Oil cooler Q

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Oil cooler Q

Postby jethro » Tue Sep 15, 2015 6:51 pm

Driving the new rig around the yard a bit more. getting to know the clutch a little.
Today was the first time I had tightened down the coolant overflow cap ( I would assume I may have achieved some
internal pressure)
about dark I took the cap off and stuck my finger in to see If I needed more water. Water was about 1/2 way up the tank.
not particularly warm- like bathwater. Maybe 120f - no more. Didn't drive but about 5 min. Drove it about 20 min. earlier .

Anyway when I pulled my finger out I had a little glob of oil on my finger. It looked like nice clean engine oil. not grimy
residue from the cooling system. Definitely oil. I took a strong led flashlight and looked down into the water and only saw 2 more little droplets the size of a BB. The one on my finger was bigger.

My first thought was the head gasket- but I have a brand new cummins brand gasket with A1 head studs torqued to
115 ft-lbs. I did the first torque at 115. then about 3 weeks later I did another to 115. (did not run in between)
I got a little movement on a few of the studs on the 2-nd re-torque. (done on engine stand )

So Im not expecting a leak there ( I hope !!!!!)

The oil cooler however is another story.
The oil cooler is about the only part I DIDNT remove and inspect when the motor was on the stand.
It is a 93 motor. Is it likely that the cooler has a rust pinhole and the first cooling system pressurization may have
made it leak a little oil into the water ? Could it be the gasket too ? Easy enough to pressure test the cooler once its off....

I am wondering if I should drain the oil into a new 5 gallon plastic bucket and check for any water ?????? If it is OK
I can just pour it back in. (brand new rotella)

The cooler should be pretty easy to change out if needed.

Would yall suspect the cooler before the head gasket here ?
Should I run it a little more and keep checking to see if I get more Oil in the water ? (or dump the oil and water right away--)

Tim
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Re: Oil cooler Q

Postby CumminsPower59 » Wed Sep 16, 2015 6:02 am

If it were mine, I'd throw one on there just for "peace of mind". There may have been a little oil that found it's way into the cooling system when the head was off, which may be in your case, but knowing my luck if it were mine, I'd have the thing all buttoned up and a few months later the oil cooler would fail. They aren't terribly expensive anyways ;)
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Re: Oil cooler Q

Postby jethro » Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:24 pm

yes they appear to be 60 to 90$ for a new core. I think I can get to it pretty easy.....
It kind of goes against what I was trying to accomplish when I ignored it. not sure why I did.
I think I will change it .

Got to thinking and remembering back- my last antique car had a 500 cubic inch straight six cylinder. I had the
head off the repair a small crack in the water jacket - so I put a new gasket on it. I remember now I had to do 5 or 6
re-torques on it. It also taught be another odd lesson. It was a non pressurized water system. I filled it with water before
I started it back up. ran it for about a month about every other day during the re-torques. Ran it just enough to bring the water temp up. then re-torqued once it was completely cool. I had used a coating of copper spray-a-gasket to fill any imperfections. It would squeeze out a little at the outer edge from the head tightening and the gasket compressing.
After each re-torque the nuts would move a little- and a little more copper spray would squeeze out. Each torqueing would
yield a little movement but it reduced each time so that after the 4 or 5 it has pretty much stopped moving. That was what I was waiting to see. All was well at that point. I continued to run it for about another month with no more sealant squeeze-out.
the buyers told me that since it would be living in new York instead of florida it would be freeze proofed. So a few days before they arrived I put in a 50-50 prestone/water mix. Started it up and ran it- after it cooled down I noticed more copper sealant squeezing out the interface. What the heck ?????
I thought about the prestone's effect.
Pure water boils at 212 F. Water+ prestone boils at maybe 250. With pure water the engine temp could never go above 212 no matter how much heat it generated. So when I added the prestone it allowed the mix to go to a higher temp- and no higher. So that new higher temp cycle hot it hotter than it had ever been and allowed some more copper spray to ooze out.
So I told them to continue re-torqueing for a few more cycles.

Point-
when i put my pressure cap on for the first time it allowed the motor to be slightly hotter than it had been with the cap loose.
(pressure raises the boiling point) So maybe (?) that new higher temp may have caused a little seepage somewhere.
I think I remember over on the corner of the head gasket there are several little round silicone doughnuts that separate water and oil across them (the better gaskets are said to have those islands thicker so they seal better) perhaps I have some seepage there.
I think I will do another re-torque in the engine bay (maybe multiple if needed) and see if that solves it. I think with A1 studs now (and NOT bolts) I can re-torque as many times as I need with no danger. I think I will do the cooler and its gasket too.

T
Last edited by jethro on Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Oil cooler Q

Postby BC847 » Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:34 pm

Image
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Re: Oil cooler Q

Postby jethro » Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:59 pm

that's the booger there !

are they stainless or plain steel ? (magnet?)
If they are plain steel it would make me want to change it more !
Is it an interstate-McBee 3921558 ?

T
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