Oil Cooler Line Replacement, have you done this?

[Herbert Harvey]

it appears the curb on the drive way tore a hole in the driver side oil cooler line. i have ordered a new one from SJ Sports Cars. Steve tells me that you pull the new line thru the chassis with a wire. I am hopeful someone can elaborate on this? I am guessing you run a fairly thick wire thru the new line and old so you don't lose your path. Somewhere on this forum i read it's best to have 2 people one to push and the other too pull and to duct tape the two lines together.. Thinking i will go with the wire method rather than tape.. i know I would lose my connection.  Anyone who has done this please tell me about your experience with this procedure..  wondering if I should have ordered a new oil cooler as well, I have heard the horror stories of that connection cracking right off.

And lastly does anyone know what size that collar is? My Metric set of Spanners only goes up to 20mm.. I know i need to get some larger ones, just wanna be sure i get the correct size with the set i end up purchasing.  

[Barrykearley]

You will almost certainly break the oil cooler where the pipe bolts onto it. The flanges seize together and will break removing them.

you can repair that pipe cheaply and easily with a pipe coupler and a couple of jubilee clips from pirtek. It is not a high pressure hose and you won’t have any issues doing this.

id use a nylon rope/string as a draw chord through the chassis. And make sure it’s massively long so if the pipe pulls off - you still have some chord at each end of the chassis to allow you to keep trying

[CHANGES]

1 hour ago, Barrykearley said:

You will almost certainly break the oil cooler where the pipe bolts onto it. The flanges seize together and will break removing them.

you can repair that pipe cheaply and easily with a pipe coupler and a couple of jubilee clips from pirtek. It is not a high pressure hose and you won’t have any issues doing this.

id use a nylon rope/string as a draw chord through the chassis. And make sure it’s massively long so if the pipe pulls off - you still have some chord at each end of the chassis to allow you to keep trying

100% agree with Barry on the oil cooler breaking,  so be prepared to pay out for a new one.  

Repairing with coupler is this easier and far more practical fix..  But be aware on cold start , depending on your engines condition there can be 75 to100 psi in the pipe.  So get quality coupler with griping groves not the cheap ones.  Also as Barry said quality clips. 

When pulling through the chassis remember,  first to take out you gear leaver mechanism complete, to access the pipes. You will need to do this as they will have wire ties holding them which will need snipping first...  This will also assist the threading through of old/new pipe, as the unions tend to jam on the cross members within the chassis itself...  Yo will see what i mean when you get in there..  You will also be able to replace said ties to prevent new pipe rubbing with in the chassis as per spec. This preferably is a two man job , but possible on your own with extreme patients..  

[Escape]

Could it be the tyre rubbing against the line? I had the same problem a year ago, roadside fix with a coupler and good ever since.

I have to agree with the above it's not worth risking breaking the oil cooler.

Filip

[Herbert Harvey]

BarryKearley, Changes,  Thank you for the tips very helpful.. the driver side line was jerry rigged already as you can see in the pictures. and has clearly been seeping a bit of oil by the hose clamp.    Still on the fence about just getting a new oil cooler and replacing both lines.. Considering everything both of you said.

Escape, I definitely scraped the drivers oil side on the curb, will be much more careful with routing the new line. I will of course be sure it cant hit the tire either.

Thank you guys, your input is always priceless

 

Chris Herbert

(hebertharvey)

[davevr6car]

In no way carry out the repair by using jubilee type clips....I did this and it cost me an bottom end engine rebuild on my S4s.....and I used heavy duty bolt clips, 2 either side of the joint. Get Pirtek to come out and do the joint properly. I was travelling at about 90mph on the motorway and the joint came apart dumping most of the engine oil all over the road.....I did well not to loose the car.....and they had to close the lane way to clean up the oil. I ended up spinning a big end bearing, and nearly destroying the crank. Hand to get the crank re-ground and as it was using oversize bearing from the factory it was a nightmare to find the correct over oversize bearings to suit. Now I'm running braided hoses from engine to coolers.

[jonwat]

[CHANGES]

1 hour ago, davevr6car said:

In no way carry out the repair by using jubilee type clips....I did this and it cost me an bottom end engine rebuild on my S4s.....and I used heavy duty bolt clips, 2 either side of the joint.

I agree totally , but only to a point.. as i said in my earlier post use of quality connectors will prevent the above happening..  Most of the basic couplers are for use with crimped ( Pirtek) system , These do blow off  when used with clips as not designed for that application..  A very common mistake made by people who are not aware. .   However their are specific push in lock type that work just as well especially when used with quality clip as well..   They cost a bit more and tend to be more from motor sport or hydraulic suppliers..    Pics 1 & 2 is what you should be using pic 3 the type people use and get into trouble with,  always remember a cheaper component can end up costing the most.. 

