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Reusing Your Stock Oil Cooler

J

jrsavoie

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Rural Clifton, Illinois
I have everything up to the engine oil cooler. My lines are the same as Lubrication Specialists. 5/8" The same fittings on the end.

What exactly do I need to make these work with my OEM 98 Cooler

They use the hoses I bought on Semi's all the time. The truck stop is the closest place for me to go to get Lubrication's hoses modified for the T to feed my bypass filter. This time they had some pieces and I just had all 3 hoses made up while I was there.

My question is which fittings do I need to hook the hoses to my 1998 or 1996 OEM engine oil cooler? The in & out on the coolers are different sizes by year

And where can I buy them?

A link would be appreciated.

I need to know ASAP
 
go to frozenboost.com and get the entire list of what I put on the other thread. seal threads with pipe dope like RDM. Take your chances.

I think I am going to. Let me know how it goes. Technically the threads are a weird metric piece that seals with a o ring... but several have done other... is it "right" no! but neither is owning this truck. I should be driving something sensible!
 
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Just a question: is it worth riging it when a new proper fitting cooler can be had for $99? Whats the cost of those fittings? your time? piece of mind?........
 
As far as I can see for the later 97 and on cooler one is in effect taking a standard thread fitting and screwing it into a metric thread that no doubt sort of fits and then screwing it in tight with the concept that the flare will somewhat seal in the cooler with the material just beyond the female thread end. Throw on some dope for good measure just in case and viola no leaks. To be honest not sure if the flare is making a seal or if the dope itself is making a seal. No matter though because irrespective of that one is technically forcing something incorrect into Aluminium in order to get a seal.

Problem for me is that this is a critical system, were you say to actually stress those Al threads so that one day it fails well you get the picture. My rig is sensible and a money earner which applies I am sure to many other members here, with the cost of the kits just not worth screwing around with pardon the pun.

Jrsavoie, happy to see you asked Leroy for a partial kit, I am sure he'll hook you up a good price.

Cheers
Nobby
 
Burning oil said:
No problem, glad you went with the correct type cooler.
Click to expand...

This is why I like our vendors. Professional attitude, professional service.

No offense to anybody; I'm sure there are lots of ways to mickey-mouse a repair, but doing things right is its own reward... if an oil cooler fitting blows apart, chances are good you're buying a new engine. This one just isn't worth playing around with; it would be like using 1/2" hex bolts instead of hardened wheel studs to hold your tires on. You could save probably $25 on that setup.

Would it work? Maybe. For a while. What's the downside? Hmmm.....

Spend the extra few bucks to do things right and then forget about it.
 
JiFaire said:
This is why I like our vendors. Professional attitude, professional service.

No offense to anybody; I'm sure there are lots of ways to mickey-mouse a repair, but doing things right is its own reward... if an oil cooler fitting blows apart, chances are good you're buying a new engine. This one just isn't worth playing around with; it would be like using 1/2" hex bolts instead of hardened wheel studs to hold your tires on. You could save probably $25 on that setup.

Would it work? Maybe. For a while. What's the downside? Hmmm.....

Spend the extra few bucks to do things right and then forget about it.
Click to expand...

Im not sure if this is a jab at me or not, But I plumb Nascar Stock Cars for a living I have a pretty good handle on whats involved in oiling systems, Nothing Micky Mouse about this, The fittings thread right into the cooler, Not loose Just right, I used some Rear Gear marking compound on the taper of the fitting and Threaded it into the cooler and check the seat, it was very good, then I threaded the fittings in dry put a cap on one side and used my pressure tester on it, i put 125 PSI in the cooler and let it sit for 15 miniutes It stayed at 125, I made a thread about it so people could see what I have done in the past and its a sound way to go, If you are not confident enough or don't have the time to do it Fine, But don't come on here with a Holyer than though attitude and bash Me
 
I don't think it was a jab at you. It was his observation that when you or anyone matches up parts that are not made for the job then it could be considered Mickey Mouse.
 
Hey rdm - relax a bit, ok? If I want to bash you I will do it right out in the open, names and everything, just so there's no confusion. Did I post that little editorial in your thread or point fingers at you?

You used fittings that fit, with adapters that DID seal- you made that clear in your thread, along with the fact that you do this for a living.

If the OP was buying a kit made up of the correct hoses and adapters from you, Greg or Leroy, that would have been an entirely different thing. But he (and some of the others here, myself included) don't even know which fittings are the correct ones... I know they aren't AN and I know they aren't the same as NPT either. U

Telling somebody who doesnt plumb race cars for a living to tighten then up and take Ytheir chances seems pretty irresponsible, is all.

Now if you don't mind, I'll get off my high horse.
 
OK I'll weigh in here seeing as I somewhat started this also and yes whilst my comments were not directed at RDM they of course can lead back to him and his post.

I completely respect your ability/attention to detail to blue it, check it and make it work however that understanding does not necessarily apply to others with the stock cooler. So it threads in OK and in your case you got an all round contact on the flare surface. However the coolers are not machined as far as I can see to technically create a complete seal for an AN fitting and hence the danger creeps in that on another cooler the seal will not be radially complete and a less informed person could then just keep driving that fitting in to try and get a seal. As already stated we are screwing into Aluminium so the risk of stressed threads etc goes up.

I guess in a way with the fact that there are the kits out there and the fact that there is as far as I am concerned for the later stock cooler an available correct thread adapter that creates a seal without the possible need for leaning on it at all. The need to approach this way is somewhat unnecessary.

