i have an 87' GTA with a 5.7 tpi, i recently rebuilt the motor and ever since i cant get the seal for the factory cooler adapter to stay in place. Ive gone threw 5 different gaskets now and I'm at whits end. I'm thinking of removing the darn thing all together. Anyone have any suggestions?

here's a quick rundown of how it all started.
1. rebuilt engine (used high volume low pressure pump)
2. got new gaskets from Napa
3. 4 weeks on the road and the oil filter adaptor seal blows out
4. get another seal from Napa, 2 weeks later same thing
5. try Napa one more time, seal only lasts 5 days FML
6. noticed the Napa seals seem to be swelling when they hit oil, so i got a seal direct from dealer, right away i can tell its a totaly different rubber material (40 dollars better be worth it) this one lasted 4 months, just popped yesterday

i absolutely love this car and i hate to loose it but its driving me nuts!
please help!

 

Ive read here on TGO that this factory adapter is hard to find. Grab the Part number off the cooler and call the dealership. From what I read, cooling off the oil doesnt affect anything. In other words, too hot or too cold does nothing. But I have no hard evidence of my claim. Im just repeating what I read about 1.5 years ago.

 

well you right about the cooler being hard to find, mostly because no one uses a remote mounted water/oil cooler anymore, but the dealer is prety much the only place that has the seal for it, Napa has an aftermarket one but like i said, it made from the wrong material and swells drastically in oil.

 

Do you know what your oil pressure is?

I'm very familiar with the factory oil cooler "sandwich" system and I couldn't tell you the last time I ever heard of that gasket failing. It's like a hard, fibrous gasket. Reminds me of a head gasket. Tough little bugger. Only way I can imagine it failing is if something isn't true (flat).

 

I would imagine that you can make a gasket. Get some sort of metal plate, cut it out with a dremel or similar, put silicone gasket maker over the new metal gasket and let it dry. Then install. Im not sure of it'll work but its an idea. Unless someone says its a bad idea, then Ill retract my idea.

 

once it warms up it idles with about 15-20psi.
on a cold start, i really couldn't tell you. its a digital dash and the gauge stops at 60, but its definitely way above that.
As far as the gasket its nothing like a head gasket. its more like the seal on an oil filter, a big square cut o-ring.

 

well i found the problem. turns out it wasn't the oil cooler gasket causing the problem at all. it was actually the the fitting that bolts directly to the block that was cracked. this was allowing way too much pressure reach the gasket that i thought was faulty.

 

need to get a 3952301