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my garage have reported a small oil leak from a union between one of the feeder pipes and the oil cooler radiator. They say it is possible that they will have to replace both feeder pipes and the radiator itself, at a cost of £800+ as the parts tend to corrode together and break/strip threads when dismantled. Has anyone experienced a similar problem and is there a cheaper fix? If all parts have to be replaced, where would one look for them to get best price? And how long should the job take?

Yes, this is a common problem. The simple answer is to pray that you don't need to replace the oil cooler rad! I was advised that the pipes needed repalcing but on inspection they were fine (some surface rust nothing more), but then mine weren't leaking. Some of the unions rust to the point of only being held together by the rust! Get the engine undertray off an have a look behind the front bumper. It may just be one of the pipes in need of replacing.

I don't know where you are based but Unit 20, MRC would be worth getting quotes from IMHO.

Hi there , it's a common problem , the oil pies are not that expensive , They will take 1-2 hours to change .If they are not very very careful they will damage the oil cooler.

I had this done in january. The problem is the soft metal construction of the cooler and the pipes that are siezed to it. £550 for a new rad if i remember correctly.

GardinerG wrote:Yes, this is a common problem. The simple answer is to pray that you don't need to replace the oil cooler rad! I was advised that the pipes needed repalcing but on inspection they were fine (some surface rust nothing more), but then mine weren't leaking. Some of the unions rust to the point of only being held together by the rust! Get the engine undertray off an have a look behind the front bumper. It may just be one of the pipes in need of replacing.

I don't know where you are based but Unit 20, MRC would be worth getting quotes from IMHO.

I'm based in Winchester and I think Unit 20 is Manchester, isn't it? Grizz has said that the pipes have to be removed very carefully. Can you recommend anyone around the Hampshire area to do the job? My garage seems to be assuming I will need to rreplace the rad!

grizz wrote:Hi there , it's a common problem , the oil pies are not that expensive , They will take 1-2 hours to change .If they are not very very careful they will damage the oil cooler.

Do the rads cost as much as £550, Grizz? Mine is a fairly small leak at the moment - does it need to be done straight away, or do you wait until it's dropping a lot of oil?

You will only need to replace the rad if the tech damages it whilst removing the hose, which will most probably happen unless they have a well practised technique. Its usually corroded / seized and i think the rad is aluminium (but dont quote me on it). Mine had to be done after the alternator went. To get to the alternator they had to move some hoses which were a bit fragile and perished after 5 years of use - net result was all new hoses and a new rad. Total bill was just over £2k inc alternator.

ecain63 wrote:You will only need to replace the rad if the tech damages it whilst removing the hose, which will most probably happen unless they have a well practised technique. Its usually corroded / seized and i think the rad is aluminium (but dont quote me on it). Mine had to be done after the alternator went. To get to the alternator they had to move some hoses which were a bit fragile and perished after 5 years of use - net result was all new hoses and a new rad. Total bill was just over £2k inc alternator.

Hi, there. I see you're in Bournemouth - do you use a main dealer or is there a good independent locally?

I had mine done in glasgow whilst on holiday (expensive holiday). But Kartechnic in Poole are the local german car specialists. They do engine builds for motorsport etc. Good labour rates too.

Where abouts are you?

The oil cooler is £500 +. I don't see why they had to remove the cooler end to do a alternator . I just undo the pipes from the filter head .... No chance of damaging the cooler.

And make sure it's not the pipes leaking from the filter head or the oil filter .

They didnt remove the cooler end hoses to do the alternator. When they removed the filter ends the pipes shown some serious signs of perishing and that there was a great and probable chance of leakage. When they refitted them after the alternator was fitted you could see that they had started cracking where they had been moved while fitting the alternator. As a result we decided to do the pipes while the car was part stripped. When they removed the cooler pipes it damaged the rad due to the soft metal couplings being stuck solid. Hence a rad replacement was required at the same time.

grizz wrote:The oil cooler is £500 +. I don't see why they had to remove the cooler end to do a alternator . I just undo the pipes from the filter head .... No chance of damaging the cooler.

And make sure it's not the pipes leaking from the filter head or the oil filter .

That's a thought, Grizz. The leak only appeared after an oil change....I suppose a leak from any union will run along the pipes to the next union. How do I check where it's coming from - just clean it all up and see where the oil appears from when it's idling? The coolant radiator was replaced just before I bought the car (in Oct 08) - would the oil cooler rad have to have been removed to replace the main rad? if so, it should all come undone ok, shouldn't it?