Remove oil cooler

[Vic K]

I want to remove and check the oil cooler on my 4D61. I would appreciate any insights from someone that has done this chore. Tks. Vic

[smacksman]

Vic, I have the same job to do.
I noticed my oil cooler hanging by it's pipes and the fixing bolt missing.
I drained the filthy bilge and there was the bolt and spring washer at the bottom.
I checked the bolt and it went in finger tight ok.
The fun was lifting the oil cooler and trying to fit the bolt. No wonder the previous owner dropped the bolt into the bilge and gave up!
In the process the air bleed nipple on top of the cooler fell off. There was a lot of verdigris on that end so I expect the nipple was already weeping.
So now I have to disconnect the upper oil lines connections, disconnect the water lines and get the nipple brazed back on. The nipple base seems to be brass which is bad news in sea water and shows that pink copper de-zincification of old brass.
Compare notes Vic.

[smacksman]

Well I removed my oil cooler today.
First I used a cut-off milk jug with a plastic bag liner to catch the oil - less than a cup full. The plastic bag can be drawn up under the joint to lead the flow into the main part of the bag and the jug supports the bag.



My hanging cooler with the retrieved bolt parked ...



The strap rotates quite freely round the cooler body.
I found it easier to detach to water inlet pipe to the cooler but the outlet was easier to detach at the after heat exchanger on top.

Likewise, one oil line undid easily from the oil filter housing but I couldn't shift the other. I undid it at the cooler end but it was not so easy as the pipe swivel was at the top so as I undid the bottom (on the cooler) joint, the whole oil pipe had to rotate.



It was good to take the oil cooler off as it was part blocked by three old water pump impeller vane remnants that had sheared off. Considering my layout has no raw water filter I was quite surprised at how little weed/rubbish/plastic there was in the cooler inlet. With a bit of poking about the tubes were clear.



Now I have to find someone to braze the bleed nipple back on. From the verdigris it had been leaking for some time.



All in all, I was pleased to take the cooler off as a regular maintenance check.
As with a lot of engine maintenance, items fitted to the engine before installation are much harder to remove/fit after installation.