Oil cooler removal - 3FE

[Spook50]

Next weekend I'll be draining my coolant to replace the half dozen "critical" hoses that should be changed out before a long road trip in July, which also includes the oil cooler hoses. While the hoses are off though, I wonder if I would do wise to pull the oil cooler itself for cleaning and replacing the O rings and gaskets. Given where it's mounted, I presume I won't have to drain the oil to pull it.

My question though, is concerning the mounting bolts. From the diagrams it appears that they thread into the oil filter mount rather than passing through the mount and into the block. Is this the case? I only ask because I don't want to bother pulling the oil filter mount and getting deeper into a weekend job than I need to get.

 

[3_puppies]

almost certain the oil filter mount is part of the cooler, not separate
4 bolts hold the assembly to the block
if not leaking, not sure I'd mess with it. just change the hoses

 

[Spook50]

almost certain the oil filter mount is part of the cooler, not separate
4 bolts hold the assembly to the block
if not leaking, not sure I'd mess with it. just change the hoses

I have a fairly generous mess of oil in that area. I'm not certain if the oil is coming from the cooler itself, but it's a "well I've got access so if it's not difficult to throw a new set of seals in there...." kinda thing. Looking at this page of the FSM though, it looks like the cooler bolts just thread into the filter mount. Enough to make me about 90% sure that's the case, but not absolutely certain...

 

[3_puppies]

yes the 4 bolts at the filter housing hold the filter/cooler assembly to the block
I've always just pulled the entire unit off as an assembly, haven't taken 1 apart on the block in the rig
how is the side cover gasket?

 

[Spook50]

yes the 4 bolts at the filter housing hold the filter/cooler assembly to the block
I've always just pulled the entire unit off as an assembly, haven't taken 1 apart on the block in the rig
how is the side cover gasket?

The side cover gasket I'm sure is the main culprit, just based on how common of an issue it is on F engines overall. It's definitely on the list, that's for sure. I'm hoping I can get all the excess oil and buildup cleaned off that side of the engine and then tackle replacing the gasket there.

 

[toy_tek]

I’m not sure that gasket is available, I read a recent thread where someone made it out of gasket material for that reason.

There are 2 o-rings and 2 copper washers for the two cooler mount bolts. It’s easy to separate from the mount.

 

[Spook50]

I’m not sure that gasket is available, I read a recent thread where someone made it out of gasket material for that reason.

There are 2 o-rings and 2 copper washers for the two cooler mount bolts. It’s easy to separate from the mount.

Are you referring to the oil filter mount gasket? I hadn't even looked into that one but frankly it wouldn't surprise me at this point if it's NLA. I see the oil cooler O rings and gaskets are still available, so I'll see if I can get them at my local dealer for less than an abhorrent price and if I can I'll just go ahead and knock it out this weekend while I've got coolant drained.

 

[toy_tek]

Are you referring to the oil filter mount gasket?

Yes.

 

[Jamieson22]

Yes.

Oil filter mounting gasket is available: