Brett's average build thread

Today I decided to replace the O ring and seal, plus the coolant hoses for the oil cooler. My truck has been leaking oil for a bit now, I just had the valve cover and cam plugs re-sealed so the top was good. I had noticed the oil cooler was wet as well and not knowing if it was from above or leaking as well, I decided to be proactive and just do it.
Picture is after I had sprayed it with brake cleaner adn hosed it off a day before so it wasn't as wet to work with.

There are too hoses for the coolant to run through, one goes to the block right beside the cooler and the other goes to the water pump.
I removed the hose clamp from this vantage point, I discovered later that it is easily accessibly from underneath. PS, remove the skid plates.

24mm socket is all it took. and a hell of a lot of grunt, more than I expected to get it loose.
The oil seep is right after i broke it loose.

Forgot to mention, drain the radiator first and have something to catch the oil.


Pulled it out with the hoses attached, what a mess. Lost about half quart of oil from the block and the cooler itself.


And cleaned it up.


Old O ring still in place, and it was hard as a rock, came out in several pieces...this was a sign of things to come...


The bolt that holds it all together. It has it's own gasket and is easy to miss. I had to pry this one off.


and the big O ring removed.


and the new O ring installed...notice the slightly smaller diameter..and yet has some little nubbin type tittie things to hold it in place. I questioned this for a bit, but seeing as how the parts were ordered by VIN, I thought maybe it's supposed to be that way. More on that later.


pic of the old and new gasket for the bolt.

 

Pic of the hose to the water pump from below, much easier to deal with this way.
New hoses too btw as mine were most likely original at 242,xxx miles now.


So my VIN also called for this little gasket, and I wasn't sure what to make of it on my particular cooler...
I didn't have one when it came off yet the pic at the dealer clearly showed it on this side.


It sort of sat like this. But didn't have anything to hold it in place or to really mate up to on the block...


Here is a pic of another, not mine, notice the same small gasket. Also notice the different large O ring..and the retainer assembly. Mine had naught.


The block where it goes together. Basically oil flows through the bolt, through the cooler, then out the off center hole in the cooler, and back into the block through the lower hole.
The tubing of course is for the water jacket, completely separate.


And installed, new hoses too.


Then I filled and fired it up.

 

This was the result. Not too favorable.


So, to touch base on the smaller O ring/gsaket, yes I did install it.
I didn't think it would hurt anything, it wasn't blocking anything and the pics I found on the web of other blocks and coolers had it. I'm not convinced it was the problem, I'm not convinced it wasn't either.

The large O ring has me questioning if it was correct.
It fit, and with the little nubbin tittie things it was secure.
Upon close inspection of the remains of the original O ring, it has the same nubbins, but was considerably fatter, possibly from 20 years of compression and heat. Don't know.

So calling the dealer, they were kind enough to order me another O ring. I asked them to please look up the same application, without the VIN being involved, and it did come back as a different part number for the same year and cooler...so i had them order that one too.
Naturally it's a holiday Monday, so Yay, won't see anything until Tuesday.

Now there is another possibility. Maybe I slipped the damn O ring thing out of it's groove trying to get it together and had it pinched. It fell off easy enough but trying to line it up with the VERY limited space... It could have happened and I thought I was very conscious of it...Won't rule it out until I see the new O rings. End story.

 

maybe a dab or two of grease to hold the new o-ring in place?

 

I was thinking copious amounts of Permatex #2

 

I think I've been warned against using RTV and the like with an o-ring before...

can't remember why though

 

Nah, I was kidding. I'll prolly grease the hell out of it. And maybe a couple of small spy type cameras so I can see the O-ring as I put it in place, use a mirror maybe, and create just the right bend in my right forearm so I can more easily get at it. May have to get NASA involved at some point to map the re-entry of the cooler and interface with the block.

 

Since I can't leave well enough alone and patience is not part of my vocabulary, I found this, of all things.


The O-ring I used is not in that package picture, it's on the cooler now. Same thickness as the original, slightly smaller ID so the O-ring actually clung to the inner edge of the cooler instead of the outer. Don't think it mattered.
I lied, I used a nice thick bead of Permatex #2b on the cooler groove, settled the O-ring in it so it would stay in place then applied a nice coating of grease to the exposed surface of the O-ring so it could slide around on the mating surface while I was floundering around trying to get the bolt in. Then using assorted ropes and pulleys, I tied off the crap that was in the way before. Smoked a butt, first one in 9 years, tasted like shit but I felt good about it, needed a crutch and some confidence to start it up again and potentially spew 6 more quarts of oil on the ground.

It held.


Truck is running and up to temp in this pic.


And cleaned up the Valdez spill.


So now it's been started 3 times, has idled in the driveway for a total of about an hour with the 3 starts and hasn't leaked. I won't lie, I have trust issues, not sure about driving it. I guess if it didn't blow from the start and made it to operating temp without a seep, should be good to go.

I will be keeping the new O-rings from the dealer when they arrive, for a backup.

 

One of my very first oil changes on my old car involved the old gasket not being removed with the filter, and starting the car with doubled up oil filter gaskets. Needless to say, I fired it up and heard the hissing of oil spraying everywhere. Sprayed a mist of oil all over my parents garage and my engine bay.

Glad you got it figured out!

 

Put about 40 some miles on it, some highway too. It held, no leaks.

 

Sorry your truck pooped all over your driveway. On getting the job done

 

Thanks
Tell you what, nothing like stepping out of a freshly "fixed" running truck, to see a puddle like that already formed and literally pouring out from the underneath to get your heart pumping.
There was a whole lot of fucks being tossed around.

 

I hear ya. There was a lot of F bombs being said when I saw the motor didn't fit in the truck. With all the money and time I put into the motor and parts. Then thinking about answering to Barb about it. But hey it's just parts and we keep moving forward.

 

Sorry to hear the old girl gave you so much trouble. I had to replace that gasket on my '96 a few months back and had zero issues. I wish now that I had kept the part numbers. I'm curious what the difference was.
In any event, love the build. Keep on truckin.

 

Thanks man, it's all good now, still no leaks so I'm happy. The failure was totally on me, pretty sure I rolled the O-ring out of the groove the first time. At the very least others who read this know what to watch out for.

 

So to re-cap on this O-ring thing, here is the correct ring for my cooler, which is the same one that I buggered up the first time.


And here is the O-ring for those who have the slightly different style. Same diameter and thickness but has a thin lip on the inner diameter.


Interchangeable? I have no idea, maybe in a pinch, no pun intended.

 

The O-ring that came off of mine was (I assumed) flattened out and wide, like the 2nd pic. I now wonder if I didn't use the wrong replacement since the one I installed was the same as your 1st pic. But, it's been about 4 months and there appears to be no leak or seepage from the cooler. I'll just keep an eye out for the time being.

 

Thats a pretty big cock ring.

oops to far.... sorry

 

Sweet build so far. This is a great reference for quite a few projects. I'll definitely be used your info on the speedo gear once I get my re gear set up all done here soon. Thanks for creating this