Oil Cooler DIY?

[BoxSinit]

Hello all. Its been awhile. I have the dreaded chocolate milkshake in the coolant reservoir. I've had recently lost  a quart or two of oil. There's no coolant on the oil dipstick (looks great). Car temp is steady at 190 degrees. I'm going to start wit the oil cooler. It looks like a simple job. I haven't taken a look as of yet (I'm at work). I did a search but I didn't see anything. Anyone have any suggestions? Torque specs? Parts needed? I really would appreciate any info. Going to get started on this when I get home.  I have an 2002 Boxster S. Thanks.

Edited May 6, 2016 by BoxSinit

[crwarren11]

Manual or tiptronic transmission?  I would drain a bit of oil from both the engine and the transmission to check them for intermix (chocolate milkshake).  Oil cooler is pretty straightforward, just messy.  I've heard about quite a few transmission oil coolers failing, but not really engine oil coolers, so I suggest checking for intermix in both to be sure.

 

Engine oil cooler specs attached.  oil cooler.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

[crwarren11]

Just in case...atf cooler attached here.  atf cooler.pdf

 

[JFP in PA]

Hello all. Its been awhile. I have the dreaded chocolate milkshake in the coolant reservoir. I've had recently lost  a quart or two of oil. There's no coolant on the oil dipstick (looks great). Car temp is steady at 190 degrees. I'm going to start wit the oil cooler. It looks like a simple job. I haven't taken a look as of yet (I'm at work). I did a search but I didn't see anything. Anyone have any suggestions? Torque specs? Parts needed? I really would appreciate any info. Going to get started on this when I get home.  I have an 2002 Boxster S. Thanks.

 

That PDF file is more than a little out of date.  On your Boxster, the oil cooler is accessible by simply draining the cooling system and removing the air tube running from the air filter box to the throttle body, leaving the cooler out in the open.

 

To replace it, you need to remove four bolts, disconnect the air bleed line on the top of the cooler, lift the cooler slightly, sliding a plastic bag under the cooler before starting to pull it out (the plastic bag is there to catch the residual oil and coolant which is going to come pouring out when you tilt the cooler to remove it; without the bag it is going to get all over the place).  You will need four new O-rings (two each of the different sizes the cooler uses), do not even think about using the old O-rings, they will leak.  Once the new unit is in place, torque the bolts to 7.5 ft. lbs. using an inch pound torque wrench (that would be 90 inch pounds).  You will need to thoroughly flush out the cooling system using a system cleaner and lots of clear water, then refill the cooling system and you are back in business.

 

I would also highly recommend pressure or vacuum testing the old cooler to confirm it is the source of your problems.

[JFP in PA]

Manual or tiptronic transmission?  I would drain a bit of oil from both the engine and the transmission to check them for intermix (chocolate milkshake).  Oil cooler is pretty straightforward, just messy.  I've heard about quite a few transmission oil coolers failing, but not really engine oil coolers, so I suggest checking for intermix in both to be sure.

 

Engine oil cooler specs attached.  oil cooler.pdf

 

The engine oil coolers do fail.

[Ahsai]

It may also be a good idea to pressure test it to confirm it's truly leaking after it's removed from the car.

[crwarren11]

Good to know JFP!  I wish I had a newer manual, but...I don't.  Any good sources for electronic ones that you are aware of?

[JFP in PA]

Good to know JFP!  I wish I had a newer manual, but...I don't.  Any good sources for electronic ones that you are aware of?

 

The only legitimate source for complete and up to date Porsche technical information since they stopped publication in 2004 is their subscription TSI program.

[crwarren11]

Good to know...thanks!

[BoxSinit]

Wow you guys are awesome! Spot on with the help, like always! I do appreciate. Thanks for all the info JFP and thanks for the PDF docs crwarren. Im going to start this job tonight. How do you go about pressure testing the cooler JFP or Ahsai..Ive never performed a pressure test..By the way my car is a 6 speed manual. Again thanks guys

[JFP in PA]

Wow you guys are awesome! Spot on with the help, like always! I do appreciate. Thanks for all the info JFP and thanks for the PDF docs crwarren. Im going to start this job tonight. How do you go about pressure testing the cooler JFP or Ahsai..Ive never performed a pressure test..By the way my car is a 6 speed manual. Again thanks guys

 

There are four round openings on the bottom of the cooler, two in and out passages for the oil and water.  The easiest way to test it is to plug one opening and pull a vacuum on the other for each loop, taking the vacuum down to around 24 inches or so, and then seeing if it holds for 10-15 min.  A simple hand vacuum pump is all that is needed, along with some rubber plugs.

[Ahsai]

You will have to rig up something like this 

[Ahsai]

and pressurize the oil side to ~100PSI (natural max oil pressure).

Edited May 6, 2016 by Ahsai

[Ahsai]

My posts crossed with John's. I agree the vacuum test is easy and if that proves the coolant/oil heat exchanger leaking, then no other tests are needed.

[JFP in PA]

My posts crossed with John's. I agree the vacuum test is easy and if that proves the coolant/oil heat exchanger leaking, then no other tests are needed.

 

Your idea is fine as well, only I have found it is easier for most DIY'ers to pull vacuum rather than go to pressure.  Usually also results in fewer fatalities.  :eek:   With a little jury rigging, you can even use the Airlift vacuum filling tool to do this.

[Ahsai]

True. Safety is definitely a concern with high pressure compressed air.

[JFP in PA]

True. Safety is definitely a concern with high pressure compressed air.

 

Yup.  When something fails under vacuum, you usually get a loud noise and an implosion; when things fail under 100 psig of air pressure, you get loud noises followed by shrapnel.

