Oil cooler leaking
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 1,403
From: Mid-Atlantic
2025 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
Oil cooler leaking
It's on my '90.
Technically speaking, I bypassed it last year and completely removed the pipe and hoses to it.
But then I bolted the oil cooler itself back on for the time being afterward.
It's not functional, it's just there. Leaking now, though.
Can I just remove the whole thing along with the adapter and just screw a new filter into the block?
As memory serves, I think I can, just don't quite remember. But I'm not gonna crawl under there if not, so that's why I ask.
Thanks!
Technically speaking, I bypassed it last year and completely removed the pipe and hoses to it.
But then I bolted the oil cooler itself back on for the time being afterward.
It's not functional, it's just there. Leaking now, though.
Can I just remove the whole thing along with the adapter and just screw a new filter into the block?
As memory serves, I think I can, just don't quite remember. But I'm not gonna crawl under there if not, so that's why I ask.
Thanks!
Last edited by Natty C; Jul 12, 2021 at 11:44 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 1,312
Likes: 384
From: Northern California
Where's it leaking from? If it's just the oil cooler seal up top, that's very much like a square-section oil filter gasket. Your option though, you can take it off or leave it and replace with a new seal.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 1,403
From: Mid-Atlantic
2025 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 1,403
From: Mid-Atlantic
2025 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
Now I've got a new oil pan here that I may very well not really have to replace just yet. Will see.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 1,403
From: Mid-Atlantic
2025 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
Bah.
I knew better.
Shoulda stuck with my instinct.
What a waste of my time.
In case anyone else runs across this thread, you have to swap out the studs with shorter bolts (which I don't have) and reinstall the adapter, then the oil filter.
So the correct answer is, no, you can't just screw the filter straight into the block without modification.
Don't waste your time crawling under there unless you first aquire the shorter replacement bolts after you figure out the pitch on them, otherwise you have to stop in the middle of doing it and run all over town trying to find the right bolts. I dunno about anyone else, but I hate stopping in the middle of doing something over dumb stuff.
I knew better.
Shoulda stuck with my instinct.
What a waste of my time.
In case anyone else runs across this thread, you have to swap out the studs with shorter bolts (which I don't have) and reinstall the adapter, then the oil filter.
So the correct answer is, no, you can't just screw the filter straight into the block without modification.
Don't waste your time crawling under there unless you first aquire the shorter replacement bolts after you figure out the pitch on them, otherwise you have to stop in the middle of doing it and run all over town trying to find the right bolts. I dunno about anyone else, but I hate stopping in the middle of doing something over dumb stuff.
Last edited by Natty C; Jul 13, 2021 at 10:42 AM.
Oil Producer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 9,372
Likes: 2,736
could you have cut the bolts to length?
i did it the other way. i started without one, and added one.
i guess the longer bolts i required came with the used kc4 i purchased.
id think thats not too tall of an order...to find the proper bolt length. would cutting the bolts have worked out if a person was able to cut?
i did it the other way. i started without one, and added one.
i guess the longer bolts i required came with the used kc4 i purchased.
id think thats not too tall of an order...to find the proper bolt length. would cutting the bolts have worked out if a person was able to cut?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 1,403
From: Mid-Atlantic
2025 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
could you have cut the bolts to length?
i did it the other way. i started without one, and added one.
i guess the longer bolts i required came with the used kc4 i purchased.
id think thats not too tall of an order...to find the proper bolt length. would cutting the bolts have worked out if a person was able to cut?
i did it the other way. i started without one, and added one.
i guess the longer bolts i required came with the used kc4 i purchased.
id think thats not too tall of an order...to find the proper bolt length. would cutting the bolts have worked out if a person was able to cut?
It's done now. I finished it up a couple hours ago. If it wasn't nearing a hundred degrees with all of the humidity I probably wouldn't have started kicking stuff around. lol.
But, yeah, guess they could be cut but then what if you want to reinstall the thing later for whatever reason.
Anyway. Thanks for the input regardless. I knew about those studs, but just didn't remember exactly what it was that had to be modified. Just dumb stuff.
Technically speaking, yes, the filter does just bolt right back into the block, just have to swap out the cooler adapter bolts to the shorter ones if you're working with existing parts.
