Diesel oil cooler leak

genpk · 23rd June 2017, 09:05

Just thought I'd update re the oil cooler situation on my Rover 75 diesel I picked up very cheap.
When I got the car it was pumping oil into and out of the top coolant tank.
Got the car cheap as it was diagnosed by a mechanic as a possible HGF.
When I removed the oil cooler it became obvious what was happening.
The aluminium face plate on the cooler had corroded at a couple of points and bubbled around the coolant hole area slightly pushing into the rubber seal gasket that seperates the oil from the coolant gallery.
I did get a new replacement cooler with a gasket but whilst waiting did a bit of a repair job on the old one and suspect it would have worked if used.
Basically get all the bubbled areas scrapped out back to solid metal.
Clear out any little craters , get some oil / heat resistant epoxy and fill any deviations, let set hard and using a block and 800 grit sand paper sand it perfectly flat.Then to get the finish perfectly flat, 800 wet /dry with a block.
You can just buy the gasket as you would need a new one anyway.
So if your diesel starts pumping oil into the coolant most likely the cooler or the gasket. The oil pressure is higher than the coolant system at startup hence it pumps into the coolant.
Heck of a messy job cleaning out all the system

Rooney · 23rd June 2017, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by genpk

.Got the car cheap as it was diagnosed by a mechanic as a possible HGF.

A man wearing overalls and taking people's money for butchering their cars maybe - a mechanic - nope.

Glad you were able to get it sorted out.

It really makes me angry the way these lazy so called mechanics tell people to write these cars off just because they once heard someone talk about a program shown on bbc in the 90s.

genpk · 23rd June 2017, 11:42

From what the repair shop stated, they told the owner that it could be either HGF or somthing like the oil cooler but either way it would be expensive.
Owner was put off by the possible cost, just left the car in there workshop for them to get rid of.
All for the want of a new oil cooler !!

Rooney · 23rd June 2017, 12:03

Shame on the garage - these either or caveats that they give when saying something is beyond economic repair.

I was offered a 2.0 v6 for pennies by a neighbour of my uncle because his garage had diagnosed HGF and he couldn't afford the £900 (

) they quoted him to ''fix'' . The car had a blocked heater matrix and thanks to the help of a member on here (MG John if I'm remembering correctly), it was fixed for less than a tenner and the 71 year old owner was overjoyed.

I regularly see him and his wee westie dog pottering around Newtownards in it months later

23rd June 2017, 09:05	#1
genpk Posted a thing or two Rover 75 Saloon MGZT Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Perth, AUSTRALIA Posts: 1,664 Thanks: 3 Thanked 461 Times in 299 Posts	Diesel oil cooler leak Just thought I'd update re the oil cooler situation on my Rover 75 diesel I picked up very cheap. When I got the car it was pumping oil into and out of the top coolant tank. Got the car cheap as it was diagnosed by a mechanic as a possible HGF. When I removed the oil cooler it became obvious what was happening. The aluminium face plate on the cooler had corroded at a couple of points and bubbled around the coolant hole area slightly pushing into the rubber seal gasket that seperates the oil from the coolant gallery. I did get a new replacement cooler with a gasket but whilst waiting did a bit of a repair job on the old one and suspect it would have worked if used. Basically get all the bubbled areas scrapped out back to solid metal. Clear out any little craters , get some oil / heat resistant epoxy and fill any deviations, let set hard and using a block and 800 grit sand paper sand it perfectly flat.Then to get the finish perfectly flat, 800 wet /dry with a block. You can just buy the gasket as you would need a new one anyway. So if your diesel starts pumping oil into the coolant most likely the cooler or the gasket. The oil pressure is higher than the coolant system at startup hence it pumps into the coolant. Heck of a messy job cleaning out all the system Last edited by genpk; 23rd June 2017 at 09:11..

23rd June 2017, 12:03	#4
Rooney Suspended MG ZT 135+ Rover 75 CDTi Tourer, 75 2.5 V6 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: County Antrim Posts: 2,027 Thanks: 835 Thanked 882 Times in 557 Posts	Shame on the garage - these either or caveats that they give when saying something is beyond economic repair. I was offered a 2.0 v6 for pennies by a neighbour of my uncle because his garage had diagnosed HGF and he couldn't afford the £900 () they quoted him to ''fix'' . The car had a blocked heater matrix and thanks to the help of a member on here (MG John if I'm remembering correctly), it was fixed for less than a tenner and the 71 year old owner was overjoyed. I regularly see him and his wee westie dog pottering around Newtownards in it months later

23rd June 2017, 11:42	#3
genpk Posted a thing or two Rover 75 Saloon MGZT Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Perth, AUSTRALIA Posts: 1,664 Thanks: 3 Thanked 461 Times in 299 Posts	From what the repair shop stated, they told the owner that it could be either HGF or somthing like the oil cooler but either way it would be expensive. Owner was put off by the possible cost, just left the car in there workshop for them to get rid of. All for the want of a new oil cooler !!