Hose to Oil Cooler Failure

[Unca_Tim]

Hi guys,
Had a little problem the other night. Left side oil cooler line pulled out or forced out under pressure. Luckily I noticed it quickly and pulled over seconds after the oil warning light lit up. It was still puking oil out on the ground, so no harm done hopefully.

I'm not familiar what kind of fittings are used for this application. Is the original a pressure fit? Does it need to be specially crimped back on?

What's the best way to couple this back together without having to get an entire new hose with ends? Can I put in a short splice that can be installed with home tools?

Looks like clam removal to replace it in one piece.
I was going to post 25k miles without a problem, until this happened.

[Serebo1]

I'd replace under warranty, if applicable. You mess with it and it fails, leading to a more catastrophic failure, and I have a feeling the powers that be may say bye-bye to your coverage.

[Unca_Tim]

2005
Off warranty...

I do know about the issues with the oil cooler fittings.
I held the fitting with a 15/16 wrench while removing it.

[aschen]

I am curious how you noticed in time because it seems like you would only have seconds. I forgot what those type of fittings are but they are common in hydraulic applications. I think a hydraulic specalty shop could help you. Are there any type of crimp or thread marks inside the fitting?

[gjsmith66]

Oh boy... Good Luck. Seems to be catching.

FYI, when mine went they replaced the complete line.

[Unca_Tim]

Originally Posted by aschen

I am curious how you noticed in time because it seems like you would only have seconds. I forgot what those type of fittings are but they are common in hydraulic applications. I think a hydraulic specalty shop could help you. Are there any type of crimp or thread marks inside the fitting?

I noticed in time because it let loose just after pulling away from a stop light. (can see by the oil tracks) Felt like I was on ice. I thought, man someone musta dumped oil all over the road. Couldn't even touch the gas without spinning. Saw the oil light come on and thought, @$@#!, it's MY oil!

Pulled over immediately. Car was still idling fine. No noises. After I got out, there was still a huge puddle of oil under the car, so it apparently still had plenty of oil in it after I stopped.

I'll check out a local hydraulic shop and see what they say. Thought I might also get a little good input here.

Thanks for your thoughts....

[Unca_Tim]

Originally Posted by gjsmith66

Oh boy... Good Luck. Seems to be catching.

FYI, when mine went they replaced the complete line.

You have the same problem? It looks like it just cleanly pulled out of the fitting.

I was hoping a good shop could fab up some kind of shorty splice I could put in at home. It's in my garage now. I'd rather not have to tow it again to a shop for repairs, if there's an easy fix at home.

Thanks.....

[ZAMMY1]

if one end is bad, the other has a good chance of being bad.
if at all possible, replace it or warranty it.
else, replace both ends.
good luck,
sam

[Unca_Tim]

Originally Posted by ZAMMY1

if one end is bad, the other has a good chance of being bad.
if at all possible, replace it or warranty it.
else, replace both ends.
good luck,
sam

Interesting logic, but I'm not sure why one end failing would make the other end bad?

The main reason I'd like to fab up a shorty to fix it, is to save having to remove the entire clam.

It's the driver's side oil cooler end fitting that failed on hose 11 in the diagram below. The fitting 19 is behind a panel in the clam which, as far as I can tell, means clam removal to entirely replace the hose.

Thanks for your input....

[gjsmith66]

Ya. Oil Cooler/Line Failure at speed

Mine is now in the shop again. I will not say why yet so I don't jinx myself.

[TimMullen]

My understanding is that you have to do more than just take off the clam. It runs through the side sills.

They make "hand held" crimpers, but they usually cost a few hundred bucks. Chances are that a new fitting could be crimped onto the existing hose. You probably can not re-use the current one as it is already crimped and it would be difficult to re-insert the hose. A new fitting, crimped on properly, should fix it. You can do this with a "hand crimper", or any hydraulic shop could handle it easily.

Note that the hose fitting is not AN fittings that are popular with hot rodders and custom cars.

Another possibility is to install a standard to AN fitting and the install an AN fitting on the existing hose. They can usually be installed on hoses with a pair of wrenches to compress the fitting onto the hose. You might also be able to find "crimp-less" standard hose fittings to use instead of crimping on a new hose.

[Unca_Tim]

Originally Posted by gjsmith66

Ya. Oil Cooler/Line Failure at speed

Mine is now in the shop again. I will not say why yet so I don't jinx myself.

