Oil Cooler going?

[thierry75]

Hoe do you knnow your oil cooler is going? is it progressive or sudden?

[ronin]

the oil cooler won't "go". but the seals will. then you'll have what we call milkshake

[yellowline]

Originally posted by ronin
the oil cooler won't "go". but the seals will. then you'll have what we call milkshake

I don't know. Clark over at his Garage noted that he's seen cars with pinholes in the cooler itself.

Usually, you'll see a lot of condensation on the radiator and oil caps. I had progressively more foam under the radiator cap, but no clear failure. Then one day (on a day where I needed the car for midterm exams), I opened the hood and saw milkshake. I'd think it's sudden. If it does fail, don't drive it. If you absolutely must use the car, like I had to that day, first verify that no coolant gets in the oil...that'll kill your bearings in short order. For me, it was just oil in coolant. That alone isn't good, but won't cause any sudden or expensive failures.

Also get Hylomar sealant to put the housing back on when you're done with the job. My housing used to leak, now it's fine with Hylomar.

[ronin]

yes, I suppose that is so. sorry, but I had the 951 cooler in mind, which is external. I just went through all that a few months ago with my own cooler seals letting go. nice mess

[thierry75]

well, I did find oil in my radiator tank a little while ago. I had the radiator flushed and changed the oil but I need to check again...it's been a few weeks.
I also noticed that my oil pressure sometimes drops below 2 at idle. And the engine 'stutters' sometimes under acceleration. And There may be a slight loss of power but I'm not sure.
Could these symptoms all be related?