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How to change out oil cooler

BH1166

Well Known Member
Nearly 30 years in use, 1110 hours and she sprang a leak yesterday. Mounted on baffles behind #4 cylinder. Any gotchas, do or don’t. Should I drain oil before disconnecting in and out lines? Anything to know about reinstalling, Teflon tape on threads, pipe lube etc. I’m all ears ...Thanks

Oh, if an old school 5 row Stewart Warner cannot be found/ purchased, is a 7 row going to cool me that much more than the 5 row. Oil always 195-205F , don’t think I need any extra cooling.
 
Before you order one

I think I have a Van's stock cooler (NIB) in the hangar that came with our RV-7 project. I went with a firewall mounted Airflow 2006X. Let me check this morning. I'm in Locust Grove, GA so pretty close by.
 
I think I have a Van's stock cooler (NIB) in the hangar that came with our RV-7 project. I went with a firewall mounted Airflow 2006X. Let me check this morning. I'm in Locust Grove, GA so pretty close by.

Wow, that would be great! Thank you !
 
Nearly 30 years in use, 1110 hours and she sprang a leak yesterday. Mounted on baffles behind #4 cylinder. Any gotchas, do or don’t. Should I drain oil before disconnecting in and out lines? Anything to know about reinstalling, Teflon tape on threads, pipe lube etc. I’m all ears ...Thanks

One of the 10 commandments of aircraft fuel and oil systems. No teflon tape. Misapplication of teflon tape has caused lots of problems. I do use teflon paste when installing fittings into oil coolers and the like.

If your worry is about spilling oil, just have a container ready when you disconnect the bottom hose.

Also, before you remove the fittings from your current oil cooler, note their orientation closely so you can match it when you install fittings in the new cooler (assuming you are substituting a similar unit).

Note, when wrenching on hoses and fittings, put a wrench on the hose end and the fitting so you're not transferring the tighten/loosen forces back to the cooler. Also, consensus is to use steel (not aluminum) fittings due to fatigue issues.
 
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Locktite 567

Never swapped one but if one fitting is at the bottom, I would loosen it and place a bucket underneath then wait till it stops draining.

Locktite 567 is pretty good stuff. Permetex #2 also good.
Apply starting one thread away from the end.
 
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