Oil cooler failure - first hand experiences?

[Mr & Mrs Shrek]

how long to fit? easy/dificult to fit? looking at this as well

I got the Harrop oil cooler installed by Harrop. It has the best quality cooler and fittings, and it is a neat install plus they have really good service. Although I am very handy, it is worth getting them to install (rated at about 3 hrs) if you are in the area as it was a modest install price that included the consumables and you get peace of mind for this critical component as I am sure that they will stand behind it. There was a slight cosmetic imperfection in the cooler tank in the first install and they replaced it without question or any charge.

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[MaxQ]

I got the Harrop oil cooler installed by Harrop. It has the best quality cooler and fittings, and it is a neat install plus they have really good service. Although I am very handy, it is worth getting them to install (rated at about 3 hrs) if you are in the area as it was a modest install price that included the consumables and you get peace of mind for this critical component as I am sure that they will stand behind it. There was a slight cosmetic imperfection in the cooler tank in the first install and they replaced it without question or any charge.

Just looking at this setup a couple of questions I have
1. Is there any airflow going through the cooler given it mounted horizontally and will sit just above the under tray
2. is the lower radiator hose replaced or is there some sort of loop back where the old cooler was mounted.
cheers

 

[Ben James]

Hey all there seems to be a bit of panick about this so I’ll share a ghetto check we use on older aviation engines if we suspect an oil based contaminant in water based liquids, before we go spending big dollars on outsourcing chemical lab tests to third parties.

Oil in coolant check:

What you need: a sheet of butchers paper (or low fiber white paper equivalent)

To check:

*Do visible check on outside of coolant reservoir for obvious oil contamination (last picture, pic 3). There will be a noticeable darkened discoloring along the top of the coolant level (not the top of the reservoir). If this is so then it’s bad news. Any more severe than this, and you would have seen some white smoke coming out the exhaust, and smelt coolant burning on hard pulls, and you’d see/smell coolant in your oil separator if installed. This contributes as imminent failure evidence.

*if the above shows no discernible contamination, then do below steps for further investigation to see if the problem may become evident at a later stage:
- get piece of butchers paper, fold and insert very slowly into reservoir, just enough to get it slightly wet with coolant (see first pic, pic 1).
- remove paper and let dry.
- while it’s drying you can get another piece of paper and wet with normal water (as a reference)
- if you have some car oil and coolant handy, you can make another control piece of paper by combining 5ml oil and 500ml coolant. Dip paper in and let dry.

See pic 2 (middle picture) for my results:

On the left is the test piece I placed into the coolant tank, the middle has less than 5ml oil to 500ml coolant, and the right piece has just water.

Even after only 20 mins of dry time I can see the left piece (test) looks almost the same as the right piece (water). (See pic 2) The middle piece looks completely contaminated with oil, and this will happen because the oil sits on top making a thin layer that bonds onto the paper and won’t allow any coolant/water though. This tiny level of contamination is way too thin for the human eye to see if just looking into the reservoir.

I’ve done just over 10,000kms of moderate driving in my 2018 mustang, so this check assured me that the oil cooler is working perfectly normal, as I can not see any evidence whatsoever of oil in my coolant.

If the test failed, I’d suck out roughly 250ml of the coolant and send it off to the lab for a proper test (giving evidence to Ford). These guys are in QLD and do a decent job for decent money in a reasonable amount of time: https://www.alsglobal.com/au/services-and-products/oil-fuel-and-coolant-analysis or this method https://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/coolant-test-strips#/ is a little less expensive as well.

After an hour of dry time a successful result will show the test piece still appearing damp with no shine in light (detergents in the coolant will do this), but definitely not greasy. The oil control peice will be just as oily as when first set to dry with a shiny surface, and the water test piece will be dry.

Hope this ghetto test can give others assurance as well.

 

[snake bite]

Fantastic, practical and informative....rock on Ben

 

[Drewbo]

Any recent reports of further oil cooler failures?

My warranty expires next month, so am considering whether or not to get an aftermarket system installed.

 

[Since-64]

Any recent reports of further oil cooler failures?

My warranty expires next month, so am considering whether or not to get an aftermarket system installed.

Hi Drewbo, I know of a 2017 oil cooler failure here in Vic just a few weeks ago which resulted in a new motor for the owner. If I remember right I think our cars were travel buddies on the Faust. I have changed to the streetfighter oil cooler a couple of months ago just for peace of mind.

