How to repair leaking oil cooler

Status
Not open for further replies.

006

Slow mustang :(
Established Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
3,949
Location
Los Angeles
Hey Ken
Finally got all the oil out the cooling system for sure now and everything is tight and no oil lose anymore. Thanks for all your help and a great product and a huge money saver so I can spend money on performance and not repairs.

You're VERY welcome dude. Thanks for the update. :rockon:
 

00Whitey

Member
Established Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2010
Messages
177
Location
SC
Just finished up with the Speed Concepts kit. Not to bad, def. take the oil cooler off to get to the the block adapter. I also used a bit of high temp RTV to seal up the internal orings. Great kit from Ken and super guy, reps !
 

shurur

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
3,760
Location
Lutz, FL
I had my radiator going low..and giving a radiator light...and having to top off the radiator over a period of time. It turned out to be the oil cooler seal. So you don't always get oil dripping as the indicator.
 

mpm

Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Jax, FL
I have an oil leak coming from behind one of the bolts, would that be a leaky gasket between the cooler and the block?

I would believe so. This is where my leak appears to be coming from as well. I've yet to take off the accessories to remove the adapter block to replace the gasket.
 

Closer_2001

New Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
4
Location
League City, TX
Wanted to thank the OP on this and also Speed Concepts.
1. As a noob to Mustangs, the thread saved me a bunch of hassle trying to track down a strange coolant leak.

2. Speed Concepts is a great vendor. I ordered the kit right before Christmas and received a personal phone call clarifying my shipping needs. SC made sure the parts got to me in time for me to work on the car over the holiday.

For anyone concerned with separating the cooler from the housing - I found stoppers at Home Depot and used a little air pressure combined with the screwdriver to effortlessly separate the parts.

It was apart and back together in under an hour.

Great site!
 
Last edited:

SilverNotch

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
756
Location
Tampa,FL
Agreed! Ken is great and makes sure all your questions and concerns are answered.
 
Last edited:

SCUBAFreaky

New Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Seabrook, TX
Additional Questions for Oil Cooler Repair

This OP is awesome!! And kudos to the whole thread as well. I replaced the adapter to block gasket last year on my 2001 Cobra but I only knew about 1 of the 6 other seals before I broke into the system. I put RTV on the seals I had access to, but didn’t even know that the cooler was “serviceable” or even needed service at the time. After my “repair” I was still leaking coolant like crazy and leaking oil into the coolant system. And then…I found this thread. Totally stoked!!

I have a few additional questions that I’m hoping someone can help me with. Since I’m going to put in an order to an online supplier for 4 of the o-rings, does anyone know the thickness, ID & OD of the cooler to adapter oil seal (Ford P/N 6L621) and the cooler to adapter coolant seal (Ford P/N: 6881 HR1) as well? If you know the Viton AS568A dash numbers, that would even be better!! I did read that the 6L621 seal is the same as the internal cooler face (axial) seal. Can someone confirm that? And is that true for most versions of the cooler? Specifically, a 2001 Cobra?

Also, I read on a thread somewhere that someone used Simple Green to clean the oil out of their coolant system after the repair but I can’t remember where I read that. Are there suggestions of good ways to clean out the coolant system once it’s been contaminated with oil?

And lastly just want to confirm the seal part numbers after more folks have tried this repair:
Block to adapter gasket: Ford P/N F6AZ-6840-AA or Felpro 70415 (already installed)
Adapter to cooler oil seal: Ford P/N 6L621 or Viton AS568A-233 (Confirm?)
Adapter to cooler coolant seal: Ford P/N HR1 or Viton AS568A-??? (Would love to know this dash #)
Internal cooler face/axial seal: Viton AS568A-233
Internal cooler lower radial seal: Viton AS568A-234 (nearest the face seal)
Internal cooler upper radial seal: Viton AS568A-237
Oil filter stud seal: Viton AS568A-019

Any additional thoughts or comments?
 

SilverNotch

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
756
Location
Tampa,FL
I wouldn't use simple green, after doing my rebuild of my oil cooler I had to warm my car up and do several flushes on different occasions to get it all out. It doesn't do damage just takes time to get it all out of everything. It looks a lot worse then it is. I would just order the kit from speed concepts as everything is there and its not expensive. Oil cooler o-ring gaskets & hex tool set 1996-2004 Cobra/GT, Speed Concepts Great guy and excellent customer service.
 

