Oil cooler pipes

[Winter]

More woe.

Some of you might be following my overheating problem that I first reported in February: up to 110 degrees celsius in stationary traffic on motorways when 90 - 95 had been the norm. Subsequent open-flow traffic is accompanied by 95 - 100

The thermostat, water pump and left-hand turbo coolant feed have been either replaced or checked but the problem has persisted. The radiator fins have been cleaned and appear to be clear. The temperature gauge and OBD read the same which suggests it isn't simply the gauge because the OBD takes its reading from another coolant sensor. The latest effort at a solution has been to fit a SerckIntertruck recored radiator. Regrettably, this has come to an abrupt halt because the frame has been attached to the matrix upside down. So, I still cannot say whether or not the problem has been solved.

In addition to that annoyance, another problem has emerged: the oil cooler pipes are weeping. One at the oil pump end, the other at the left-hand cooler. Has anyone repaired or replaced one or both pipes and if so, how did you do it? Inspection suggests that repair is not possible, replacement is the solution.

The pipes travel through the chassis tunnel and it seems as though it's the devil's own job to replace them. The possibility of having to lift the body off the chassis has been raised.

In due course I might list this year's woes but suffice at this time is that my car - that I use every day - has been off the road for nearly three months.

[BadJelly350]

Hi there,

I had a slight leak from one of the unions forward of the engine on the lines to the coolers. The factory changed mine and (remarkably given the general consensus on that job) managed to change both without shearing off the pipe / cooler unions. Comment when I spoke to them about it went aong the lines of 'yeah, we've got a real good guy who did the job'.

No issues since and I don't remember it being particularly expensive although the details are in the file in the UK so I can't get my hands on them at the mo.

You might want to give them a bell??

Assume the worst though, that you're going to lose one or both of the coolers during the job. There's been a few posts on here about sourcing the stock coolers direct at Setrab (I think) at about half the list price from Lotus. You might also want to check that out before you do the job.

Andy

Sport 350 #19

[hedgerley]

My left side cooler split up the seam not long after I bought the car, dumping several litres of hot oil onto my drive. The whole circuit was badly corroded and removing one end of the pipe ruined it, so it had to come off, promptly ruining the other cooler as that end was seized solid as well.

I bought two replacement coolers from SJ and had them fitted along with all the pipes, all the way back to the pump, at my dealer. Quite a job but I've had zero problems since. That was about 8k miles ago.

Good luck.

[Winter]

My left side cooler split up the seam not long after I bought the car, dumping several litres of hot oil onto my drive. The whole circuit was badly corroded and removing one end of the pipe ruined it, so it had to come off, promptly ruining the other cooler as that end was seized solid as well.

I bought two replacement coolers from SJ and had them fitted along with all the pipes, all the way back to the pump, at my dealer. Quite a job but I've had zero problems since. That was about 8k miles ago.

Good luck.

Thank you Mark and Andy, this is encouraging.

I had problems two years or so ago with a leaking air con system and every union was seized. Both condensers, all connecting pipes and the like had to be replaced. Like the army, I am hoping for the best but preparing for the worst!

I'll keep you posted - along with info about the overheating.

[superdavelotus]

I repaired mine as Iam currently drafting a letter to Lotus to get to the bottom of the problem. Mine spilt from inside out near the front radiator ducts. PNM machine a stainless steel tube and machine two lips at each end. Thye made sure it was a tight fit. Slid the two pipes over with jubilee clips, job sorted now.

[paulhavelock]

Hi Winter,

I had cooling issues and corroded oil cooler pipes which I replaced so I may be able to help. My car was over heating too but it was a combination of the radiator leaking and a leaking pipe. At the back of the cylinder heads, there are two water outlets that join to an aluminium water pipe. On my car the ali pipe was resting on the turbo supply pipes and had worn through so there a small but constant water leak and this slow loss of coolant meant my car ran hotter and hotter.

The oil pipes are an a** to change - I did them when the rad was out. They just un-screw from the oil filter housing and can be pulled through - this is hard work by the way. And make sure that you attach some strong cable to the pipes BEFORE you pull then out so that you can attach this bit of cable to the new pipe to pull them back through or you will be totally stuck! By the way the Lotus pipes are a ridiculous price. I measured mine then got Demon Tweeks to make me up a new set in braided aeroquipe hose and the pair plus the oil cooler link across the front coast about the same as one Front to Rear Lotus part! Winner. I hope ths helps.

Paul H