Replacing Oil Cooler Lines
09-14-05, 03:58 PM
#1
Rotary Freak
Thread Starter
Replacing Oil Cooler Lines
Oil Cooler Lines R/R
Why:
A little more than two years ago, I started noticing a lot of fluids on my garage floor. They seemed like a combination of oil, brake, and PS fluid. I replaced the lines going to the PS, but I still would see a lot of fluid on the floor. Because I did not have a lot of time I was working out of state at the time I took the car to the Columbia, SC area Mazda dealer and asked them to identify the leak. They said they would hold onto the car for a week while I was away and let me know what was needed.
When I got back to town, I was told the oil cooler lines needed to be replaced for $1200. I decided that for that price, I would do the job myself. I paid them for the diagnostic and left. I purchased replacement oil cooler lines from NOPI, but it was not until now that I have had the time to put them on
While doing this job, I figured I might as well do a write-up for those of you who might be interested in doing this job. For those who think this is too elementary, please feel free to add constructive comments.
While doing this job, I found that getting the line off of the front of the engine was impossible without destroying it (I will explain why later). But since my goal was to replace it anyway, I did not care. For those who need to replace the line, but do not want to destroy it, maybe someone else can give a better way to remove it.
Tools Required:
Now that the oil lines are out of the car, I will make the following observations.
Altogether, I estimate that this is a 3 hour job. Tomorrow, when I go to pick up the crush rings I ordered, I will finish this job.
While you are here:
While you are working in this area, there are many other parts that are exposed. You may want to consider checking/replacing them at this time.
Why:
A little more than two years ago, I started noticing a lot of fluids on my garage floor. They seemed like a combination of oil, brake, and PS fluid. I replaced the lines going to the PS, but I still would see a lot of fluid on the floor. Because I did not have a lot of time I was working out of state at the time I took the car to the Columbia, SC area Mazda dealer and asked them to identify the leak. They said they would hold onto the car for a week while I was away and let me know what was needed.
When I got back to town, I was told the oil cooler lines needed to be replaced for $1200. I decided that for that price, I would do the job myself. I paid them for the diagnostic and left. I purchased replacement oil cooler lines from NOPI, but it was not until now that I have had the time to put them on
While doing this job, I figured I might as well do a write-up for those of you who might be interested in doing this job. For those who think this is too elementary, please feel free to add constructive comments.
While doing this job, I found that getting the line off of the front of the engine was impossible without destroying it (I will explain why later). But since my goal was to replace it anyway, I did not care. For those who need to replace the line, but do not want to destroy it, maybe someone else can give a better way to remove it.
Tools Required:
10 mm socket to remove the splash guard, engine fan, battery and battery box, loosen the pulleys
17 mm socket to loosen the power steering idler
22 mm socket to loosen the air-conditioner idler
23 mm socket to remove the front line from the oil cooler
21 mm open wrench
25 mm flare wrench
Vise Grip Pliers
Parts Required: 17 mm socket to loosen the power steering idler
22 mm socket to loosen the air-conditioner idler
23 mm socket to remove the front line from the oil cooler
21 mm open wrench
25 mm flare wrench
Vise Grip Pliers
New Hoses
Crush Rings for Hoses
Crush Ring for Front Cover fitting
Procedure: Crush Rings for Hoses
Crush Ring for Front Cover fitting
1. remove the driver side upper grill cover
2. loosen the 23 mm bolt securing the front line to the oil cooler
3. lift the car and loosen each of the 3 oil cooler line banjo bolts. I loosened them all at the beginning, because I wanted to be sure none are stuck which would determine if I was going to go through with this job at this time
4. remove the battery and the battery box
5. remove the engine side radiator splash guard
6. remove the fan
7. remove the fan shroud
8. remove the air-conditioner belt
9. remove the power steering belt
10. using the 21 mm open to hold the fitting in place, disconnect the hose using the 25 mm flare. In my case, I could not get the hose to disconnect from the fitting, so, using the 25 mm (because it has the best grip), I loosened the entire fitting and hose from the front cover.
11. there is a two piece metal connector with rubber cushions, and a through bolt holding the two oil hoses together near the front cover fitting. Use the 10 mm to remove the coupling
12. then, using vise grips, I was able to worry the metal tube at the end of the rubber hose until it snapped. (I had to do this because even after breaking the fitting loose from the front cover, there is not enough room to spin the entire hose to remove the hose and fitting.)
13. There is no need to worry about spilling oil from the severed hose until the fitting on the oil cooler is loose enough to pass air; but you will want to have a catch bucket in place anyway.
14. Once the fitting and cut off end of the hose was removed from the car, I placed the 21 mm and 25 mm wrenches back on the coupling at a 160 degree angle and sitting the wrenches on a wood plank, used the hammer to whale on the fitting until the connection was broken.