Last edited by Natty C; Jul 13, 2021 at 01:28 PM.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Oil Producer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 9,372
Likes: 2,736
glad u got it sorted. when i was starting out on the track, i had an 86 base 4+3. It had no kc4. i ran mobil 1 5w30, had a factory rad that was working well. installed a kc4 and that little heat exchanger helped keep my temps within 9deg c (higher) of my coolant. i was fairly impressed. normal street driving it was always within 7deg c of coolant.
i track a 91zr1 now, it has a much larger air cooled traditional oil cooler. the oil temps are always waay below coolant temps with that setup.
that kc4 gets a bad rep but i wouldnt take my L98 to the track without it, if i didnt already have an air/oil cooler. Completely different story on the street im not sure its necessary where i live! Sounds like its pretty hot right now down south!
You mentioned yours was leaking. Was it leaking at the oring to the block? or was it leaking out the cooling chamber that the coolant flows through? cheers glad u got it sorted.
i track a 91zr1 now, it has a much larger air cooled traditional oil cooler. the oil temps are always waay below coolant temps with that setup.
that kc4 gets a bad rep but i wouldnt take my L98 to the track without it, if i didnt already have an air/oil cooler. Completely different story on the street im not sure its necessary where i live! Sounds like its pretty hot right now down south!
You mentioned yours was leaking. Was it leaking at the oring to the block? or was it leaking out the cooling chamber that the coolant flows through? cheers glad u got it sorted.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 1,403
From: Mid-Atlantic
2025 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
glad u got it sorted. when i was starting out on the track, i had an 86 base 4+3. It had no kc4. i ran mobil 1 5w30, had a factory rad that was working well. installed a kc4 and that little heat exchanger helped keep my temps within 9deg c (higher) of my coolant. i was fairly impressed. normal street driving it was always within 7deg c of coolant.
i track a 91zr1 now, it has a much larger air cooled traditional oil cooler. the oil temps are always waay below coolant temps with that setup.
that kc4 gets a bad rep but i wouldnt take my L98 to the track without it, if i didnt already have an air/oil cooler. Completely different story on the street im not sure its necessary where i live! Sounds like its pretty hot right now down south!
You mentioned yours was leaking. Was it leaking at the oring to the block? or was it leaking out the cooling chamber that the coolant flows through? cheers glad u got it sorted.
i track a 91zr1 now, it has a much larger air cooled traditional oil cooler. the oil temps are always waay below coolant temps with that setup.
that kc4 gets a bad rep but i wouldnt take my L98 to the track without it, if i didnt already have an air/oil cooler. Completely different story on the street im not sure its necessary where i live! Sounds like its pretty hot right now down south!
You mentioned yours was leaking. Was it leaking at the oring to the block? or was it leaking out the cooling chamber that the coolant flows through? cheers glad u got it sorted.
Oddly, that square gasket looked okay. Don't know why it was leaking.
I gave it a good run, got it up to a speed that I cannot admit to on here, but on a safe straightaway none the less, away from other traffic. No leaks now.
So now I have this new oil pan I was going to have installed that I don't need. But I'll keep it around. I'll install it at some point. Now that I know I don't really need to replace it at the moment, I can do it myself at my own leisure.
The Mobil 1 5W-30 tends to stay around the same temp as my coolant without the cooler. Maybe a few degrees higher, depending on how I'm driving. Which was about the same temp it ran when the cooler was fully installed and operational. That's just regular driving, though, on evening cruises through the winding back aroads. Which is basically the most road time it gets.
Last edited by Natty C; Jul 13, 2021 at 04:58 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 1,312
Likes: 384
From: Northern California
It leaks because it cooks / bakes / hardens / shrinks, and then you're there. Same with the oil pan gasket eventually. I had the same issue as you with the cooler and I replaced that seal, installed a new Fel Pro blue silicone oil pan gasket, and it was a great help. Good luck with everything.
Last edited by ajp01; Jul 13, 2021 at 03:02 PM. Reason: spelling fix
Oil Producer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 9,372
Likes: 2,736
It leaks because it cooks / bakes / hardens / shrinks, and then you're there. Same with the oil pan gasket eventually. I had the same issue as you with the cooler and I replaced that seal, installed a new Fel Pro blue silicone oil pan gasket, and it was a great help. Good luck with everything.
im with u on the expensive but very good blue felpro oilpan gasket! its a shame its $ but i find the grey rubber ones get hard quick and the oldschool cork is an absolute nightmare to clean mating surfaces on.