SCUBAFreaky

New Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Seabrook, TX
I wouldn't use simple green, after doing my rebuild of my oil cooler I had to warm my car up and do several flushes on different occasions to get it all out. It doesn't do damage just takes time to get it all out of everything. It looks a lot worse then it is. Oil cooler o-ring gaskets & hex tool set 1996-2004 Cobra/GT, Speed Concepts Great guy and excellent customer service.

Yeah, Simple Green seemed kinda harsh to me. I'm also replacing the radiator at the same time because it is leaking too. I'll probably flush the system before replacing it though as to not muck up the new one. I would certainly entertain any other tricks for removing the oil residue if anybody has any.

I would just order the kit from speed concepts as everything is there and its not expensive. Oil cooler o-ring gaskets & hex tool set 1996-2004 Cobra/GT, Speed Concepts Great guy and excellent customer service.

Certainly Speed Concepts has come up a lot in this thread and I've noticed that you really like them based on your experience with them. That's kewl. With that said though $55 (plus shipping) seemed kinda high to me considering what the actual cost of Viton O-rings is. Sorry, that's the engineer in me. Plus I've already replaced the gasket recently and I have the 12mm tool as well since I already attempted the repair once. I unfortunately need to do the repair all in one day so in the end I may reluctantly have to order from them if no one knows what size the coolant o-ring is. Otherwise once I have the cooler back off the car I could just measure the O-ring myself and then make my order. Hopefully someone can help me out so my car doesn't have to sit in pieces for a couple of days!! Nonetheless, definitely thanks for the link SilverNotch!
 

mpm

Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Jax, FL
This OP is awesome!! And kudos to the whole thread as well. I replaced the adapter to block gasket last year on my 2001 Cobra but I only knew about 1 of the 6 other seals before I broke into the system.

When you removed the oil filter adapter from the block, how did you access the upper left (front of car) bolt that holds the adapter to the block? I don't recall if the '01 has its power steering pump in the same place as an '04 cobra or not. Please forgive me if they are different.
 

SilverNotch

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
756
Location
Tampa,FL
No problem scubafreaky if it wasn't for this forum I would've bought an oil cooler for 450 so it's all about helping each other out. As for your question mpm the oil cooler has to be put on and taken off in two separate pieces. You have remove the oil filter shaft and then pull the cooler housing to get to all the base bolts. Let me know if that helps.
 

SCUBAFreaky

New Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Seabrook, TX
When you removed the oil filter adapter from the block, how did you access the upper left (front of car) bolt that holds the adapter to the block? I don't recall if the '01 has its power steering pump in the same place as an '04 cobra or not. Please forgive me if they are different.

Not sure if our power steering pumps are in the same spot or not on our cars, but I totally agree with SilverNotch that the filter stud (bolt with the 12mm hex key) should be removed allowing the cooler to be separated from the adapter. Once the cooler is out of the way, this should give you the access you need to remove that last crazy bolt. It's also been recommended to remove the front drivers side wheel for better access. I think I will try that this time. i did the whole thing from the bottom last time and it was very tiresome. Good luck!!
 

mpm

Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Jax, FL
....back at it again. My leak grew worse and now I have a whole new problem. I have the driver's side wheel off, the sway bar removed, and pulled the snazy plastic curtain out of the way. I started cranking the filter stud clockwise and found that the further I wrenched the stud the more resistance I encountered. Now I'm at the point where a breaker bar nor an impact wrench will turn the stud. My guess is that one of the o-rings on the stud has moved and is causing interference. Here's the real question. Will I be able to remove the adapter if I am not able to remove the oil filter stud?

This has become a giant mess and I'm about to light the engine on fire...:xpl:
 

SilverNotch

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
756
Location
Tampa,FL
You would have to remove the oil filter stud as the cooler is sandwiched between that and the block plate.
 

mpm

Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Jax, FL
You would have to remove the oil filter stud as the cooler is sandwiched between that and the block plate.

The oil filter stud isn't moving. I'm putting so much torque on it that its moving the engine and starting to flex breaker bars.
 

mpm

Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Jax, FL
Have you tried while the motor is hot or with a little heat?

I was trying avoid artificial heat due to all the rubber/plastic in that area. But now that you mention it, when the engine was "warm" the stud was moving the most. I just soaked it in PB Blast and will take the torch to it in the morning. I was really hoping that I was forgetting something, but I guess not.

Rock and roll.
 

mpm

Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Jax, FL
Even with heat applied to the aluminum housing surrounding the oils filter stud, nothing has loosened up.
 

SilverNotch

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
756
Location
Tampa,FL
Can you loosen the bolts on the base plate? You may be able to loosen those and get the unit off. Not sure if it's possible but you might be able to get to them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread



Top