Does anybody have any suggestions on how to loosen and remove the pesky banjo bolt that connects the oil line to the oil cooler on an 84-85 12A - short of removing the engine? I can barely get my 23mm crescent/box wrench on the thing (from above) and then there is no room to turn it without shearing off a brake line or such. Is it easier to access from below? Or is it a matter of having the "right" tool? Any input will be appreciated.

 

i use a straight box wrench with a pipe for leverage, or sometimes its easier to remove the pipe from the front cover and remove it with the oil cooler...its a bitch , but you can do it!

 

Great suggestions. I am assuming the straight box wrench with a pipe works from above? Thanks!

 

yes

 

Thanks again. I presume I will need another new washer for the other end of the pipe - if I disconnect it from the front cover?

 

Sorry - there was a double post due to Internet lag.

 

you should always replace the washers after you remove them. just for good measure.

 

Mwuah ha ha. I *just* finished getting the banjo bolt off of the eeeevil beehive oil cooler on my car (which is a poor-condition '83... the 0-rings were plastic washers :P)

I used a crescent wrench from underneath the car, then for leverage (and I kid you not) I slipped the nail-removing side of a tack-hammer into the little hole in the crescent wrench and essentially did a chin-up. The banjo let go, I got coolant in the face, and its done.

I've been fighting with the cooler for a while, and started a thread for help on the beehive setup... don't know if it applies to you, though. Its under 12A Jury Rig...

 

Hey thanks! I'll check your Jury Rig thread. Turning the banjo bolt from below sounds like the ticket to me. I can't even find a half inch of throw for the wrench from above! You've got to watch that coolant! That nasty stuff killed my kids' cat a while back (they drink it).

 

yea you'll have to get at it from underneath, I wasn't able to get it from above on either of mine when I did it. sucks about the cat, I like cats.

 

For the record, it wasn't my coolant that killed the cat. Must have been the neighbors. I like them, too. I have the vet bill to prove it.

 

coolant tastes sweet, sweet poison.

 

OK. Here is the FINAL SOLUTION. I purchased a two foot length of 1/2" black steel pipe from my local home improvement center. I am assuming 1/2" refers to the inside diameter - although it measures more like 9/16" ID. Then, from under the car, I attached the box end of a 23 mm combination wrench to the banjo bolt and slipped one end of the steel pipe (cut to 14" L in my case) over one tooth on the crescent end of the wrench. Bingo! With sufficient leverage, the bolt finally came loose and I was able to back it out about 1/8 turn at a time. You may use a longer or shorter pipe, depending on the elevation of your car. My front wheels were on ramps - so 14" was about as long as I could fit under there. I used a 10 mm box end wrench to remove the two nuts on the bottom of the cooler (forget about using a crescent). I got the top bolt off with a socket on an extension - 12 mm (I think). Putting it all back together was a cinch. If at all possible, replace the coolant & heater hoses with pre-formed OEM parts while you have everything apart. Forget about after market hoses - they will crimp badly on you. In the end, it was worth all of the hassle. My car is essentially oil leak free for the first time in years. Next repair: oil pan gasket replacement!

 

I may need a 23mm impact socket! I've already got the combo wrench.

I take-on a beehive tomorrow. Pray for me.

 

Something to consider, when I went to Mazda for the O-Rings, they said that the Banjo-Bolt washer and the washers on the pesky 'Do Not Remove' nuts are all 'crush' washers.

Just as a note to how much torque they seems to want you to put into them... good job on the tool work, I was going to use a 'cheater bar' as they call them in class, but I had a hammer nearby, and didn't have the box-end wrench I needed, soo...

I'm currently in the process of trying to put up a detailed How-To for this problem, as it seems to always come up and is hard to dig through to find information on. Maybe I'll be able to help the next person who needs to get the *@$#*! cooler off :P

 

No info in the Mazda workshop manual on exactly how much to torque down the banjo bolt (that I could find). Just tighten it as far as you can with the combo wrench (extension removed) and you should be fine. Make sure you replace the washers first. Good luck getting an impact socket into that space between the firewall and the cooler (or a socket of any kind). I double checked and the bolt on top of the cooler IS a 12 mm. Finally, make sure to change the two o-ring seals INSIDE the oil cooler after you remove it (between the finned cooling section and the mounting bracket). You will be changing a total of four o-rings.

 

It's actually in a piston to rotary swap as a temporary oil cooler solution. Yeah, it has to be out of the car to get a socket on it. Too bad I don't have one. Oh well, I'll just seperate it and change the two O rings INSIDE like you said, and install it on the engine with two more new O rings.

I'll eventually install an air oil cooler, but I've got to see how the radiator handles the extra heat load first.

 

If the engine is out of the car - this should be a cake walk for you. Have fun and good luck! I am going to replace the leaking intake manifold water jacket seals on my '84 GS next. It's a street driver with CA smog on it. Now, that should be fun - especially for a novice shade-tree mechanic like me!

 

just a tip: don't go to mazda for "O" rings. i've found u can go to places like Ace Hardware for such things. if u don't have an old one to go by, just take the part and match an "O" ring to it.

 

 

I got my o-rings from Mazdatrix.com. RX7world.com has better prices - but they get you with their flat rate shipping charges (esp. to CA). I don't think I'd take a chance on an o-ring from Ace, unless I knew for certain it could take the heat and pressure. The ones I pulled out were flat like a washer (maybe from age, heat & pressure?). The new ones I installed have a round cross section and look like they provide a better seal.

 

I'd just stick with the stock Mazda ones. I've been saving up several. I think i have like 8 extras now?

 

Mazdatrix.com & RX7world.com sell NOS OEM parts. I've found their prices to be way more competitive than the local Mazda dealers - even with the shipping. Mazdatrix ships fast. I usually receive the parts within 24 hours - but they are just up the road in Long Beach. I've bought stuff from RX7world.com, too. With the flat rate shipping, they can be competitive on the heavier parts - but are a little slower to ship. Plus, in my case, the stuff has to travel farther - all the way from South Carolina. Many times, the dealer has to special order parts for the Gen1 RX7.

 

If anyone's interested in a new banjo bolt, I've got one still in the original Mazda packaging that I bought but didn't need. If you rounded off the corners on yours, it would make a good replacement. $5 takes it. Give me a PM.

 

Aw crud, there's *four* o-rings? (mumbles, curses, and other stuff)

I just fixed two, and it seems fine now... but eech, don't wanna pull the oil cooler off again... I'm having enough trouble getting the motivation to finish fixing the starter so I can smog her all ready...