15. Because I had removed the coupling from the front plate, I had to get a new crush ring. The only place I could find them was at Mazda for around $2.00 each. I purchased two one just in case.
16. The other banjo bolts came free relatively easily.
17. But before pulling the rear hose free, reach through the hoses and wires on the driver side of the engine bay to snip the zip tie that holds the oil level sender to hose, otherwise you may end up ripping the wires of the sender loose.
Observations:2. loosen the 23 mm bolt securing the front line to the oil cooler
3. lift the car and loosen each of the 3 oil cooler line banjo bolts. I loosened them all at the beginning, because I wanted to be sure none are stuck which would determine if I was going to go through with this job at this time
4. remove the battery and the battery box
5. remove the engine side radiator splash guard
6. remove the fan
7. remove the fan shroud
8. remove the air-conditioner belt
9. remove the power steering belt
10. using the 21 mm open to hold the fitting in place, disconnect the hose using the 25 mm flare. In my case, I could not get the hose to disconnect from the fitting, so, using the 25 mm (because it has the best grip), I loosened the entire fitting and hose from the front cover.
11. there is a two piece metal connector with rubber cushions, and a through bolt holding the two oil hoses together near the front cover fitting. Use the 10 mm to remove the coupling
12. then, using vise grips, I was able to worry the metal tube at the end of the rubber hose until it snapped. (I had to do this because even after breaking the fitting loose from the front cover, there is not enough room to spin the entire hose to remove the hose and fitting.)
13. There is no need to worry about spilling oil from the severed hose until the fitting on the oil cooler is loose enough to pass air; but you will want to have a catch bucket in place anyway.
14. Once the fitting and cut off end of the hose was removed from the car, I placed the 21 mm and 25 mm wrenches back on the coupling at a 160 degree angle and sitting the wrenches on a wood plank, used the hammer to whale on the fitting until the connection was broken.
15. Because I had removed the coupling from the front plate, I had to get a new crush ring. The only place I could find them was at Mazda for around $2.00 each. I purchased two one just in case.
16. The other banjo bolts came free relatively easily.
17. But before pulling the rear hose free, reach through the hoses and wires on the driver side of the engine bay to snip the zip tie that holds the oil level sender to hose, otherwise you may end up ripping the wires of the sender loose.
Now that the oil lines are out of the car, I will make the following observations.
1. The old oil lines are dry as a bone, not a sign of oil on them. I know now that when I paid for a diagnostic from the Mazda dealer, all I got was a wall job.
Those lying-sacks-of-sh*t probably didnt even look at the car. I caught them doing this once before, but that was when they were under different ownership and had different service advisors. This just reaffirms to me they cannot be trusted and will never see my car in the service department again. The funny thing is that the parts guys are great. Very helpful, and they always give me a good discount (compared to prices at other dealers.)
This poor opinion of the service department is in contrast with the Tim Marberger dealership (Now Concord Mazda?) In concord NC, who used to give me great service, great advice, and used to be willing to talk me through some of the more complex jobs I chose to do myself.
2. At 200K miles, it looks like there was no need at all to replace the oil lines. I am thinking the car could have gone on for another 100K easy without problems. But I guess, I will have peace of mind when I am finished.
3. The NOPI oil lines I purchased as a replacement are nowhere near as robust. The OEM lines are mostly hard pipes with braided hose on the line where it dies not come close to the engine. I am not sure I want to install the NOPI units. Instead, I may try purchase the OEM units although they are very expensive.
4. My oil leak is coming from the oil pan.
Attached is a photo of the old and the new rear hoses.Those lying-sacks-of-sh*t probably didnt even look at the car. I caught them doing this once before, but that was when they were under different ownership and had different service advisors. This just reaffirms to me they cannot be trusted and will never see my car in the service department again. The funny thing is that the parts guys are great. Very helpful, and they always give me a good discount (compared to prices at other dealers.)
This poor opinion of the service department is in contrast with the Tim Marberger dealership (Now Concord Mazda?) In concord NC, who used to give me great service, great advice, and used to be willing to talk me through some of the more complex jobs I chose to do myself.
2. At 200K miles, it looks like there was no need at all to replace the oil lines. I am thinking the car could have gone on for another 100K easy without problems. But I guess, I will have peace of mind when I am finished.
3. The NOPI oil lines I purchased as a replacement are nowhere near as robust. The OEM lines are mostly hard pipes with braided hose on the line where it dies not come close to the engine. I am not sure I want to install the NOPI units. Instead, I may try purchase the OEM units although they are very expensive.
