Oil Cooler Leak

So I've had oil dripping off the bottom of my filter through multiple oil changes, just recently had the O-ring at the top of the cooler replaced. That didn't solve the problem. Filter seems tight enough.

 

Doesn't look like the sides of the oil cooler body above the filter have any oil on them, nor does the short line that comes down and 90's with a short hose into the inlet or discharge of the cooler (that would be coolant anyway, I assume). I do see signs of oil at the joint of the cooler base and the inlet or discharge coolant tubes, where they meet the base of the cooler. Does it make sense that oil would be leaking here if the joint were fatigued?

 

I'm using about a quart every 750 miles or so, some may be burnt (115K miles), the rest certainly leaked. I know I need to fix it eventually, but in the short run is there a risk of catostrophic failure where something lets go and I dump all my oil on the road? I'd like to at least get a few thousand miles on my 2 week old Mobil 1 EP oil change.

 

If I do have to replace the cooler, it looks like you drain the coolant, disconnect and replace the short elbow hoses, short coolant pipe (rusted), and clips as needed. It also looks like the same pipe that the oil filter threads onto also threads into the block, and holds the cooler in place. Are this pipe and the cooler difficult to remove?

 

This seems like a pretty straightforward job, but I'm a relative novice who has a healthy respect for the unanticipated, and I work pretty slowly. Any tips would be appreciated.

bump - any thoughts?

Here's a helpful link on changing out the oil cooler gasket.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/36964-diy-how-replace-oil-cooler-gasket-oil-filter-leak.html

 

I've never had to change one out myself as I haven't had the problem yet. The other area you could check is the oil pump gasket for leaks. If you already paid to have the cooler gasket replaced then i would bring it back to them.

Ended up replacing the whole cooler. Had Dent Sport Garage replace the clutch yesterday, figured I'd have them do the cooler at the same time and save myself the aggravation. We ruled out everything else that seemed logical, ended up deciding the cooler must be at fault. No oil leaks evident this am after 50 miles of driving, appears to be fixed. They were able to re-use the Mobil 1 EP that I'd JUST changed, at least, so that helped ease my pain a bit.

 

I get stuff like clutches, brakes, fuel system stuff, and even turbos needing replacement, but its c&*%$ like this that really annoys me. Its a simple heat exchanger, shouldn't leak after 7 years, especially when its a $215 part with no moving parts. Perhaps I'm unrealistic.....

Hard to say but, may be when they repalces the o-ring they didn't install it right or something happened.

 

I don't recall the oil cooler itself leaking and anyones car.

 

But it seems your all set now.

 

Next time may be put your post in the 4th gen forum. You may get more hit's on it.

It sounds like mine has the same issue. I found oil came from the filter and I changed my oil last Saturday and there was quite an amount of oil on the garage floor. I made sure I tightened it up pretty good when I put the filter on. I will check the leaking tonight if the oil is coming from the filter. Then, it probably from the o-ring.

Ended up replacing the whole cooler. Had Dent Sport Garage replace the clutch yesterday, figured I'd have them do the cooler at the same time and save myself the aggravation. We ruled out everything else that seemed logical, ended up deciding the cooler must be at fault. No oil leaks evident this am after 50 miles of driving, appears to be fixed. They were able to re-use the Mobil 1 EP that I'd JUST changed, at least, so that helped ease my pain a bit.

 

I get stuff like clutches, brakes, fuel system stuff, and even turbos needing replacement, but its c&*%$ like this that really annoys me. Its a simple heat exchanger, shouldn't leak after 7 years, especially when its a $215 part with no moving parts. Perhaps I'm unrealistic.....

 

Did this fix the leak?

It did. Sold the car more than a year ago, so this repair is probably 2 years old at this point. Leak was where the tube enters the cylinder of the cooler. Not hard to replace if the car is on a lift, PITA if not.

Having this problem right now.. Thank god for this thread

i just did this and there's a lot of dirt and grit that can work its way into the receiving surface for the oil cooler. i also suspect that mechs way over tighten the filters in an attempt to stop the leaking. when i finally got everything down there was dirt that prevented a good seal on the o-ring. tip - take out the heat shield that gets in the way of the coolant pipes. i finally took off the four screws holding it in place and did in 10 minutes what took me the better part of an hour or more of maneuvering to get the hoses off.