Help - Oil Cooler re-installation

[gninnam]

Some of you may have read my Leak thread and it looked like it could be the little oil cooler pipe from engine block to the oil cooler.

To cut a long story short, got the cooler off and now need to get it back on.
But, having spent 3 hours today trying and failing, I am seeing if any one has any tips or tricks (I think the best way would be to remove the nearside engine mount but don't fancy that)?

Help will be appreciated!!

[Goran]

The only thing I remember about it is from Audipages, apparently it will only go back in one way.

"To install: the bottom of the cooler must go in first and THEN tip the top part in. Trust me, it will not go in any other way. The pic below is the "HOW NOT TO" reference."

http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articl...reinstall.html


and this:

The unit will go back into the car without jacking on the engine block with loosened motor mounts or any other shennanigans, but it will only go in one right way and there are many wrong ways to try. Hard to describe, but if you are under the car and get stuck, read this and you will see what I mean. If you get it into the space but the oil filter mount is tilted outward toward the frame rail, forget it, it is wrong, you will never get the filter housing to tilt down past the frame rail. Take it back out from below and try it with the top of the unit tilted away from the block and the bottom close to it. You may have to rotate it a little, but it will go in this way so un-freakin-believably easy that you will want to dance a jig. Both during removal and reinstallation, be mindful not to bash the fairly fragile matrix against the engine block. It would really suck if this thing sprung a leak.

[gninnam]

Cheers Goran - I was using that and no joy - unable to get the part in as they describe, difficult to get it in without having it angled opposite to what they say - unless I am doing something wrong

[PsYcHe]

Hammer?

[gninnam]

Originally Posted by PsYcHe

Hammer?

Why didn't I think of that

[Goran]

Originally Posted by gninnam

Cheers Goran - I was using that and no joy - unable to get the part in as they describe, difficult to get it in without having it angled opposite to what they say - unless I am doing something wrong

Damn, sorry to hear that. I hope you manage to figure it out.
I was thinking of doing this job myself when my plastic pipe goes, but now I'm a bit worried if its so difficult to get it back in there.

[gninnam]

Sussed it - removed the engine support arm off the front and the oil cooler just slides in

Didn't have to take the fan off the bracket either - just removed the blades and you can just about get a socket in there to undo the bolt, then after removing the other 2 bolts, you can move it forward and continue undoing the bolt until it comes off - simples.

Checked the water pump and the rest of the hoses and they all look good (as do the belt guides)
Just putting everything back now and will then see if I still have a leak

[ainarssems]

I feel your pain, all that work gone in and still no definite solution. When I had the slow coolant loss I could not see where it is leaking from. Dreaded the worst and bought the pipe but was not going to tackle it before making 100% sure that's where it is leaking from. So I removed undertray to see better, blocked the radiator with cardboard to get the temperature and pressure up to push the coolant out where it leaks and kept watching under the car. It turned out that leak is coming from expansion tank cap when car got slightly over 90C. The electric fan was also contributing by being faulty and letting car get slightly hotter then it should be. The cap had either sticking or faulty valves and did not hold the pressure. Normally it should keep the pressure until at least 120C. Bought a new cap and fan and have not lost a drop of coolant since (fingers crossed)

[gninnam]

So - a few pics of the area where the oil cooler should go and also of the new metal pipe (thanks again ainarssems ):





Pulled the front engine mount off and it made the process soo easy:


So now all fitted




Filled the engine up with new oil (and fitted a new oil filter) - added around 8 litres of water (wasn't going to use antifreeze) and ran it for around 20 minutes with no loss of coolant

Will flush the coolant tomorrow and add the anti-freeze then put the front end back on and see how we go.

Cheers

[Architex_mA8tey]

Well done Andy thats a painful job well done and well documented