hitman

My 5.7 has the oil cooler and it looks like it leaks.. spreading oil on the outside of the filter.... Does the cooler itself need replacing or does it have a gasket to replace?? Need to stop the leak before the bottom of the car looks like a grease trap.

pauldaniel26

So it's in between the filter and the cooler? Are you sure the filter's gasket got sealed well when you installed it?

1990GTA

There is a gasket between the cooler and the block. I think it is about $20 at the dealer.

ede

there's also a sender or plug above the oil filter and valve cover leaks can make it to the filter. i'd say there's damn near a 100% chance it's NOT the oil filter gasket leaking.

pvt num 11

My filter gasket was crudded up, from now on, I'm changing the oil MYSELF... But my chassis was looking like a grease trap, too. You could spin off the filter, check, just to make certain. It always seems that leaks come from the stupidest of places. (finding vacuum leaks on a torpedo can be a royal pain sometimes, lemme tell you...) Then again, I've only dealt with one nasty leak on my car.

91wtROH17's

Mine does the same. Now that I am replacing the motor, that cooler setup is going in the garbage!! Ever try to replace that crap with the engine in the car it does not look fun at all.

badone07

I bought the o-ring and gasket between the block and cooler about 3 weeks ago, from a dealership. They totaled less than $4.00.

91wtROH17's

Just the gasket change should not be to bad, but if the lines are shot it gets much more depressing .

pvt num 11

Do the cooler lines leak often, like, is it a problem area I should watch out for?

89RsPower!

IIRC the only thing flowing through the oil cooler lines is engine coolant from the radiator if it's the stock oil cooler

hitman

Badone07..
got part numbers?? How long did it take to replace o ring and gasket?? Can it be done in one day??

badone07

It takes a few minutes. You can leave the hoses connected to the housing. The fittings are probably seized in there anyway. Remove oil filter, inside the cooler's housing is 2 allen headed bolts. I think they take a 1/4" allen key. Then lower housing. There is a large o-ring around the upper part of the housing and a gasket up against the block. You might have to scrape the old gasket off and wipe off any junk that has collected up around the housing. Then reassemble in reverse order. I normally use sil-glyde on any rubber o-rings, etc. but you should at least apply a light coat of motor oil to the large o-ring before bolting up the housing. Don't get too crazy tightening the bolts. You don't want to crack the housing. That's all there is to it. Probably takes longer to jack the car up and get stands under it. The part number is 88893990. The o-ring and gasket are in the same bag. It was $3.26 plus tax. There also may be a pipe plug in the left side of the oil cooler adapter/housing. Might want to check that out for seepage also while you are down there.

John

1990GTA

I just called the dealer with that part #, it is about $6 here. I guess the guy who quoted me $20 was looking at the wrong part. I need to replace mine too, I already put a new sending unit on, and new valve cover gaskets, and there is still oil on the new filter but none on the engine above it.

hitman

Does some have a diagram to post??? I just taken everything apart ans see no gaskets, no can I find where the O-ring goes. Please post a pic or provide detailed info on where the oring goes. On the aluminum part that is bolted to the block I can see where the gasket goes, but there seem to be a small resivour with a spring inside. The Gasket seems to cover about half of the resivour... is that okay/normal??

EDIT: Note
The cooler says MODINE, Is this a OEM part or aftermarket? I did not have any allen bolts. In the center was a large nut where the filter swrews onto that kept the cooler in place. Maybe some one twisted the filter too tight, and when removed, backed out that same nut causing the leak. O.K to put lok-tite??

1990GTA

There are two different kinds. If yours is a 92, it is probably like my 90. The gasket for mine is $20 like I was originally quoted, it is more like an oil filter gasket instead of an o-ring. I have mine apart now also, I will post a couple of pics tomorrow, I dont have time to crawl under there and post them now because I have to go to work. The guy at the dealership showed me the part # that badone07 was talking about and it is not the right one for my car. Mine is also held on the same way as yours.

Ricktpi

GM engines run engine oil through the lines & cooler. Ford runs coolant through theirs.

1990GTA

Mine have coolant running through them. I already replaced the rubber ends that attached to the cooler housing and coolant came out.

Ricktpi

I guess third gens have coolant in theirs. LT1's & all years trucks have oil.

hitman

Thanks Ricktpi...
The gasket set me back only $16 total. Works great. I bought the other gasket by mistake(o-ring and gasket). Not to worry, I only paid about $4 for it. So for a total of $20, my oil leak is no more

hitman

about putting on the big rubber gasket right?? I though not... so I loosed the cooler from the block and slid the gasket between the cooler base and block. I looked it over and found nothing immediate as far as leak goes. Well, over the weekend I see there is still a leak some where in that area. Is there a specific method to install the gasket?? Should I use silicone or something to help seal it? Maybe I did'nt tourque the cooler (anybody got those specs?) enough.
BTW I had bought the AC oil filter, but it looks shorter that the one I usually buy.. anybody recall the part #?
Thanks

89RsPower!

yep thats what i was refering to, the stockers on 3rd gen's run coolant through em..

1990GTA

Are you sure it is not the sending unit above the cooler? I know it was not on mine because my engine is clean and dry in that area, but if it is the sending unit it will run right down onto the filter. As far as how tight to tourqe it, I think it is like the oil filter, you dont want it to tight or it will crush the gasket. I barely tightened mine and no leaks yet, and mine was leaking pretty good. The gasket was crushed from being overtightened. One more thing, I took a gasket off of an AC Delco filter and stacked it on top of this $20 gasket and they were so close to being the same it was unreal! I was even kinda pissed because an oil filter costs about $ 3 gasket included, and this gasket alone was $20. If I had not already bought the gasket, I probably would have just pulled one off of a filter and tried that! The AC oil filter I am using is PF25, but I think they have a new part #.

hitman

1190 GTA, is it called the oil pressure sending unit ?? Just want to know so I can look up the cost online.
Thanks

1990GTA

Yes, that is what it is called.

hitman

Anybody got a part # for this?? I had seen something just above the filter and cooler, sticking out of the block... I assume that is where it's located. Is this an electric plug in type unit, or does it have the oil hose that goes to the gauges? Some one please enlighten me... or provide a picture of what I need.

Thanks

The oil leak is so annoying ... Plus I hate the way burning oil on my exhaust smells.
Peace

1990GTA

Yes, that is it sticking out of the block above the filter. It has an electrical connection on the end of it.