Clio 197 oil cooler removal

Yea 8200320616 I used the pipe from a spare engine of mine to fix it quickly during the Christmas break the new one is still sitting on my desk as I have not found the time to do the job over again to fit it. I have seen other non genuine pipes online as I think the genuine one is £65 but others around £15 - £20 maybe heat shrink around the exposed part to stop stones hitting and causing the corrosion might be a long term fix.

Mine after the rust removed
1676510822559.png
1676510890622.png
 
  • Wow
  • Like
Reactions: LiamP and Sean197
I finally got round to doing the Oil cooler swap today.

I hope this helps some other folk in the future, as I explain how i did this job, without lifting the car and accessing only from the top of the engine bay! :smiley:

To start off with, it is important to remember that gravity is your friend, and by that I mean you can do this job without having to drain the oil.
Which was something I thought I would have to do... until I really thought about it.

So, what I did was:

- Removed the air intake pipes that run from the scuttle panel, across in front of the inlet manifold and then back towards the airbox. (2/3 pieces of induction pipe.

- I then took the Coolant pipe off from the Radiator, so I could pull it out the way a bit.
(Coolant naturally poured out from the radiator. So make sure you have coolant ready for later)

- Once the coolant host was moved, I reached through and removed the Oil filter.
(Bit of oil came out, as you would expect, so make sure you have a bit of oil, in case you need to top up a little later)

- With the Oil filter removed, I noticed that my Oil cooler had the 2 coolant pipes facing straight up, instead of the 45-50 degree angle, seen in servicing guide. This mean my knock sensor was between the two coolant pipes (not where you would expect it to be)

1676836681879.png

- I removed the connecting pipe that has a 27mm nut on it (This the pipe that holds the Oil cooler to the engine, that the Oil filter then spins on to)
It came off pretty easy, as it is only meant to be tightened as much as an oil filter would be.

1676836977730.png

- Once the pipe was removed, the Oil cooler came away from the engine without any grief.
I noticed the gasket for where it meets the engine, was a little worn.

- With it away from the engine, I was able to pull it towards the opening I had made by having the radiator hose unplugged.

- With the 2 oil cooler, water hoses now accessible, I reached in with pliers and pulled the clips off, to remove the 2 coolant pipes.

- The oil cooler was then free and removed from the vehicle.
My suspicion was right, the mating face was pretty beat up, not allowing a clean seal of the oil filter.

- I made sure the new Oil cooler was the same as the one I took out and I got to installing.

- I put a bit of oil around the new seal, on the new oil cooler and reached in to the engine bay to fit it.

- I installed the 2 coolant pipes, to the new Oil cooler and pulled the hose clips back in to place.

- Getting the Oil cooler to line up with the engine was a little fiddly, but take your time and get someone to hold a torch so you can see.
You want to hold the threaded mounting/oil tube through the new oil cooler and get it in place to thread in to the engine.
This was fiddly and I kept sanity checking the new seal was in place, multiple times, to ensure it mated up with the engine.

- Once this is threading in and you are sure the seal is mated correctly, tighten it up as much as you would an oil filter.

- When the Oil cooler it fit, install your oil filter.

- With that all back together, connect the coolant hose back to the radiator and out the host clamp back in place.

- Well done, you are almost there!

- At this point, leave the intake piping off, so you can look down at the oil filter/oil cooler area.

- Top up the coolant so it is at MAX line.

- Start the engine and inspect the oil filter/oil cooler area/coolant connections, to ensure no OIL or COOLANT leaks are present.

- Run the car up to temp and ensure the coolant system is bled through for any lost fluid.

- Once you are happy nothing is leaking, put the intake pipework back together and go for a drive.

That should be about it.

Thanks to everyone who helped in the thread.