p38 engin oil cooler

hi all, i have got to replace one of my oil cooler pipes 2morow and i was just wondering if anyone has replaced thers without problems? as i have herd they can be a right basterd becous of the ally threads on the cooler.is there a safe way of dooing it? thank you,tom.

ive fitted plenty of oil coolers in the past, just be gentle undoing the nuts and dont try to force them. if very tight use wd40.

might be worth spraying wd tonite and it will have chance to work by morning!!

I just had a new cooler fitted - not for engine oil, but the red gearbox stuff. Yes, it is a pig because the steel threads cold weld into the aluminium. They will come out, but you have to be careful and v persistent. try heat and cold, and be prepared to wreck the pipe. Maybe remove cooler having cut pipes, and do it on the bench. Also - be prepared to replace the cooler (not cheap) because they take a lot of stick, as the threaded fixings undoing is such a pig you dont want to do it twice (!)

Changed both coolers on my 4.6. Yes they are a pain. Plus Gas is far better than WD40. Got he l.h. connection off o.k. but the r.h. threads were full of ally in the nut. Cut the steel pipe, slid the nut off and luckily found a tap at work to clean the threads out-from memory, I think it's M20 fine pitch. Used a 1/2" compression coupler (Good for 200 p.s.i.) to join up the cut pipe.No problems since.
TIP-if you disconnect the r.h. hose from the bottom of the timing cover, don't go mad when you refit it as the boss it screws in to has a thin wall and will crack very easily if overtightened-result, around £200 for a new cover (At least).
Finally, make sure you have new "O" rings for the pipe ends-usually come with the cooler.