 

[Drewbo]

Hi Drewbo, I know of a 2017 oil cooler failure here in Vic just a few weeks ago which resulted in a new motor for the owner. If I remember right I think our cars were travel buddies on the Faust. I have changed to the streetfighter oil cooler a couple of months ago just for peace of mind.

Indeed Graeme........I can't believe that three years have passed so quickly - the Faust thread was epic!

I'd originally planned on ditching this car by now and upgrading, but I've become quite attached to it and it's a keeper.

Might have to get that modification done, as you say, for peace of mind - I have little faith in Ford coming to the party with an out-of-warranty resolution. I thought that some unfortunate owner may have already gone through that experience by now (or for the aircon) given that the first warranties would have expired back in December.

 

[Since-64]

I had pretty much planned to do the same, sell and upgrade but I love this car. Like you said mines also a keeper.

 

[SteveS]

Any recent reports of further oil cooler failures?

My warranty expires next month, so am considering whether or not to get an aftermarket system installed.

We had one reported on a Facebook group (UK) recently but that's all I can remember for a while. It was a later model, possibly a MY17 registered in 2018.

 

[GT 550]

Any recent reports of further oil cooler failures?

My warranty expires next month, so am considering whether or not to get an aftermarket system installed.

Hi Drew,

It might be timely to ask the servicing dealer via email straight out eg 'My warranty is about to expire, if my oil cooler fails will it be covered by Ford in any way'? Given the impending expiry of the warranty I think you have a very legitimate right to ask them in those terms as the the question is far more pressing than it once was. They might come back with the usual palaver requiring a bucket but whatever the response it'd be telling.

Cheers

 

[Drewbo]

It might be timely to ask the servicing dealer via email straight out eg 'My warranty is about to expire, if my oil cooler fails will it be covered by Ford in any way'? Given the impending expiry of the warranty I think you have a very legitimate right to ask them in those terms as the the question is far more pressing than it once was. They might come back with the usual palaver requiring a bucket but whatever the response it'd be telling.

Yeah, I plan on doing that.

If my prior experiences are any indicator, though, the service guy will have an incredulous look on his face and just deny that there are any known issues at all (even though its documented by a pesky TSB).

https://ford.oemdtc.com/2604/oil-leak-from-engine-oil-cooler-right-hand-drive-2016-2017-ford-mustang

 

[POJ 1]

Hi Drew,

It might be timely to ask the servicing dealer via email straight out eg 'My warranty is about to expire, if my oil cooler fails will it be covered by Ford in any way'? Given the impending expiry of the warranty I think you have a very legitimate right to ask them in those terms as the the question is far more pressing than it once was. They might come back with the usual palaver requiring a bucket but whatever the response it'd be telling.

Cheers

You would be better to cut out one layer of corporate pc bullshit and direct your inquiry to Ford Australia straight off.
They will be the one's making the final call for any dealer and they have no one to hide behind
Good luck!

 

[stasik-a4]

No new posts for 3 months, does that mean no more affected cars?

Anyway here's the Harrop offering for those who are interested

https://www.harrop.com.au/shop/automotive-performance/cooling/engine-oil-cooler-ford-mustang-gt

2017 Manual GT with 12k on the clock i have had a new engine put in since the cooler failed.

 

[Mr & Mrs Shrek]

Just looking at this setup a couple of questions I have
1. Is there any airflow going through the cooler given it mounted horizontally and will sit just above the under tray
2. is the lower radiator hose replaced or is there some sort of loop back where the old cooler was mounted.
cheers

The airflow comes from the lower grill there is no extra ducting or diverter. It is a high pressure area and the air will flow through there as normal.
There is a loop in the radiator. I was going to get a full size radiator to replace the factory tee unit. But, I did not know the ID and how easy it would be to remove the existing fasting clips.
I would have thought it better for cooling to remove what looks like a restrictive factory tee, Harrop did not think it was an issue.

 

[v8hgt]

I have just seen this official looking tsb posted on Facebook
https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/Co...ZwyxU88y7sBib2uKv5pEMGHrsHHpR7VBG5A0pk-BL12cs


Check out the effected build dates. Now appears to be up to Feb 17!

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