[BoxSinit]

Hey Guys,

 

Sorry for the delay as the weekend I wanted to start this was Mother's Day weekend so I didn't have much time work on the car. The following weekend I did not receive my oil cooler/parts because it was on back order. Last week I did start working on the car. There's some good and a lot of bad.

 

Firstly, The water cooler was fairly easy to take out and put the new one in. There was a long process off flushing with cleaner, then flushing with water several times. Best results were when I drove the car with the cleaner (as per directions), as the heat and agitation of the engine help dissolve the oil in the coolant system. The entire time the temperature gauge is in the good operating temperature (holding steady around 190ish). Not once overheating. I have to say, it took a lot of work to get that chocolate shake out but for the most part it has cleared up. As of now it just very light brown to the water, so I know the new oil cooler is working. I figure one flush of the cleaner, then water and it will be good to go for Porsche coolant and distilled water.

 

At this point I have not change the oil yet, because I wanted to do a complete coolant flush and cleaning first.  And as I said, its going really well. "BUT" there is a huge bad side to this story.  When I took the car for a spin, I took it high in the rev range and I got a flashing check engine light! Misfire.. :censored:  I knew it was too good to be true to go as smoothly as it was. I know that this is problems. The car is making a clicking sound. :censored:  Like a valve is stuck or something. Mind you the car is still operating at a great working engine temperature (190ish on the needle), never over heating. :cursing:  I got the check engine light checked. I knew I had the P1411 code as I needed to sort out the secondary air injection system, but there were 6 new ones!  P1130-O2S range 2 Cylinder. 4-6, P0153 O2 Circuit Slow Response (Bank 2, Sensor 1), P1128 O2S Range 2 Cylinder 1-3, P0300 Misfire of several Cylinders, P0304 Misfire Cylinder 4 and P0301 Cylinder Misfire Detected.  I'm not sure if the order is important but the P1411 was second code read. The car is running but you will hear the metallic sound more as the rpm go up. So I change the oil and I did see some metal shavings. :censored:  Any ideas from the codes that were given and the sound along with metal shavings?? I need some help with this one. :help: I know some of you are very skilled in the area of this engine. Any help is very much appreciated! Thanks Guys!!

[JFP in PA]

Hey Guys,

 

Sorry for the delay as the weekend I wanted to start this was Mother's Day weekend so I didn't have much time work on the car. The following weekend I did not receive my oil cooler/parts because it was on back order. Last week I did start working on the car. There's some good and a lot of bad.

 

Firstly, The water cooler was fairly easy to take out and put the new one in. There was a long process off flushing with cleaner, then flushing with water several times. Best results were when I drove the car with the cleaner (as per directions), as the heat and agitation of the engine help dissolve the oil in the coolant system. The entire time the temperature gauge is in the good operating temperature (holding steady around 190ish). Not once overheating. I have to say, it took a lot of work to get that chocolate shake out but for the most part it has cleared up. As of now it just very light brown to the water, so I know the new oil cooler is working. I figure one flush of the cleaner, then water and it will be good to go for Porsche coolant and distilled water.

 

At this point I have not change the oil yet, because I wanted to do a complete coolant flush and cleaning first.  And as I said, its going really well. "BUT" there is a huge bad side to this story.  When I took the car for a spin, I took it high in the rev range and I got a flashing check engine light! Misfire.. :censored:  I knew it was too good to be true to go as smoothly as it was. I know that this is problems. The car is making a clicking sound. :censored:  Like a valve is stuck or something. Mind you the car is still operating at a great working engine temperature (190ish on the needle), never over heating. :cursing:  I got the check engine light checked. I knew I had the P1411 code as I needed to sort out the secondary air injection system, but there were 6 new ones!  P1130-O2S range 2 Cylinder. 4-6, P0153 O2 Circuit Slow Response (Bank 2, Sensor 1), P1128 O2S Range 2 Cylinder 1-3, P0300 Misfire of several Cylinders, P0304 Misfire Cylinder 4 and P0301 Cylinder Misfire Detected.  I'm not sure if the order is important but the P1411 was second code read. The car is running but you will hear the metallic sound more as the rpm go up. So I change the oil and I did see some metal shavings. :censored:  Any ideas from the codes that were given and the sound along with metal shavings?? I need some help with this one. :help: I know some of you are very skilled in the area of this engine. Any help is very much appreciated! Thanks Guys!!

 

If you have metal shavings in the oil, the codes don't really matter; the critical issue is where are the shavings and noise are coming from.  I would stop running the car immediately, check the shavings you have to see if they are ferrous; I would also pull the engine; something is not good and is not going to get better.

[Ahsai]

^What John said. Any pics of the shavings?

[BoxSinit]

This is exactly what I thought. :huh: Thanks JFP. Forgive my ignorance but how do you go about testing for ferrous metal? Is it difficult to pull the Boxster's engine?? For me its about time and the proper equipment to do the job.

 

Ahsai, I did save a paper towel with the shavings on them and the oil filter. The shavings are gold in color. I will take pictures.

 

Thanks guys!

[Ahsai]

Just run a magnet on the shavings and see if they stick.

[BoxSinit]

Ok.. Will do.

[JFP in PA]

Pulling the engine is not at all difficult, depending upon how you are equipped and your level of mechanical expertise. It drops out the bottom of the car.

[BoxSinit]

Well I'm not sure I'm equipped but I can get the proper equipment if I feel like I can achieve the job. My level of expertise is decent. I've done all the mods, maintenance and repairs since 2005..Its a 02 S and had since brand new. Time is a big factor for me in tackling a job like this. If I can't do this job, I would want it to be in the right hands.

Well I tested the shavings. It seems to be non ferrous.. It doesn't seem to stick to the magnet. What does this mean? I will test it again. Here's a few pictures. Tell me what you think guys..

Dan

Edited May 28, 2016 by BoxSinit