ok... So i replaced the oil cooler lines this morning.

So far so good, got the car up to operating temperature and no oil was leaking. The oil pressure in the car stayed at 3 bars after refilling with 6.5 quarts of oil and so far no issues with the engine (no oil leaking or weird issues in regards to that). The engine has the same responsiveness and makes the same noises so i think i should be in the clear (on engine damage) but will keep an eye out for the next 50 miles or so (and look at oil consumption).

A few notes on the process of how i got the oil cooler lines out without removing the motor mounts or loosening the the compressor.


Here is how i accomplished the goal of replacing the lines, and if i had to do it again, would probably take me ~1 hr total.

1. Loosen the oil cooler lines at both ends (oil filter housing and oil cooler for both top and bottom).

2. loosen the mounting brackets and remove the rear mounting bracket (very important) and will pop off both bolts with a 10mm wrench/socket.

3. move the lower oil cooler line down and out of the way by either taking it out or just pushing it down about 3 inches or so to the left.

4. Ok , just as everyone knows this is the tricky part. If you look at the top oil cooler line and the oil filter housing, slightly to the right is the steering housing (before it goes to the power steering pump). In-between the steering housing and the oil filter housing is a small gap where the line barely does not fit.

What you need to do is move the line that is by the oil cooler back and around the windshield wiper fluid container. Once done, you then have to push the upper line down as far you as you can towards the ground and twist it left. As you do this you need to slowly push it forward. (down, left, forward). If you do this at the right time (and assuming the nut that seals the line is not hanging at the very end) the tip of the line will clear that space and there will be a little tension on the oil cooler hardline itself (touching up against the oil cooler housing). If you wedge it down slightly and then push out it will pop through.

Once pop'd out the entire line will easily come out the back of the engine bay.


5. Putting the line back in is also somewhat tricky, but you want to fish it from behind the engine bay back into the compartment. I recommend getting at it from under the driver's side of the car and fishing the rubber line in first. It takes a little bit of finagling... but if you apply those instructions in reverse order... it should work. Once i figured this out (took me a while) the entire process took about 20 mins of finagling the lines, to get them in and out.

I tested removing the lines a couple of times with this technique and by the end i can remove the upper line in about 5-10 mins and put it back in 10-15 mins. The only real thing you have to remove from the car and put back is that rear mounting bracket.


I hope this helps someone and let me know if this works for you too!
(below is a pic of the gap i am talking about).