zafira removal oil cooler

[pascal]

Dear ALL,

I am a proud owner of a zafira DTH2.0
but recently i have problems with oil in the cooling system.
having read some of the forums I think it is the oil cooler.

so next big step: removal of the oil cooler

some say it is an easy thing to do...
Please give me some hints....
- do I need to remove the front of the car to gain access
- do i need special tools to remove the T30 screws
- whatever hint you can give me...

because I have tried a few hours but are still unsuccesful...
thanks Pascal

 

[Mursal]

We would usually bypass the cooler to first establish if its the problem and not the engine internally leaking oil into the coolant.
On most engines you can do this by connecting the two coolant/water hoses with a copper pipe. But to be honest never did a Safira, so you will have to have a look or wait for someone to inform both of us.
You can see the coolant pipes on the cooler in this link http://bit.ly/JM8WVs

You will have to get all the oil out of the coolant expansion tank, usually any detergent will do. But if you leave any oil behind it will come to the surface of the water when you refill.
Use water to see if you're lucky and it's the cooler, then decide what to do.

 

[pascal]

Hi Mursal,
Thanks for your fast response.
The caps on the cooler (to seal the water circuit) are those standard material ?
Could i also fit a hose between them ?

Other question... What is the effect of driving with a bypassed oil cooler?

Kind regards pascal

 

[Mursal]

Disconnect the two hoses and join them together and run the engine until you are sure its the problem.

Not good driving without a cooler for long periods as the oil will deteriorate very quickly due to over heating.

The bypass is only to ensure you don't pay for a cooler that is not required. It's not a fix for the problem, best to replace the cooler

 

[pascal]

Hi Mursal,

Ok ... Got that.

In my case i bought allready a new oil cooler ...
But still it is a good trick to trst for gasket leakage before going through the hastle of exchanging the oil cooler for nothing.
What did you use to cap of the coolers tubes

Any tips or trick in removing the oil cooler on a zafira A DTH 2.0
Because it looks the area for removing it is prety small.
Should i remove the front of the car ?
Or can it be done via the underside of the car

Kind regards pascal

 

[pascal]

Hi Mursal,

Little update here,
I dismanteld the front of the car to ease the access to the oil cooler.
Which was a good descision, because the oil cooler screws were hidden behind a plastic cable guide and impossible to reach fro the bottom side.

I forced the plastic duct/cable guide out of its position,
And could remove the oil cooler as planned.

Examined a few tubes. / hoses and the ammount of sludge deposited on the inside was huge.... And wow that is messy stuff.

Tried to clean the most of it using some old rags.... And build car back together again.... At least to the point that i could start the engine.

I filled the watter tank with plain watter and heated the motor up.
A lot of sludge again was collected in the water reservoir.
I drained it.... And repeated the steps a few times.

And finally after the 4th time the ammount of oil sludge got less.
So i cleaned it for a fifth time and keep it like this.
Next week i will receive the bottles of bio degreaser.
And hope that gets rid of the remaining residu.

I' ll keep my fingers crossed that this is the end of the story....
I' ll keep you posted.

Thanks for your support.

pascal

 

[Mursal]

Good stuff ....................