 

 

[Escape]

Indeed, the connectors with 2 or 3 big barbs and a suitably clip should be fine. I've done over 40k miles a connector like that in each of the oil lines.

Filip

[Barrykearley]

4 hours ago, CHANGES said:

I agree totally , but only to a point.. as i said in my earlier post use of quality connectors will prevent the above happening..  Most of the basic couplers are for use with crimped ( Pirtek) system , These do blow off  when used with clips as not designed for that application..  A very common mistake made by people who are not aware. .   However their are specific push in lock type that work just as well especially when used with quality clip as well..   They cost a bit more and tend to be more from motor sport or hydraulic suppliers..    Pics 1 & 2 is what you should be using pic 3 the type people use and get into trouble with,  always remember a cheaper component can end up costing the most.. 

 

 

And it’s also prudent to point out that the proper ones are a damn tight fit and take some colourful language to force into the pipe. The crimp ones simply slide in - oooheer missus....

[Steve4012]

Are Oetiker clamps good for this application? 

[sailorbob]

I like to use double wire hose clamps on those large barb connectors with a loop either side of a barb.

[Herbert Harvey]

Once again, Thank you everyone for your expertise, I did do a temporary fix on the drivers side Oil Cooler line. I had to add a considerable amount of oil to get it back to the high mark on my dipstick. Before I started the engine I pulled the spark plug wires and turned the engine over several times. I am not 100% if this does much however someone recommended doing so after the turbo rebuild to circulate oil.. Being on the paranoid side I was hopeful this would get some oil pumping thru my engines veins. Ran her several times back and forth to work. Engine sounds great like it always has.. The fix served its purpose my Motor seems perfectly fine, I do hate having something like this jimmy rigged! So i ordered a new oil cooler line from SJ Sportscars, Just came in the mail. So now I am starting to contemplate getting the old Oil Cooler line off without destroying it. Thinking I will try making up some caustic soda with Lye Pellets and Water.. Figure I can get just a little bit in the right spot with a syringe.. If I am so lucky to make this work the next contemplation is routing the new line in using the old one as a guide. Someone mentioned using rope.. I looked to  for a short piece off all thread to connect the two ends together. No such luck. Still may look for the right piece to connect the two. That or I will buy some fairly thin coated cable to run thru the center of both oil cooler lines.

I have heard that you can only pull the oil cooler line one direction thru the chassis. Start from the rear of the car and pull toward the front I am speculating? 

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Christopher Herbert

1989 Lotus Esprit Turbo (no charge cooler)

[Herbert Harvey]

Update for anyone who might be dealing with oil cooler line replacement; I got myself a 30mm and 28mm wrench. Used the grinder to make the 28mm wrench a little thinner as there was no way I could get one wrench on the oil cooler and the other on the flange of the oil cooler line.  After trying to break the Oil Cooler line free I figured out it wasn't going to budge.

After reading everyones comments about breaking off the flange coming out of the Oil Cooler  I soaked it with penetrating fluid several times, same thing..  felt frozen. Next I picked up some Pure Lye Pellets from the Hardware store (sold as drain clog opener) dropped probably about 2 heaping table spoons in a small glass of water.. Drew the caustic soda into a syringe and poured it over the threads and collar holding the oil cooler line to the oil cooler. Did this several times, be careful as the Lye Caustic Soda is hot and will burn your skin not just from heat but chemically After this the threads looked cleaner but still didn't seem to want to budge, finally after hitting the trouble area with a butane torch for about a min or so,, then finally cooling it off with a liberal amount of WD40 it came loose. Very excited I got it off without any damage to my oil cooler. I am not sure if it was the Penetrating Fluid, The Caustic Soda or Butane Torch.. Maybe all of them together. If your having trouble getting that line off try these steps and be sure to hold that first wrench firmly so you don't bend or break the oil cooler. You can feel by how everything flexes that it wouldn't  take much to ripe that connector right off. Best of luck, now I am on to taking off all the zip ties and pulling the new plumbing thru with the old line.  Will update after this next step.

[Escape]

Good effort to get those connections free!

[Herbert Harvey]

ESCAPE, Sailorbob, Steve 4012, Barrykearly,  Jonwat, Davevr6car  

I am finally at the point were i can pull my new oil cooler line through the chassis and noticed that the oil cooler lines appear to be routed incorrectly on my Esprit Turbo.  To the best of my knowledge I am the 3rd Owner so I think this is possible. Please let me know what you think? The Line that is highest above the Oil Filter is clearly marked with an arrow pointing outward is connected to the Drivers side of the Oil Cooler (Left hand Drive USA Model)  and obviously the Oil Line near the bottom marked with an arrow going into the Oil Filter is routed to the Passenger side of my Oil Cooler.  If I am understanding this illustration out of the Service Notes I need to flip flop the way these lines are connected. 

