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Oil cooler seal question

9K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  livingez_123 
#1 ·
I am needing to replace the seal/o-ring/gasket whatever you wish to call it and have a few questions before I start, hopefully someone here can answer them.
As I understand it, I need to remove the filter then the nut that holds the cooler on the pipe that the filter mounts on, that nut uses a 27mm deep well wrench as I am told, supposedly one can remove the pipe using pliers with leather on the jaws to keep from buggering the threads, then the cooler is freed and the old seal cleaned and the new one put in place, I have been told that in order to re-install the pipe that it is best to use a second nut as a backer nut, What size nut do I need? Every place I see the part diagram the nut part number is for a 2.5 not a 2.0 engine. If I am to buy the nut online as no place locally sells them what part number do I order? and Where can I get one CHEAP, used would be great in fact. The nut is number 15 in this illustration

 
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#2 · (Edited)
Looks like the nut is cheap @ $3: vw part # 068115723

Based upon vw's parts site; the nut seems to be same for the 1.8t, 2.0l and the 2.5l engines.

When i replaced my oil cooler o-ring; i didn't remove the pipe, it was tight and i didn't see the need to remove it. In my case, i removed my oil cooler; as i wanted to take the extra step; as a precaution, to pressure test it and see if there were any leaks in the oil or coolant passageways. My cooler, ended up being leak free and air tight; so, it passed with flying colors. If you skip the removal and testing; it would take less time and dismantling, removal of coolant hoses, refilling coolant, etc.

I tightened the nut with a torque wrench and called it good; i haven't had any problems since then. I went with a victor reinz o-ring and got it from autohaus arizona.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...6.4.748...0i30k1j0i5i30k1j33i21k1.-ryBXvhPx58


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#3 ·
Thanks, every place I went to said that part number was not for the 2.0, so I guess they miss out on sales. I see no need to remove the hoses so am assuming that the pipe has to be removed to access the seal and replace it. I will shop around and find the best price including shipping for the nut now that I am sure about the part number. The seal is available many places, even through Autozone and Advance so getting it is no problem. Really a PITA though as the weather is not so good for working on the car.
 
#4 ·
Ordered the gasket but am still waiting. I decided to go ahead and take it apart so it would take less time to get the job done once the gasket arrives. I am having real trouble getting the union pipe to break loose, the cooler will not slide down enough to access the top for the gasket so that tube has to break free. Tried vice grips with leather on the jaws and can not get it to budge, GRRRRR
The gasket was supposedly mailed from a place that is about a three hour drive from here on Thursday yet it has not arrived.
 
#5 ·
It is pretty easy if you drain the coolant and remove the hoses. With mine, there was almost enough play in the coolant hoses to get it off without draining but I decided not to try. You might try loosening the clamps and moving the end of the hoses a little toward the end of the pipes to give more slack. You'll have to be careful not to pull a hose off the pipe as you remove the cooler or you'll be draining the coolant after all.
 
#7 ·
Yes, they get hard, from heat and lose their ability to seal. When i checked mine; the nut, was actually loose from the shrinkage of the o-ring seal.


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#8 ·
The nut on mine was easy to loosen, however the stud/shaft/pipe is in there like it wants to never come free. I am using ramps so space is tight under there and finally I have ordered a 27mm crowfoot wrench so I can use a backer nut and extract the pipe that way. My rate of oil consumption was rather high and the mess on my garage floor tipped me off that it was not burning oil but spraying it out profusely. I am sure that once I get the wrench the job will be an easy one. Thanks to all for the advice, it has helped a lot.
 
#13 ·
I do not know, maybe yours had longer hoses, the threaded tube on mine was considerably shorter than the replacement, I used a small set of vicegrips and the crowfoot wrench and with the use of a breaker bar I got the old tube off, the threads were damaged by my removal method but I had the replacement part on hand. The oil filter spun more than once now when I installed it. I believe that the previous owner must have cut the old tube off to probably bypass bad threads and then somehow really torqued the old tube in place. It took me all of 5 minutes to replace the gasket and tube once I got the old one off. It was less than perfect working conditions, the car was on Rhino Ramps so little clearance for me to fit in there and my trouble light broke so I was using a one AAA penlight for light to work with. Job done, no more leaking. An episode that I am glad is behind me.
 
#15 ·
Persistence was the key, I wonder if maybe the hoses might be a tad shorter too, there is evidence that the Previous owner had some kind of problem in that area, the tube was a good 3/4 of an inch shorter than the replacement and the cooler barely budged even when the tube was gone, it took some effort to make sure that the remains of the old gasket were cleaned off as there was not much movement when the cooler was freed from the shaft. A lesson I learned a long time ago is that even the easiest jobs can sometimes be a real PITA, all it takes is a few things that are not as they should be.
 
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