Oil Cooler failure

[drover]

In the olden days we would use bluddy hot water to flush out radiators and engines that had an oil bath now they have some fancy goop that does it, not a pleasant job at all. ............... If mine does it, my shed will be a mess for sure.

http://www.midnightmods.com.au/zen-c...roducts_id=288 but they have sold out.


https://www.moparpartsgiant.com/part...Overland%204WD) thats AUD$405 plus freight.

[Markus]

Keep looking at changing mine out as a precaution against this sort of thing happening, done over 180k in my 2014 now.
Just unsure about the aftermarket coolers and if Im going to regret using one of these as far as reliability goes?
How big a problem is the oil coolers or is it just another hit & miss problem with these VM's?

[drover]

In my other vehicles it was more hit and miss and I assume the same with these, a mate bypassed his in the 2.7 Merc engine..... I think its just poor manufacturing that is the cause as they all seem to be an alloy casting..... it would be interesting to get one to check out and see if some by pass plumbing can be done....

[OLMATE]

have a look,
https://www.ecodieselram.com/forum/t...available.679/

[Jeeper6]

Originally Posted by Markus

Keep looking at changing mine out as a precaution against this sort of thing happening, done over 180k in my 2014 now.
Just unsure about the aftermarket coolers and if Im going to regret using one of these as far as reliability goes?
How big a problem is the oil coolers or is it just another hit & miss problem with these VM's?

My 2015 has done 118k, I am taking a punt that it will last another 20k until I get back from the upcoming trip. The last Jeep had it fail at 173,000 k's, though I had thumped the front end off roading and it failed that same day.

I have bought a spare cooler off ebay just in case, but certainly hope I don't need it..but when I get back this Jeep will be going in to 7 Slot for a replacement oil cooler that they source.

It is very hit and miss it seems, some fail quite early where as some don't fail at all...

[drover]

Originally Posted by OLMATE

have a look,
https://www.ecodieselram.com/forum/t...available.679/

Something like that would solve the problem, dual coolers looks a bit iffy.

[SouthernComfort]

Originally Posted by davet

Thanks guys, this mechanic is a Jeep specialist, and has good reviews...They seem very knowledgeable and easy to deal with. Quite a full carpark of Jeeps to work on. Unsure if they're taking me for a bit of a ride but honestly, I don't feel like they are at this point.

They are only replacing the cooler not the cooler + housing so I think he said the cooler only is around $500 and with the housing around $1700.

The radiator + overflow replacement is being done because he reckons it will be very difficult to get fully clean of oil. Maybe they could have flushed it instead? Would have saved a fair bit of money.

I'll ask about aftermarket hoses vs OEM - good suggestion. The hoses were leaking when they checked....maybe they were fine before the cooling system got filled with oil, maybe they weren't who knows.

The key to the aftermarket hose referred to here is that it's a high temp silicone, much greater resistance to heat and won't perish like rubber. I don't think they're in mass production yet, rather the silicone 'valley hose 'kit' has been developed by a few smart Jeep specialist workshops around the country and is readily available. If your guy offers an OEM or aftermarket rubber replacement you should reject them, they'll land you in trouble again down the track. Don't skimp with any hoses on the WK2, I reckon replacing them all by around 100k km is good insurance, most won't show wear on the outside or even at the clamp ends, but they'll be perishing from the inside out. I had my perfect looking oil cooler return hose replaced in the nick of time...