I hate getting towed home! Oil Cooler Question??

[Ads912]

Getting towed home is a drag! I was on my way to work this morning and when my car reached warm-up temperature, POOF, a cloud of blue smoke and a trail of Mobil 1.
I think the gasket on my oil cooler failed.
Oil is streaming out from under the fan cover.
My question:
Does the engine have to come out to get at the oil cooler?
Both of my manuals say that it does, but I won't believe it until I hear it from you.
Here is a pic of how severe the oil leak was just pulling it into to garage.

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Adam White
68 912 Coupe

[This message has been edited by Ads912 (edited 08-18-2001).]

[mein12]

Greetings,

You need to pull the motor. Then you will have enough room to pull the shroud up and away form the cooler.
If you end up needing a cooler, I have one for you. If it's a cracked case I feel for you.
Good Luck, JMB

[ScotMcLean]

Hi - I know and you know that's what the manual says but... On my 67 I did remove the generator + fan, detached everything from the fan, and took the oil cooler out without dropping the engine. I was curious if it could be done, had time to take it step by step, and didn't hurry.

What I've learned - now that I've taken out the engine and tranny by myself, no other person helping - is that while I learned a lot doing it this way, it is really easy to take out our engines!

If you haven't bought "Secrets ,,," from Pellow, it's got a nice couple of pages of step by step. With a good floor jack, the rear of the car on ramps + e-brake + wheel stops, it was simple.

Taking off the generator, etc. wasn't hard, but all things considered, taking the engine out was pretty straightforward.

Sorry to hear you got towed

Oh - I bought a 68 912 in Phoenix this summer - sunroof. So now my tag line shows one driver and two projects (and a full garage).

Scott

69 912 #23078
68 912 sunroof
67 912 project

[ScotMcLean]

Hi again - I forgot to mention I have a 66 912 case - no cracks - if the worst has occurred.

Scott
69 912 #23078
68 912 sunroof
67 912 project

[mein12]

Scot,
congrats on your cooler replacement. I have never had the patience to deal with having to reach around all the obstacles and risk scratching my engine tin, etc.
I have done the crank seal a few times, but never the cooler.

Regards,JMB


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68' 912/5 modified brakes, suspension, limited slip trans, hi performance engine.

[Ads912]

Thanks for the reply guys.
I had the engine out last winter, and based on your replies, it will be out again this week.
JMB, Thank you for the offer on the oil cooler, I will let you know if I need it.
Scot, I hope that I won't need your 66 engine case, but I will be in touch if I do.
I will post some pictures of the cause of the oil leak when I find it.
Thanks again.


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Adam White
68 912 Coupe

[Efrain68912]

If the case is cracked, can't it be heli-arc welded instead of replaced? I realize that this would mean taking the whole engine apart, but I think it could be done.

Efrain
68 912 (tranny rebuild in progress)

[ScotMcLean]

I read in "Secrets ..." by Pellow that yes, it can be done but ... and then he details all the issues/risks/etc. I know he recommends 65-67 cases as the 68/69 oil cooler apparently is more prone to vibration in spite of efforts to the contrary and so the case takes the brunt of it.

Personally I collected parts to swap in/out on projects, thinking it cheaper/easier to change parts than to find someone who a) so the work and b) do it well and c) not cost me $$$. The automotive prof at our college (around the corner from our philosophy/speech dept ) indicted it's getting hard to find anyone who can actually do the work, rather than change parts, and our welding prof seems to agree (though he as the best toys!).

Now I'm interested in a VW 1.7/2.0 for the sunroof coupe. I'd keep the 69 912 stock (even has original paint right now) but use the 68 as more of an outlaw.

Let's hope it is as simple as a gasket or the orange rings around the oil cooler mounting bolts.

Scott

[Ads912]

Well, I couldn't wait. Canadian summers are too short to let "The Yellow Car" sit.

The engine was out again in an hour and a half.
I only drove it 500 miles since rebuilding the top-end in the spring. The silly thing is, when doing the top-end, I didn't remove the fan shroud to check the oil cooler. If I had, I would have noticed that of the 3 nuts that hold the cooler in place, one was missing , one was finger tight and the third little one on top was OK.
It's amazing that it held on as long as it did.
Thanks for all of your help. I going to order new gaskets from Pelican and get this thing put back together!


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Adam White
68 912 Coupe

[ScotMcLean]

Excellent and congrats! Gotta love it when the story has a great ending! Make sure you make a final post/update to show your 912 driving down the street w/o leaving its "track."

[mein12]

Now that is a happy ending to a potentially ugly drama. Best regards, JMB

[Kiwi912]

Hi Adam
What color/code is your car? I love it!
Mine should be Lido Gold (17656) but I've no idea what it's like.
Currently a Red '67 (needing surgery!)
Cheers


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Kelvin '67 912
New Zealand

[Ads912]

Thanks Scot and JMB. It was a big relief to find the loose/missing fasteners.
It might have been 'Renegade' time! Just kidding.
Kevin, the paint code on the car is 6822, Champagne Yellow. Previous owners have painted it red and then back to yellow, so I don't know if it is the same yellow as the original 6822. It looks close compared to areas under the upholstry and behind the door panels.
My only beef with the paint job is the PO had the bottom of the bumpers and the rockers painted black, yuck! Not very original looking.


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Adam White
68 912 Coupe

[Roland Kunz]

Hello

1.) Take polystop lock nuts.
2.) Clean the oilcooler anyhow
3.) Champaner yellow is more to beige. This is the color used in the 60´s on the 356.

Grüsse