MarkusG
X-TRAIL NEWBIE
Date Registered: 09-2018
TOTAL POSTS: 2
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Re: fixing an oil cooler leak
I had a slow oil leak in my X-trail for years. Turns out it was the oil cooler. This leak can be a little bit tricky to spot. It seems to have a habit of leaking quickly on start up, then stopping when the engine warms up.
With the car on stands, the drivers wheel and the wheel arch splash guard removed, it was not difficult to put a 17mm ratchet spanner on the oil cooler top bolt and tighten it up a bit. More torque was available with the engine warm. This stopped the leak for a couple of days but it had to come out.
Nissan quoted me over $1267 for the oil cooler assembly, but they sold me the engine block gasket for around $10 (part 21304).
I got the two O-rings from Seal Innovations. The large one was 7mm X 74mm outside diameter (OD), and the small one at the top was 3.5mm X 23mm OD. The previous posts suggest 6mm X 75mm and that would be probably fit better.
With the four 12mm engine block bolts removed, the oil cooler could be tilted to allow the top hoses to be removed, and then out it came. The new o-rings and the engine gaskets went in without sealant. I held the oil cooler in a wood vice to get some tension on the top bolt.
If you reinstall it like I did, you will forget to put the water hoses on first, bolt the oil cooler up nice and tight, then take it off again, put the hoses on and reassemble. Whew!
It took a couple of days of city driving for the oil cooler to start leaking oil again. A little bit of oil began seeping from the engine gasket as well. Re-tensioning was easy and hopefully no more leaks!
Thanks everyone for the tips.
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25/Sep/2018, 7:09 pm
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bobturn
X-TRAIL NEWBIE
Date Registered: 09-2017
Location: HACKNEY SA 5069
TOTAL POSTS: 2
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Re: fixing an oil cooler leak
Hi All,
I had the T-31 oil cooler leak a year ago, bought the "O ring" and seal on E-Bay from USA and got my mechanic to fit them which stopped the leak. Now it is leaking again and I had to make the trip from Adelaide to Sydney towing my Jayco Penguin camper, so I'm back now having left a litre of oil in spots along the way.
So the seals (Ebay US $18.62) and a Chinese replacement oil cooler ( Ebay $55 ) have arrived and I'll probably get my mechanic to fit them again, as he can clean off the oil all over the bottom of the car better than I.
I'm wondering if this leak is cured by just tightening the bolts holding the cooler to the engine block, as one of the posts said was a temporary fix, and another said was possible when the engine was warm.
Or is the leak at "O-ring" plate?
Can the sealing surfaces be warped by tightening too much?
I can't believe the gasket and O-ring can harden/fail in a year - what is happening here?
--- Bobturn X-5643
2009 T31 2.5 CVT X-Trail, foglights, reversing camera, airbags in rear springs, Anderson plug and cable to towbar
91 VW Syncro Transporter (my other love)
Hackney, SA
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11/May/2019, 2:08 pm
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