Really bad oil mess
 

Alright i just installed my new oil cooler...and now oil is spitting outta the connection like crazy.....i put teflon tape on the threads before install so im thinking that the oil is actually coming outta the bottom of one of the lines where it connects to its adapter....is there anyway that i can fix this problem without buying new lines....and if i do buy new lines has anybody bought the steel braided set from mazdatrix...just wondering on the difference in pressure handling...thx....parker

You dont use telfon tape on these.

Did you install new copper washers?

If the fitting is not on there tight it will spring a leak. I have put together an oil line myself, it's not complicated. But you really want to see one put together before you work on one.

You might be able to pop the red fitting (that threads onto oil cooler) loose, put the blue fitting (that threads onto braided line on one end, and red fitting on other end) and stick the blue fittin into your vise and crank the hose clockwise to tighten it up. Then tighten red onto blue. New crush washers and teflon tape on the oil cooler fitting. Assemble.

I do use teflon tape on my oil lines, it does help seal. Oh, I would reccomend taking the red fitting all the way off and putting fresh teflon on it's threads, where it threads onto blue.

Whatever you do, don't take the blue fitting off. Because when it is installed onto the bradied line, it spreads and streches the bradided line. And you cannot put the blue fitting back onto a spread and streched braided line. Only way is to cut the top off the line and start over :(.

I think he has stock lines not ones he has built.

ya hades12 is correct....i still have stock lines...i was just asking about purchasing the steel braided lines if i cant fix my stock ones.....when it comes to the washers...what are u talking about?...i dont remember seeing any washers when i removed the original oil cooler....any help on that one..thanks...parker

go to mazdatrix.com and search oil section. They're simple crush washers that go inbetween oil line and oil cooler. Should be replaced every time.

And if you're really into reliability, Earl's makes a doudy seal that is a stronger thicker washer with a rubber inner lining. Oooooooo...... That's what I use.

A word of caution;

Overtightening oil cooler lines can lead to worse leaks than undertightening them, or not having the crush washers installed. This is in regard to the Front Mount Oil Coolers common to the 80 and 84/85 SE's.

When you reinstall the oil cooler lines, get them snug, but not 'tight'. With the car still up on stands, start the engine and monitor oil pressure, then get under there and tighten the lines JUST ENOUGH that the leaks stop. Any more than that, and you risk cracking the oil cooler line bungs on the cooler. Once cracked, you'll need a good heliarc welder to clean up the threads, cut and weld. Not cheap, and certainly avoidable. HTH,

You must be VERY careful when tightening the hoses. You may have cracked the housing where the hoses screw in. I wouldn't use teflon tape, the crush washers will be enough. Use 2 wrenches, one to hold the fitting on the cooler and one for the hose. If you only use one wrench on the hose, you'll apply too much pressure to the aluminum housing.
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The crush washer goes between the fitting and the cooler. there should also be one on the fitting in the front cover, And maybe on the one in the rear. I can not remember about the one in the rear.

Very true. I think where many get into trouble is when they decide to re-use old crush washers. It takes more torque to get a proper seal with these old washers than if they'd only sprung the extra buck or so for new ones from Mazda. The result is a hairline crack in the oil cooler at the fitting.

I've heard of some who just heat the old washers and anneal (soften) them by cooling them back down slowly, but this seems imprecise and un-necessary considering how inexpensive new ones are.

If you've already cracked your oil cooler it shouldn't cost more than about $60 or so to have a professional welding shop fix them for you, provided you bring the oil cooler to them rather than have them re and re. That's what I ended up paying them after buying a used oil cooler that had already been cracked by a previous owner. It's held up just fine, and with no teflon tape.

The below-the-radiator oil cooler system / assembly gets my vote for the poorest engineered, trouble causing mess of a part ever developed by Mazda. It leaks, it gets cracks that can't be welded, it gets the opossum I hit doing 87 MPH, it gets the piece of firewood I hit doing 70something...

I wish they's incorporate it into the windshield like they did the antennas :rlaugh:

Not quite--- the worst piece of shit arrangement Mazda ever cursed us with on these cars is the inefficient "beehive" coolant-to-oil heat exchanger type oil cooler found on the '83 to '85 12A engine. There's a very good reason Mazda quit using that one.

As for the under-rad arrangement, that's where oil coolers on most cars are placed. The trick is to place a custom-made protective bumper in front of them that won't impede air flow--- especially if you're in the habit of hitting opossums, firewood and other objects at high speed.

These coolers will crack and leak if fittings are overtightened (especially if re-using crush washers instead of springing for the measily buck or two for new ones), same as any other cooler. But they are repairable for about $60, no matter what some radiator shop told you in an effort to sell you a new one. And they're so efficient that the racing community has been snapping them up for decades. :cool: