Replaced oil cooler seal

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I've been getting oil drips down the oil filter and suspect it's the oil cooler o-ring. Got one from the dealer p/n 038 117 070A for a little over $5. When I read that the 27 mm nut is very thin I grounded my 27 mm deep socket's face flat to not have any problems. It was not on very tight! The nut is less than 1/8" thick! Why did VW decide to use such a thin nut?

With both coolant hoses attached, I could not get the cooler off the center stud. I undid the upper hose- a PITA and still had a hard time- it was hitting the bottom hose at the block. I was about to undo the lower hose but tried rotating the oil cooler a few degrees first and that allowed it to clear the center stud and drop down.

Got everything back together and started the car and no oil gushed out but have not driven it yet. Time will tell if the job was successful.

[TylerDurden]

The nut is less than 1/8" thick! Why did VW decide to use such a thin nut?

Maybe to not interfere with the top of the filter?

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

The nut is less than 1/8" thick! Why did VW decide to use such a thin nut?

Maybe to not interfere with the top of the filter?

Nope, the nut runs deep into the cooler, about 3/4 to 1"

[air-cooled or diesel]

about the squeeze you put on filter gasket, space for tighten to seal compression(o-ring)

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

about the squeeze you put on filter gasket, space for tighten to seal compression(o-ring)

Huh?

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

The center tube (I erroneously called it a stud) has about 2" of threads and the nut is way up there,  no where near the filter gasket.

[TylerDurden]

Top of filter is close to nut...

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Top of filter is close to nut...

Yeah you're right. I could't see and the deep socket feels like it's way up in the cooler while tightening the nut.

[burn_your_money]

That nut is rarely on very tight. Channel locks or vise grips work great. Once you get the nut off, slide the cooler down and then use vise grips to loosen the oil tube. It doesn't matter if you damage the threads a bit, they are all covered by the oil cooler and are not needed.

As an aside, it's really a heat exchanger since it also heats the oil on cold starts.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

"Nut is rarely on very tight"  Is that good or bad or normal? I think mine was too loose and was cause of the drip. Good tip with the vise grips. Would have saved me from undoing the coolant hose if I knew. It was 4 pm 25 F sun was still up so not too cold when I started. I was worried I'd get stuck not able to finish before sun goes down but lucked out and was done in about 1 hour. I started the engine idled it for 10 minutes to warm up the filter/ cooler a little before work and that really helped to not have frozen fingers.

[TylerDurden]

"Nut is rarely on very tight"  Is that good or bad or normal? I think mine was too loose and was cause of the drip.

Maybe as much torque as a filter should be fine.

The seals do get brittle and crack.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

"Nut is rarely on very tight"  Is that good or bad or normal? I think mine was too loose and was cause of the drip.

Maybe as much torque as a filter should be fine.

The seals do get brittle and crack.

Mine was not cracked, just flattened and looked like crap. I'll take pic of it and post later.

[burn_your_money]

I don't have my Bentley with me but someone should post the official torque spec. Good tip on warming the coolant a little before starting this job.

[TylerDurden]

I don't have my Bentley with me but someone should post the official torque spec.

18 ft-lbs.

[burn_your_money]

I don't have my Bentley with me but someone should post the official torque spec.

18 ft-lbs.

Thanks.