One of the oil cooler lines on my '84 300D (German spec, so no turbo) is starting to weep where it is crimped to the hard line from the oil filter. I did a search and found a lot of information on how to replace them, but not much on how quickly they completley fail after they start to weep. Is this something that I just need to keep an eye on (while continuing to drive the car) until I can replace the hoses, or should I leave the car parked (i. e. catastrophic hose failure imminent)? Currently, only one of the four crimp connections is leaking, and the connection is just damp, not oil soaked.

Well it's always best to err on the side of caution and just replace them ASAP, last thing you want is a complete blow out going down the freeway and lose all your oil in a matter of seconds. You may be able to get by for a while, but IMO it's too risky.

Repairing them right away is a good idea. Although I did wait 2 years before doing mine... I didn't replace my entire line either. Just the rubber section.

I'm not suggesting this but I think mine weeped (wept?) for 10 years.

This is NOT advice.

The one at the bottom of the oil cooler on my 85 was wet when we bought the car, but not dripping. I kept an eye on it and probably went 2 yrs like that.

Took a trip to Texas, and on the way back, we stopped in Kingman, AZ. and it was wet and a slight drip. figured it would be ok to drive from there back to Santa Cruz.

When we got home, it was spraying oil on the back side of the L/F wheel. Didn`t loose all that much oil, but did make a mess.
We lucked out that time, a little more, and it probably would have let go, and at hwy speeds it would have been bye bye engine.

They were the originals, with a date stamped on the crimp of (84). think at the time they were 18 yrs old, and the rubber was hard as a rock.

So yeah< change them now, they are warning you.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Do it as soon as possible. Mine started to go the same way as charmalu has. A slight wet spot started turning into a drip so when I got home from school I had the car parked in my barn and replaced all shorts of stuff.

Be prepared to replace the oil cooler if those stupid aluminum fittings strip. Thankfully there are a lot of great people here who stock pile them in the emergency that a member needs one asap

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Thanks for the quick replies. I definitely plan to replace them sooner rather than later, but I just wanted a little reassurance for my 3 mile drive to school. If I get up early enough tomorrow, I will try to take a picture before I leave. Also, is it possible to replace the fittings if they strip? I'd rather not have to buy a 500 dollar oil cooler.

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1984 300D
Euro spec, 5 speed
217,000 miles

I believe I read on here that MB sells a fitting to repair the stripped threads on the oil cooler.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

You do indeed need to be very careful with the fittings on the oil cooler. I found it isn't really a case of stripping threads but more of a tearing away of the threaded portion from the main housing...

In my opinion part of the problem is that they aren't the easiest bits to reach. If you think that you are going to do some damage whilst trying to undo them I recommend that you stop and cut through the old lines with a hacksaw and then tackle the fittings once you have removed the oil cooler.

There are two little 10mm (I think) bolts and nuts that hold the oil cooler onto the side of the radiator. If you break these they are way easier to replace than the cooler.

If these don't play ball then take out the radiator as well.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

One of our Members (this info is in one of the threads) recommends making a length wise cut a crossed the Nut of the Oil Cooler Hose and splitting the Hose Nuts Apart (this only needs to be done on the Oil Cooler End). This can be done with an about $30 Dremel Type tool from Harbor Freight.

If you happen to go through the Nut and nick some threads; do not worry because the sealing is not done by the threads. The sealing is done by the end of the Hose.

I stripped about 3 threads off of mine removing the Upper Hose Nut on the Oil Cooler so I know it happens. The Aluminum threads Corrode and attach to the Steel Nut.

Using the Dremel Tool is an additional expense but at least you have a Tool left over from the job that you can use on something else.

If you strip the Threads off of the Nipple the Repair is going to take longer and require you remove the Oil Cooler any way.

Oil Cooler Repair pics and parts.
Has part number for screwed nipple Search = Screwed nipple 915013-013002
Oil cooler repair - help needed...
MB Part # Description 915013-013002 Screwed Nipples (That's what the label said.) 007603-018101 Ring, General, Metal"
Or may be listed as N915013-013002

If you read through the above I believe you will see it is faster and simpler to Cut the Nuts length wise'
When you remove the Oil Cooler Lines from the Fulter you may need to thin the Head of a Wrench to hold the Fittings behind the Hose Nut.

Below is a pic of one of my Harbor Freight Dremel type tools. This one has a Diamond Cutoff Wheel on it but when you buy the Tool it comes with a bunch of similar but normal cut off wheels. Onec you have the tool I bet you will find other used for it.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Start checking the pnp yards for spare oil coolers. can be picked up for about $10. not all of them have the oil lines corroded and sort of welded on. some come right off.

there is the repair Nipples refered to as "screwed nipples". here are a couple threads with some good info

are the oil cooler fittings replaceable by themselves?

Oil Cooler Repaired

charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Some pictures. One is of the weeping crimp, one is what I think is a leaking vacuum pump gasket, one is what I think is an EGR valve, one is the whole engine compartment, and the last one is the front of the car. Bonus points if you guess what the green car on the left is.

Oil cooler lines


Vacuum pump. Is that leak a bad gasket?


Is this an EGR valve?


The engine compartment. Bit dirty.


Front of the car. Anyone have a guess as to what the green thing is?

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
1984 300D
Euro spec, 5 speed
217,000 miles

Doesn't look like an EGR to me. What the hell is it? It's way bigger than the US EGR.
Volvo.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Since the fittings at the oil cooler are so iffy, it would be nice if someone sold a short looped line that could bypass the hoses at the oil filter and recirculate the oil back into the filter. That way bad cooler lines could be quickly bypassed and the car would remain functional and the lines at the cooler could be dealt with at leisure.
What are the oil filter housings like on models without the oil cooler? Are the outlets just plugged or do they not exist at all?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

The big thing on the intake has a hose from the exhaust leading to it. This car was originally bought in Germany, and then privately brought over and partially Federalized. That could explain why it doesn't look like the EGR on the US cars. There is also a bunch of soot in the intake. If that is EGR, would I be losing anything by removing it?

Also, how does that connection look? I don't think that it has been leaking very long.

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1984 300D
Euro spec, 5 speed
217,000 miles