Oil cooler access

ipsos · Jun 30, 2011

Hi all,i've got an oil leak at the front of my P38 DSE,done a search on here and i'm pretty sure it's the oil cooler(leak is predominanly on drivers side but can be in a line along the rad and can see oil on the corner of cooler),now as far as i can see to get access the cooler i have to remove the air con condenser,so my question is simple,can i just undo the pipes that go into the condenser or will i mess the air con up in doing so?(as in it's a closed compressed circuit and undoing the pipes will damage it in some way)

Datatek · Jun 30, 2011

You cannot undo the aircon pipes as you will lose all the gas. I changed my oil cooler without disturbing the aircon.

ipsos · Jun 30, 2011

Thanks for the response Datatek,i thought as much,so how did you get access,did you just take the fans of and move the condenser to one side?

Irishrover · Jun 30, 2011

Remove the fans, undo the bolts securing the slam panel and move clear, remove the upper condenser bolts(2) and the lower bolts (2) which are accessible through the lower grille. Use a long extension and ratchet (1/4 sq drive preferably) to access the lower bolts.
Soak the threads on the oil cooler hose connections with Pus Gas or similar (Not WD40) for a day or longer and be prepared for the cooler stub aluminium threads to strip and remain in the hose nuts. The crap will have to be cleared from the nuts before fitting to the new cooler otherwise the threads on the new cooler will strip. Fit new "O" rings before reassembly.

ipsos · Jun 30, 2011

ok,thanks for that,just one thing,what is Pus Gas,and why not WD40?

Irishrover · Jun 30, 2011

Plus Gas is a proper penetrating oil and excellent.
WD40 is more of a water/damp repellant and general purpose lubricant which does not have the same "Creeping" properties as a dedicated penetrating oil.
I see you are based in France, any good Motor Factor should have the equivalent, there are some good chilling type fluids available in aerosol cans. Maybe Datatek will post up suitable stuff.

ipsos · Jun 30, 2011

cheers,i'll go to the local motor shop here and see what they got,i've noticed that the lower pipe going to the cooler is covered in oil and from what i read on here that will probably need replacing as well

Datatek · Jun 30, 2011

ipsos said:
cheers,i'll go to the local motor shop here and see what they got,i've noticed that the lower pipe going to the cooler is covered in oil and from what i read on here that will probably need replacing as well

Plus Gas Degrippant is available in Auchan here. Replace both the oil pipes while you are at it, it's just as likely that they are leaking not the cooler itself but you will be lucky to part the pipes from the cooler without destroying the treads as irishrover said.

ipsos · Jul 9, 2011

ok,my bits arrived this morning so have spent the last hour trying to remove the A/C fans but can't reach the bottom two bolts,can the fans be removed without taking the bumper off?
(i have had a look at doing this on RAVE but my bumper looks nothing like the one portrayed,oh and it's 45°in the sun and the french village i live in is about to get a crash course in english swearing!!!)

ipsos · Jul 9, 2011

so well and truly ****ed it now!!

,managed to get the bumper off,got everything loose went to undo the bolt that holds the pipes where they go into the filter and the bloody bolt wouldn't give,so moved the pipe over a bit and it's snapped the clip thats made of aluminium/crap,bolt still welded to the clip and is now a round bolt so a spanner wont do it,to say i'm ****ed off is an understatement(what the hell do they make these bolts out of,lead?)

Oil cooler access

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