......sounds identical to mine. Luckily i was spinning so much from oil on the tires I couldn't go anywhere. I can only imagine having it let loose in the twisties.....talk about ice mode.....

Good luck on yours....

[Unca_Tim]

Thanks Tim,
That's the kind of suggestions I've been looking for.
I'm sure this isn't rocket science for someone who's familiar with hydraulics.

[Unca_Tim]

One last thing before I"m off to the hydraulic shop.
Anyone know the id/od of the line?

They should be able to tell from the fitting, but just in case.

Thinking about this is a bit concerning. There seems to be plenty of slack in the line. I doubt this was caused by any pulling on the line. It's got to be a fairly low pressure line, so you wouldn't think pressure could have caused it.

That only leaves about 1 cause. Poorly under crimped fitting. Makes you wonder if we should all buy a crimping tool and run around and check all the fittings?

I hate to raise alarm here, but it's something to think about.

[Ol'Racer]

You might try a couple of different things. Depends on the fitting.

1. Get an air cutter or machine shop : Cut the outer fitting off and shove the hose on the male tube and clamp it.

2. Cut a slit the length of the outer fitting (1/16") shove the hose inside and compress the outer fitting with a clamp until the slit joins together.

Get a good quality clamp --- might not be a bad idea to double clamp it.

[Unca_Tim]

Thanks Ol'Racer,
Now there's some ingenuity. I like number 1.
Probably more secure than a crimp or a splice with more fittings involved.

The dremel ought to do it....

[Unca_Tim]

Thanks again Ol'Racer,
Number one worked like a charm. I feel more secure with the fix than the factory crimp. Double clamped.

If anyone comes onto this thread in the future, be sure to open the bleeder by the oil filter, remove the fitting from the left oil cooler (drivers side) and fill the cooler with oil until the bleeder runs. I used a dish soap bottle and squirted it in there. It took almost a quart. If you take the hose out of the two retaining clips, you can lift it high enough outside the fender well to keep oil from peeing all over. Close bleeder and tighten fitting on oil cooler. Start engine and let idle for at least 5 min.

I put about 30 miles on it checking frequently. All seems well.
No unusual noises, other than that buzzy Lotus sound it's always had.


The fix took about an hour total. Cost $0, other than the cost of filter and oil it was due for anyway.

One more important note. Be sure to hold the fitting on the oil cooler with a 15/16ths open end while tightening the fitting to avoid twisting the fitting where it joins the cooler.

Feeling of satisfaction to get my baby back on the road....
Priceless.....

[jkolb]

Great stroke of luck to catch this in time! My wife had the same luck with a Porsche once - less than a quart of oil left in the engine.

The clam is too easy to remove not to do this repair properly e.g., either a new factory hose or a complete new hose fabbed up by a good hydraulic shop. The old fitting is crimped under great pressure and is not usable once it has pulled apart. I was able to remove my clam with no help in about 2 hours working very slowly and methodically using info on this forum and in the manual. Ended up sliding it off of the front and rolling it up to vertical with a large piece of foam on the garage floor padding the nose. Needed help to guide it back into place, but this too was easy.

Jerry

[Unca_Tim]

Thanks Jerry,
When you let the clutch out and feel like you're on glare ice, you definitely know there's something wrong.

I hope there's no offense, but your definition of "proper" and mine seem to differ a bit. The crimped part of the fitting no longer exists. It's in the garbage. Evidently it wasn't crimped at too high of pressure, or it wouldn't have pulled out. Double clamped on a 2 inch ribbed (for her pleasure...) nipple will never come off at what, 40-50 psi?

My guess would be the fitting will outlast the life of the hose and cooler.

I've clamped high pressure hydraulics on logging equipment (1000+ psi) and ran it for several days before I could get one fabbed up, or ordered from the nearest town.

Anyhoo....all's well that ends well. I'm not recommending this method. Just documenting it.

It was a no brainer for me. 10 minutes of wheel work, or mess with a clam.

I'll add a pic of the finished product.

[Ol'Racer]

Originally Posted by Unca_Tim

Thanks again Ol'Racer,
Number one worked like a charm. I feel more secure with the fix than the factory crimp. Double clamped.

Glad to see it worked for you. I've done it in the past on other cars (power steering and trans pressure lines) and it held better than crappy factory pressure fittings. It's especially satisfying when you don't have to tear other things apart just to do the job.