Oil pouring out!

[eliems]

Losing a table spoon of oil on the ground in less than a minute. Thought it might be a loose oil filter but no.

The oil is dripping where the oil cooler hoses go under the rad on the front passenger corner. Could be the oil line its self or????

Nuts! Just as I was about to go pick up my wife 350 miles away on Monday.

Do they need to remove the hood / bumper / rad or is it easy to do an oil cooler/line replacement? (We do have an oil cooler on the front side of the radiator don't we?)

 

[Kevan]

Check the fittings on the oil cooler lines (both ends). On the trucks, they were/are notorious for failing.

Here are a couple of DIY articles for ya:
DIY: AN braided lines - .:SRTConnection:.

DIY: Oil Cooler Lines - .:SRTConnection:.

They work fantastic, and look great (and probably add HP...heh heh).

 

[eliems]

I am trying to figure out how to access the lines on an RT/10. I wonder if they have to remove the grill or bumper or?

If it is just the lines I will be glad, it might be the oil cooler and they are a lot of $$$$ ?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

If it is the cooler just go get an aftermarket one. I think they can be had for $100 or so. My stocker was leaking where the fitting was welded. I got it re-welded 70,000 miles ago and it hasn't leaked since.

 

[plumcrazy]

i think jegs has a few that would work. might need to fab a bracket to make it work ?

 

[ViperTony]

Try taking some pics of the lines, cooler, etc and post them up.

 

[eliems]

So we identified the culprit ... a leaking braided oil line about 4 inches from the oil filter. Replacing it (both of them) requires removing the hood and bumper!

Chrysler tells me 6 weeks for a stock hose so we go after-market or have them made up.

Hoping to have it done on Monday and off to the interior on Tuesday. Otherwise my wife takes the bus home.

I will post the final costs and outcome.

 

[SA HEAT]

Replacing it (both of them) requires removing the hood and bumper!

Where did you get that, the service manual? I'd try really hard to find a way to avoid taking those off if at all possible.

 

[Tom Sessions]

You need to check you ground wire that goes between the engine and frame on the passenger side of the motor. If the ground is loose then you will fail the oil cooler lines as they will be acting as the ground wire.And the hoses will melt. The ground wire hooks up right behind the belt tensioner and goes to the frame rail held in place by a 13mm nut on a welded stud on the frame rail

 

[SA HEAT]

Wow, that's good to know!

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

You need to check you ground wire that goes between the engine and frame on the passenger side of the motor. If the ground is loose then you will fail the oil cooler lines as they will be acting as the ground wire.And the hoses will melt. The ground wire hooks up right behind the belt tensioner and goes to the frame rail held in place by a 13mm nut on a welded stud on the frame rail

Superstar Tom Sessions offers valuable input again.

 

[PatentLaw]

You need to check you ground wire that goes between the engine and frame on the passenger side of the motor. If the ground is loose then you will fail the oil cooler lines as they will be acting as the ground wire.And the hoses will melt. The ground wire hooks up right behind the belt tensioner and goes to the frame rail held in place by a 13mm nut on a welded stud on the frame rail

Thanks for the tip.

 

[eliems]

Where did you get that, the service manual? I'd try really hard to find a way to avoid taking those off if at all possible.

Yes, the service manual the shop had and I saw the upper connector on the rad side was impossible to get at with a wrench. If the lower hose had been the leaker we could have done it in minutes.

 

[plumcrazy]

the hood comes off with 4 bolts. just need another set of hands to take it off. bumper comes off pretty easy too.

great info from tom

 

[ViperTony]

Detailed information and illustration on how to remove the front fascia is located here: http://forums.viperclub.org/rt-10-gts-discussions/637059-how-remove-front-fascia.html

 

[DVSGTS]

No need to take the hood off. You can snake the line out without taking it off, but the front fascia does need to come off. Just cant get the wrenches in there to disconnect from the cooler. Put some heater hose over the lines when you put it back together. It'll protect them from rubbing and grounding.

 

[GTS Dean]

I believe those hoses are JIC-10. That's a bit of an oddball size, but a quality industrial hose & power transmission shop should be able to fix you up. I see a lot of -10 hose on air compressor discharge (teflon tube/stainless outer) and hydraulic power steering for trucks and heavy machinery.

Also, most aftermarket hose ends will have flats for 2 different sized wrenches on the same female fitting. The smaller one is usually part of the socket and flare, the outer is the swivel nut. If you get in a hurry or a bit careless using only the nut wrench, the nut can gall the socket and cause the hose to twist when tightening which can lead to premature hose failure. Make sure there's no twist in the hose, put a wrench on the smaller socket flat, then tighten the nut with the larger wrench.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Those hoses rub against each other near the Rad....
Done a few here in the UK.. But it was cheaper to get a specialist to make two new ones....

Pirtek UK : Europe's Number One provider of fluid transfer solutions. Hose replacement, mobile hose replacement. less than half price

 

[eliems]

So today the Dealer tells me that they are having a hard time getting hoses made and it will be another four days and they will run $600.

Sooo ... a call into Chuck Tator, who always seems available and willing to help and has parts ready to deliver (even to the great white north), and now OEM Hoses are on their way for half the price.

Really, I can't believe what pita it is changing a simple Oil Cooler hose!

Onward we go ...

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Wrap them in rubber where they touch......

 

[eliems]

Lines are in, the Stealer charged me 5 hours labor ($690 with taxes) but when I pointed out to them that other dealers quoted 1 1/2 hours to change oil cooler lines, they gave me $100 off. This repair has cost me a thousand dollars and took 7 days! Unbelievable considering I have done similar repairs on other cars for less than $150.

All this because the top connector on the rad side is not accessible without removing the bumper. I think the designers went out of their way to make it like that. It could have been so easy to reach through the grill and remove the connectors.

Now I need to wrap the lines where they rub together because the dealer didn't follow through on their promise to do that for me. I will try to get some heater hose that covers the line.

I think I see the ground to the frame and it seems fine.

Thanks to Chuck for sending me the parts!