Just returned from a 8 week 4500 mile adventure, great trip however it wasn't without some trying moments one of which was the discovery of a oil leak. We pulled into a RV park in NW North Carolina after a 5hr run, after unhooking the tow I noticed liquid dripping from the area of the radiator, first thought was oh no radiator leak, gave it the feel and smell test, nope not antifreeze, no odor and feels like oil.
The oil was dripping from the rubber underneath the radiator, upon removing the rubber cover I could see an oil cooler sandwiched between the radiator and CAC, one end of the cooler was oily, looked to be oily all the way to the top. I must admit I didn't know there was a cooler there, it was easy to determine from tracing the 1" hoses attached that this was a cooler for the hydraulic fans and steering system.
I called Foretravel to check on part availability and to see if the cooler could be removed from the bottom without removing the entire radiator assembly. Part $850 (ridiculous) with 6 week lead time and the tech guy didn't think the cooler could be removed by itself, thought it would hang up on the lip of radiator. The cooler is 18" tall and 24" wide, I wasn't sure even if it would side out from between the radiator and CAC if I could get the coach high enough, plus the mess of opening 1" hydraulic lines, too much unknown for me to tackle in an RV park. I called a couple of Foretravel smart guys (thanks John and Mike for your opinions and suggestions) and discussed several options:
1. Continue on trip with no repair, monitor and keep reservoir topped off when needed.
2. Bypass the cooler connecting the two hoses together. Also had a big rig mobile mechanic suggest this, "do it all the time"
3. Install another cooler on the outside between the grill and the CAC leaving the defective cooler in place until we get home.
I chose option number 3. After looking at the area it didn't appear it would be that difficult to install below the fuel cooler however the cooler would need to be smaller than the original, we felt with the increase airflow from being on the outside the smaller size probably wouldn't be an issue.
The cooler I choose was Hayden 1268 which is 18" wide and 12" tall.
Amazon.com: Hayden Automotive 1268 Heavy Duty Oil Cooler : Automotive
I utilized the existing metal bars/straps the fuel cooler is mounted to, I added two additional bars, one horizon and one vertical. NOTE: In retrospect if I would have ordered Hayden 1260 which is 24" wide the additional bars would have not been needed. I also purchased two new inlet fittings so I would not have to mess with taking the old ones out, my goal was to make a quick hose change in order to minimize fluid loss and mess.
After the repair we continued our trip, there were no issues I was aware of. Upon returning home I was able to remove the original cooler, although it was tight fit it came right out through the bottom once the bolts were removed from mounting straps. Found the leak, the upper spring clamp that wrapped around the large copper tube had over time rubbed a a groove and eventually a pin hole developed. The worst part was the radiator clean up, the fans had sucked the oil into it, what a mess and very difficult to clean especially inside out. I slid a 1/4" piece of plywood between the radiator and CAC trying to keep the mess out of the CAC. The product I used for clean up was Extreme Simple Green Aircraft along with lots of compressed air and water.
Simple Green | Industrial | Extreme Aircraft Precision Cleaner
Now I need to decide to repair/replace the original or leave it the way it is, I did not notice any engine temperature differences however the manifold temperature may have gone up a few degrees. For now I plan to take another trip and see if there are any changes after the original cooler was removed. Hopefully this may help someone else in the future.
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Topic: Hydraulic/Oil Cooler Leak