have an alloy sump with cooling fins, instead of the normal pressed steel sump. The fins are more than enough to keep the oil cool in the UK climate, so if your weather is similar to ours then running without a cooler is probably fine, even in summer.

[richosabroard 0]

I guess that i will bypass the cooler and keep a eye on the oil temp but by the sounds of it things will be o.k. Thanks guys

[lee-bg 0]

I've found out that this so called cooler actually gets the oil warmer faster to reach operating temperatures,

i couldnt see it cooling the oil in any way.

My Mi16 has the aluminium sump with ribs and it helps cool the oil perfect even in very hot days i dont go over 110 degrees.

You can drive safely without it. Also few water hoses less to break )))

good luck

Edited October 23, 2007 by lee-bg

[joelpsmith 1]

slight hijack, but does anyone know if its possible to remove it altogether rather then just disconect the water pipes.

I'm just thinking it would be nice to neaten things up down there and just mount the oil filter directly to the engine block.

[cybernck 400 1 Cars]

I've found out that this so called cooler actually gets the oil warmer faster to reach operating temperatures

that's obviously a good thing .

 

i couldnt see it cooling the oil in any way.

when the water is at about 90 and oil tries to go up, it will act as an oil cooler .

 

My Mi16 has the aluminium sump with ribs and it helps cool the oil perfect

yep, it's very effective, even on a track.

[pug_ham 242 3 Cars]

slight hijack, but does anyone know if its possible to remove it altogether rather then just disconect the water pipes.

You can on an 8v engine easily, are you asking about your GTi-6 engine though?

 

Graham.

[joelpsmith 1]

You can on an 8v engine easily, are you asking about your GTi-6 engine though?

 

Graham.

 

yes, its an 8v XU9JAZ cat engine. i can see were it would normally mount on the block, but there are two metal pipes coming out and then turning through 90 degrees then has rubber hoses going of to the oil/water heat exchanger.

 

It looks like if i unbolt the metal pipes then it wouldn't leave me with the correct fitting for an oil filter.

[pug_ham 242 3 Cars]

If you remove the plate & the pipes that fit onto the block you are left with the normal filter fitment threaded stub so the filter wil fit straight onto that on the block.

 

Thats how mine was before I fitted the remote oil water heat exchanger on.

 

Graham.

[joelpsmith 1]

ah, great , thanks Graham that looks easy enough. I think i will get rid of it as the heat exchanger leaks water and the oil pipes are rusted badly and generally look a mess. It all adds unessecary weight too.

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

As Miles would say, it's a heat exchange unit! Took mine off the 405 and I couldn't tell any difference, well, apart from now it's harder to get at the oil filter. I think they must be the only bit that's made in America.