I am all for outside the box desert fixes, it is necessary in my field when out at sea or in foreign lands and I have often done it. Personally I choose to often keep these style fixes to myself or if I do post try to make it clear what is going on and the possible risks involved especially for a critical system such as this. I guess it would of been nice if what RDM has now posted in this thread was part of this style fix explanation. Well it's is out there now I guess and in the light of the multiple recent oil cooler threads probably now we have to much information going on.

I am not posting this with any kind of attitude merely having a learned discussion.

Cheers
Nobby
 
Hey, I did this myself too. I made my own hoses, bought my own JIC or AN type fittings and went to town. This is really a coin toss. You could f**k it up doing it with a kit. 3 different coolers over the years. Buying a kit, or sourcing out the parts. Its completely up to you. Mine went fine. Hardest part was finding a 36 MM socket. Everything else was a cake walk. If you can change your oil or glow plugs, then you can certainly do this. I took the advice I read in one of the many threads. Test fire it and look for leaks before you put anything back in place. If you have a 4x4 leave the shaft off, leave the grill off and leave the cooler unbolted from the rad. Whats the point of doing it twice? I also didn't have an O-ring that matched up so I cleaned the adapter up in a varsol tank and got all the crud out of everything. Used a dental pick in the groove to clean out all the old o-ring flakes. All I had was RTV gasket maker. Black stuff. I put a heavy bead in the groove and smoothed it out, put the oring back in place and put a nice layer around the top using latex glove to clean up the mess. I never had one leak. Its also been wicked cold here and with the heating and cooling of the block, still no leaks. Not like it was hard to get off so if it leaks, I'll get a new one.

So back to the question etc. It's up to you. Lots have done their own, lots have bought their kits from the vendors. Either way is easy.
 
I really like this site and the input and I respect the members and vendors and know that folks are trying to encourage a "best" practice, but I really did feel like every thread that was trying to figure out real solutions for people willing to work at this was peppered with "just buy from a vendor" to a point that seemed a little counter productive. Not in a negative way, more in a vacuum thread where every other post is buy a Turbo Master.

I appreciate threads that layout alternatives that are close to $100 cheaper, as that gives me money to spend on other things that need attention on the truck. And like one of the guys said somewhere: it irks me to throw away a good oil cooler (almost $100).

I do appreciate links to threads of this was my experience, such as nobby and others posted. I love real experience. It helps me decide if the time is worth the savings. I just kept coming back to RDM's thread thinking I can do this for $100 shipped and he works as a mechanic (not that it makes him invincible from the stupids, but something tells me I can trust what he did).

At the end of it, I am still not sure what I am going to do, as I do not have $200 for the truck foreseeable future, so I am either going to pull the trigger on the RDM solution or buy the one line I need from napa and see how long until it starts leaking.

You guys are a wealth of information, but man I have spent alot on this project!! :)
 
All the info you need is here now and yes in the end your time getting hoses made up etc is technically in the main free. I have to confess part of the reason that I DIYed is for the same reason that of throwing away a perfectly good cooler.

The metric adapters I used from parker are not that expensive either so you could go that route does create one more fitting though being as it adapts you to NPT first. Someone else posted on here I believe another make of this metric adapter that was readily available online cannot locate the post right now though. If I come across it I'll post it.

Cheers
Nobby
 
OK the thread I was remembering is this one, post number 8
http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/sh...ne-time.....-Opinion&highlight=cooler+adapter

That fitting is SAE straight thread and in fonecop's sig he lists a 95, so appears to be a solution for the earlier cooler. Figured I'd post it anyways to help feed the info in this thread.

Blimey Amazon is taking over everything, the fitting that I used as listed below is available there. So if you are internet purchasing gathering fittings etc well..............
M27 x 2.0 straight thread with viton O-ring to 1/2" NPT, Parker part# 222P-8-M127
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00270JB6K/?tag=jhuntlink-20

Here ya go Leo offer a kit for the skinflints among us that just has adapters/fittings and hose for a 100 clams. Hard work has been done for ya. :D


Cheers
Nobby
 
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both RDM and my coolers were JIC/AN fittings. His was -12 or -10, mine was -8. My block fitting was 1/2 npt to JIC-8 90* I used 2 JIC -8 Male to male straights but would have used 45's if I had em. ORB fittings are a waste of cash IMO. Almost double the price the 3 places I looked. I made an educated guess just by looking at it. If the fitting on the cooler line looks similar to the one on the cooler, then you're probably in the same boat as me, JIC/AN -8. If the cooler nut is massively bigger, you're probably looking at a 10 or 12. If you find that your fittings are huge on the cooler get some -12 to -8 and -10 to -8 45s. You can always wash em off with brake clean and take em back if you have to check more then one. If you get hydraulic hoses made, 1/2" hoses work, but you have to angle your block 90's up to clear your 4x4 adapter. If you get smaller OD hoses then it shouldn't be a problem.
 
I can't wait to get the glowplug harnesses from RDM...

I'm a huge kit fan. This topic pops up so much and some people here have 10+ years of hearing this stuff its just reflex to to say get the kit and be done with it...

To someone like me, who is not familiar in fittings and such thats what I want to hear meaning I wont even bother with the parts stores to piece this together, and just buy the kit.

Could i do it piece by piece? Of course, but I can't have my truck be down longer than sat/sun and the thought of oil cooler leaking/failing scares me to death. That makes parts availability tough, and it would take me forever.

Having a disaster and needing a new cooler and my truck be down until I get one would be horribly expensive mistake, having to wait to have one shipped to me.

Hopefully springtime I'll be able to get those GP wires that RDM makes and overhaul that part of my rig. Mine look pretty worn. The quality of those looks impressive!
 
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