 

[sailorbob]

The oil flow through the single oil cooler radiator with both connections at the bottom does not matter. You may want to keep the flow in the same direction as it currently is to avoid backflushing any accumulated debris in the cooler.

[Herbert Harvey]

Sailorbob,

Thank you for that! I was really weirded out by noticing it wasn't routed as show in the service notes.. 

relieved,

C.H.

[Herbert Harvey]

Got the first Oil Cooler line routed thru the chassis, little challenging but doable, Getting the shift linkage out of the way and cutting all the zip ties takes some creativity. Speaking of witch I wonder if the Hot Oil Cooler Line and the "Cooled Line" are really best being zip tied together? There is so much heat generated from the Hot Oil Line isn't some of that heat going to be transferred to the line coming back from the radiator? I almost feel like separating them a bit and possibly putting some kind of thermal wrap on that line.. Am I crazy? anyone do anything like this? or would the benefits be so minimal its not worth bothering with?

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Herbert Harvey

[Escape]

I've never heard of an Eprit with too high an oil temperature. So I don't think it's worth going through the trouble to isolate both lines. The effect will be minimal. Without insulation, the hot line will also dissipate heat along its entire path, and only a (smaal) part could make its way into the cool line.

I also agree on this type of cooler it doesn't matter how you install the lines. Sailorbob does have a point about crud. Maybe a good idea to (back)flush the cooler before reconnecting the lines.

Filip 

[Chillidoggy]

I changed all my chassis pipes a couple of years ago. The aluminium tubes had short pieces of split rubber hose around them at various intervals, which someone on here confirmed as being a factory fit to keep them from sagging and contacting the bottom of the chassis backbone when the car is being driven. I replicated this with the new tubes, cable-tying the new hose pieces so they don't slip. I also secured the oil cooler lines together for the same reason, so they don't flop around unsupported.

I'd echo Filip's view about oil temperature, I fitted a MOCAL oil thermostat at the filter head for that reason. There's a fair quantity/percentage of oil left in the lines and coolers which is of course impossible to drain via the engine drain plug. Each oil cooler line probably holds around 3/4 litre, and that's without the coolers and the front crossover tube, but regular use of the car, and making sure the oil gets up to temperature helps tremendously in that respect. Difficult in an S4s when there's no oil temperature gauge, I'd replace the clock for one tomorrow.

[Herbert Harvey]

Lots of progress today, I have both new Oil Cooler lines all hooked up.. My original plan was using a male to male coupler to connect the old oil cooler line to the new one and pull it through the chassis that way. I figured out pretty quick that there was no way to get the coupler and the two ends around some of the corners involved in this process. So what i ended up doing was cutting the end of the old line off that connects to the oil cooler, connecting my coupler by putting a bolt through it and connected some nuts so it wouldn't just come out of the line.. Then I used some rope and duct tapped the hell out of it as i was paranoid i would lose my connection as I pulled it through the chassis.. You can see in the pictures what i did..

So I think my last question for you guys is regarding priming the lines with oil...  I poured some oil in the lines right before tightening them to the Oil Cooler. But I can tell i didn't exactly fill the lines.. Honestly I poured a little in and then blew on the hose to make sure i got some oil deep in the line.. Did this several times. Not sure how successful i was.. When I originally disconnected the oil cooler lines from the oil cooler there was some oil loss from the oil cooler itself and a good amount came out of the lines. . Am i being a nervous ninny? I was thinking of getting a syringe and pumping oil into the lines..  thoughts anyone before I fire my engine up?

[Escape]

When I replaced the oil coolers on my previous Esprit, I did have a hard time getting the pipes filled again. I fed oil from the engine side and let it sit overnight. Then crancked the engine with EVU disconnected to build pressure. Taking the plugs out would be even better. One there's a reading on the dash gauge, you can be sure there will be good oil flow. But you'll probably need to top up after the first drive, as some air will remain trapped in the coolers.

When I did a roadside fix for a leaking oil cooler line (twice already...), I just topped up the engine oil and started (nervously watching the gauge). As the engine had just run, I was pretty confident every bearing etc would still be covered in a good oil film. When not in use for some time, I wouldn't want to rely on that film to provide adequate lubrication when the engines fires up.

Filip

[Herbert Harvey]

Filip,  Thank you thats really helpful.. Will report my results after firing her up!