Leaking engine oil cooler - best option?

[rolls 912]

Hi
My 3.2 is leaking oil from the radiator core. Can these be repaired with a new core or is it best to poni up and buy a new one?
Thanks

[Flat6pac]

If it's leaking through the core it won't leak on start up because the oil is bypassed the cooler by the thermostat. You might consider pressure testing before replacing
I don't believe the core is repairable.
Bruce

[rolls 912]

Hi Bruce
Yes I will pressure test it. Bummer that it can't be repaired. Suspected as much. I must say I'm a little surprised as I didn't think that they would be subject to so much pressure that would force them to fail.

[Flat6pac]

Stompski Racing pressure tester.

[gomezoneill]

Are you referring to the fender mounted or the cooler in the engine?

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by gomezoneill

Are you referring to the fender mounted or the cooler in the engine?

Read title in post #1.

[gomezoneill]

Yeah I saw that but lot's of times people don't get the terminology correct. The term radiator for instance, made me think he's actually referring to the fender mounted cooler.

[pemz0r]

I just changed mine over the weekend. I had to change my oil so it made sense to remove the cooler at the same time. I have a 2.7 and it was pretty straight forward and easy with Webers... With the 3.2 you might have to remove the intake to get to the top duct that channels the air to the cooler from the shroud.

1. I removed the driverside heat ex changer
2. Drain Oil
3. Removed some bolts on the right side engine tin so that there was clearance to remove the cooler
4. New Oil seals (two small, one larger), 3 manifold head exhaust seals, and one muffler to heat exchanger seal

I purchased the oil cooler from tom1394racing and drove it to Ultrasonic Cleaning in Carson and they cleaned and tested it for me and it passed.

[fanaudical]

If I remember correctly, the on-engine oil cooler does see pressure at all times the engine is running.

Pacific Oil Cooler Service does a great job with cleaning/testing Porsche oil coolers. I think they can even repair some leaks if they can reach them.

[rolls 912]

Thanks. Unfortunately I'm in Australia.

The boys have offered to recore with a high efficiency insert. They mentioned it will increase the oil flow. I'm assuming it's not a bad thing?

[fanaudical]

Sorry - missed your location.

I'm not familiar with the "high efficiency insert". How exactly are they doing that? I've looked at a broken oil cooler and it seems to me that recoring one of these is a very difficult job. Which shop is this?

[rusnak]

Are you sure that the leak is not the o-rings?

I would not speed up the engine oil cooler flow. You want the oil to flow slowly enough to pass heat to the tubes, and the tubes on to the fins. Speeding up the flow may make the oil cooler less efficient.

[rolls 912]

G'day folks
Cooler is fixed.

Anything I need to be wary of when I install the engine oil cooler?
-I won't be able to see anything as the engine is still in the car.
-How do I ensure the three O seals seat correctly as I won't be able to see the mating of the cooler to the block?
-I gather I wet the O rings with oil before installling. How do I keep them in place? I was thinking of using grease instead?
Any tips would be appreciated.

[rolls 912]

Just a quick note to sign off on this thread. After reading numerous threads, my perception was this was going to be a tricky job.
I actually found it to be relatively straight forward. I ended up removing the fuel valve, the side and upper baffle and the air box. Plenty of room.
Took about 30 mins to remove and 45 to reinstall.

[Chris_chch]

Keen to hear how the repair has worked out! I'm in NZ so have a similar issue with getting new parts etc. My cooler was just tested and had some pin hole leaks that got worse as the engine warmed up.

The testing place said they could re-core it and as it's a much cheaper alternative to a new one, I've pulled the trigger. Should be back soon, but in the mean time... How's your car running with the new core etc?

[rolls 912]

Didn't end up recoring. They had a go at using a resin which failed so I purchased a new one. Ridiculously expensive.

[Quinlan]

Shameless plug here - i have a new one for sale in the classifieds.