My 88 GTU has recently sprung an oil leak. I noticed it spraying oil on the front fan shroud, and have traced the leak to the oil cooler line. I've heard it's typical for these cars. Is it likely that the whole line is bad? Or is it common for it to just be the crush washer/banjo bolt? Any pointers would be appreciated.
Also, would it make more sense to fix/replace the oem line, or to replace with aftermarket lines? I've seen the one's from banzai racing, but they require you to relocate the AC.

 

I replaced the original oil cooler lines in my S5 while doing an engine replacement back in Aug 2002. At the time, they were soaked with oil from a slow leak. I replaced them with SS braided oil cooler hoses that I bought from Mazda Motor Sports. The MMS p/n was 0000-01-7602. They were a direct fit replacement.

 

That's great to hear. Did you figure out why the original lines failed? Was it the line itself, or the washer/banjo bolt?

 

The original Mazda oil cooler lines were cloth covered rubber hoses and were know to have a limited lifespan. It might have been that the hose started leaking where they we crimped to the banjo fitting. Mine were about 12 years old at the time of replacement. The washer banjo bolts were fine.

 

Gotcha. Did you have a link the the braided lines you used? Can't seem to find it on MMS website.

 

Here's their website https://www.mazdamotorsports.com/. It looks like that p/n is no longer available. You might want to checkout these websites rx7.com, mazdatrix.com or racingbeat.com.