4. My oil leak is coming from the oil pan.
Altogether, I estimate that this is a 3 hour job. Tomorrow, when I go to pick up the crush rings I ordered, I will finish this job.
While you are here:
While you are working in this area, there are many other parts that are exposed. You may want to consider checking/replacing them at this time.
Oil Metering Pump
Oil Metering Lines
Upper and lower radiator hoses
Radiator
Water pump
AC Pump
PS Pump
Oil Metering Lines
Upper and lower radiator hoses
Radiator
Water pump
AC Pump
PS Pump
04-03-06, 07:19 PM
#5
Rotary Freak
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Twofer
Bump, because this thread never got the luv. (And I found it useful)
Originally Posted by fcdrifter13
This needs to be archived. I am doing the same thing but I am having trouble getting my old lines off the cooler.
- If you have already removed any of the oil cooler hardware, put it back.
- For the top cooler line to cooler, use a 1/2" drive 23mm and a long cheater.
- Pull on that sucker till the banjo breaks loose (some penetrating oil would normally help, but I don't think it will get into the banjo threads - but give it a try if you feel more comfortable with it)
- For the lower line, use a long shanked box wrench
04-03-06, 08:15 PM
#6
I Dislike Everything
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Little bit of information. You can also go to a hydraulic lines shop, and give them the lengths that you need, exact psi you want the lines to be tested up to, and they can even get them steel braided. Ooooooh! 
And it might even be cheaper than buying already made ones. Good for the archive, a blown oil cooler line is what blew up an engine for me about a year ago.
And it might even be cheaper than buying already made ones. Good for the archive, a blown oil cooler line is what blew up an engine for me about a year ago.
04-03-06, 11:17 PM
#7
I am the stig.
In my case the bottom OC bolt would not come loose. I ended up removing the lines from the engine and dragging them out with the OC then clamping the OC to a bench while my friend leaned on it.
Front engine bolt - Wrench, no prob.
Rear engine bolt - Ratchet with short cheater bar
Top OC bolt - Ratchet with medium cheater bar
Bottom OC bolt - Clamped to a table and torqued loose by beefy friend with 18" breaker bar and impact wrench sockets.
My new Racing Beat lines are bling. My friend pointed out that all the fittings say "EARLS"... which is the same brand you get from the hydraulic shop. My hat's off to Racing Beat. It's an open market and if people want to pay more for the same product, they have the right to do so. With my stock setup, the AN fittings are just fine, no clearance issues.
Note: It's easier to attach lines to oil cooler first, then bolt up oil cooler. And it also helps to have a friend wrangle the lines around in the engine bay while you're underneath swearing at all the grime falling on your face.
Note 2: If you're worried about the rubber mounts for the OC, put a piece of wood on the OC side and clamp it. (See picture) This then puts the stress on your OC mounting brackets, which in my case looked a little rusty... which is why I removed the whole thing and clamped it to a table.
Front engine bolt - Wrench, no prob.
Rear engine bolt - Ratchet with short cheater bar
Top OC bolt - Ratchet with medium cheater bar
Bottom OC bolt - Clamped to a table and torqued loose by beefy friend with 18" breaker bar and impact wrench sockets.
My new Racing Beat lines are bling. My friend pointed out that all the fittings say "EARLS"... which is the same brand you get from the hydraulic shop. My hat's off to Racing Beat. It's an open market and if people want to pay more for the same product, they have the right to do so. With my stock setup, the AN fittings are just fine, no clearance issues.
Note: It's easier to attach lines to oil cooler first, then bolt up oil cooler. And it also helps to have a friend wrangle the lines around in the engine bay while you're underneath swearing at all the grime falling on your face.
Note 2: If you're worried about the rubber mounts for the OC, put a piece of wood on the OC side and clamp it. (See picture) This then puts the stress on your OC mounting brackets, which in my case looked a little rusty... which is why I removed the whole thing and clamped it to a table.
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07-14-06, 10:27 AM
#8
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question about this write up
couldn't you do all this work without removing or loosening all the fan/power steer/ac stuff. I mean can't you just get under the car (putting the car on a ramp) and gain access to all the lines this way?
couldn't you do all this work without removing or loosening all the fan/power steer/ac stuff. I mean can't you just get under the car (putting the car on a ramp) and gain access to all the lines this way?
07-14-06, 11:14 AM
#10
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Originally Posted by CosmicButtHairs
question about this write up
couldn't you do all this work without removing or loosening all the fan/power steer/ac stuff. I mean can't you just get under the car (putting the car on a ramp) and gain access to all the lines this way?
couldn't you do all this work without removing or loosening all the fan/power steer/ac stuff. I mean can't you just get under the car (putting the car on a ramp) and gain access to all the lines this way?
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