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MG MGB Technical - Oil cooler - hoses stuck

Hello all.

Back this past Sunday from Ohio picking up my "new" 1971 B.

I'm trying to replace the oil cooler lines as they didn't look the best. The new ones plus a bunch of other stuff is on the way from Moss.

So I put a wrench to the fitting to spin the nut off and nothing - it won't budge. I've cut the lines and removed the cooler to put it in a gentle wooden vise. Two wrenches against each other and yes - you guessed it - it won't budge.

I'm thinking the metal of the coupling and the aluminum of the cooler might have bonded in some way.

Anybody else run into this? OK - a Moss new oil cooler is about $100 so it's not awful but that's $100 away from something else.

Rob in Nashville
R Gallagher

Go with your heat wrench!
Paul Hanley

Sounds familiar. I think you'll find 1 out of ever 2 owners has sheared a fitting off the oil cooler due to the dissimilar metals bonding. I did! On the bright side, at least you no the new oil cooler isn't clogged up with old bad oil or debris. Others will suggest you can do without it, but I replaced mine, plus it will look nice with the new lines. And so begins the might as wells...

Cheers,
Dave
Dave Whitehead

I see Paul was commenting at the same time as me. Heat might just do it too. It's worth a try, works on most of these problems- just concentrate the heat on the outer portion of the fitting. Having re-read my first post, I'm blaming my poor spelling on a long day!

Dave
Dave Whitehead

Rob. My experience is that there are two problems with the older oil coolers. The first is that the fittings have seized and are very difficult to remove without damage to the fittings and/or the oil cooler. The second is that the oil coolers (factory) tend to crack near where the fittings flare into the flat top of the cooler.

I should note that, with a less than three year old line from the rear of the engine to the oil cooler, my daughter had a minor problem. The line split as she was driving along at highway speeds. Either the oil pressure did not drop, or she did not notice it, until the engine started knocking. When I arrived and added three quarts of oil to her newly rebuilt engine, we found the oil spraying all over when we started the engine up. Plus, minimal oil was moving from the oil cooler to the oil filter, thence, to the important parts. I had just done a "no expense spared" rebuild on her engine as a combination "high school graduation/going off to college" present.

The lessons we learned from this, very expensive, experience are that:

1. Check the condition of the lines on a regular basis. Just because the factory lines lasted over 20 years does not mean the new lines will last three.

2. It is impossible to fully drain and clean an oil cooler during a regular oil change. If you have had a bad engine in the past, you need to replace the oil cooler. If you do not know if the car has had a bad engine without the oil cooler being changed, change the oil cooler.

3. The lines with the stainless steel fabric covering the rubber are more resistant to abrasion, but do not allow you to check for heat breakdown as easily as non-covered lines.

4. When in doubt, change out what ever parts you need to change out. The price of a $180 oil cooler package is nothing compared to a balanced and blueprinted engine.

Les
Les Bengtson

I had to fit a new cooler when I tried to fit new lines . There was no way to seperate the old ones from the cooler while leaving it intact .
S Best

Rob, I dont know what the climate is like in Nashville but over here most MG enthusiasts also own an angle grinder!

As you are unlikely to want to reuse the hose fitting I would go down 2 opposing flats with an angle grinder, taking care not to go quite through to the threads. The nut should then split off quite easily.

David
David Witham

Could you cut the old line really close to the coupling and put a deep socket over the end. This would allow you to use a breaker bar to move it. Of course, there is a risk the the fitting will shear off, but if it does then it's time for a new cooler, which is the alternative anyway! When I first removed a cooler I wanted to keep the oil line and I managed to arrange two wrenches in such a way that I could put my foot on one wrenches, while hitting the other one with a club hammer!! It did work and I was able to reuse both the cooler and line. However, once it started to move it didn't get a lot easier! So don't be surprised if it doesn't suddenly spin freely.

Iain
I D Cameron

Fortunately I needed to replace my cooler rather than the hoses. Had to crush it in a vice before I could get enough leverage to break the hoses free. I wonder if putting a bit of oil on the threads on assembly would help future removal ...
Paul Hunt

All,

Many thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

Rob
R Gallagher

A trick that has worked for me is to heat the steel 'nut' above the cooler then douse it with cold water. The thermal shock will often times break the bond making it easier to remove. If it doesn't work the first time, try again. Don't try to heat the nut to 'red' heat - the aluminum will melt long before that.

Good luck,
Tom
Tom Sotomayor

Rob, I would follow Les's suggestion and buy a new cooler. It's just not worth betting an engine on.

Paul K

New cooler - new pipes, every time - this is your engines life blood you are dealing with!
Chris at Octarine Services

This thread was discussed on 07/04/2005

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