DIY Oil Cooler Line Replacement

[AJMBLAZER]

What all did you have to remove/loosen/whatever?

[relevante]

1 hour ago, AJMBLAZER said:

What all did you have to remove/loosen/whatever?

 

If I remember correctly, to do it with cutting the lines and doing an aftermarket flex line in between, all I had to do to get them out was:

• Remove the skid plates
• Remove the two bolts holding the lines to the block
• Remove the nut holding the clamp on the lines to the block (follow the lines forward from the attachment point with the sensor on it -- easier to remove from the front)
• Disconnect both lines from the radiator (spring clips)
• Unbolt clamp securing the lines to the radiator (or something else near the radiator, can't remember exactly)
• Unclip a number of plastic clips holding the lines down to the bottom of the radiator or the frame
• Cut the lines
• Remove

On the other hand, as for getting them out and in all as one piece, if you look back at the top of this thread, @Tx_Bowtie pulled his front bumper to get access, and I can't say I disagree with that approach. I tried doing it first all together without taking much else off and quickly realized it was somewhere between a huge PITA and impossible. That's when I decided to just spend the time rolling my own instead of removing a bunch of other stuff to get access.

 

If you are going to mod and do your own flex lines, save some time and figure out and mark where you're going to make the connections before you remove the lines. Just make sure you have good clearance because the AN fittings are quite a bit larger.

 

I used some cut up pieces of the factory rubber hose slit lengthwise and put over the aluminum lines in a few places to protect them just in case things shifted around.

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by relevante

[relevante]

Here's what I ended up with. I'd have probably put the joints in slightly different spots, but I kinked the factory lines trying to get them out before I decided to cut and reuse them, so I worked with what I had at that point.

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by relevante

[AJMBLAZER]

Nvrmnd. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by AJMBLAZER

[AJMBLAZER]

Nvmnd. 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by AJMBLAZER

[AJMBLAZER]

Lines are out. New hose is in hand. Putting it back together tomorrow. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by AJMBLAZER

[AJMBLAZER]

Oil pressure sender is giving me fits. How do you disconnect the plug from the switch?  It seems simple but I can’t budge it. 

[relevante]

26 minutes ago, AJMBLAZER said:

Oil pressure sender is giving me fits. How do you disconnect the plug from the switch?  It seems simple but I can’t budge it. 

If I remember correctly, it had a release that you have to press, but it was facing toward the engine. I loosened it half a turn to get better access to unhook the cable I think.

[AJMBLAZER]

I never got it off. I just tightened the sensor back on and hoped for the best. I have terrible luck with sensor and electrical plugs. 
 

All done. No leaks so far. Knock on wood.

 

[Omar17]

On 1/18/2021 at 2:06 PM, Tx_Bowtie said:

My truck had the oil cooler lines fail at 44,****** mi, luckily i found the drops in the driveway before it was catastrophic.  The dealer said not under power train warranty due to "not a moving part", so I bought the lines for 130.00.  It is a pain and very messy, but not too bad.  BTW lighter fluid removes oil stains without scrubbing.

 

 

first I removed the inner wheel liner on the passenger side, now i could see the connections to the cooler.

 

Upper is accessible from the top.

Be careful not to lose the clips, new lines reuse them

 

Then I disconnected the block at the oil filter adapter and sensor

The rubber lines in the middle do allow some movement, but not much, so I decided to remove the bumper for a direct shot.  

 

 

 

Hey im currently doing mine on a 2019 Silverado, im stuck at the connector/sensor how did you disconnect the sensor 

[AJMBLAZER]

Yeah…I didn’t. I just unscrewed it and crossed my fingers the wires didn’t break. So far, so good. 

[Bush Bandit]

On 12/27/2023 at 3:36 PM, AJMBLAZER said:

I never got it off. I just tightened the sensor back on and hoped for the best. I have terrible luck with sensor and electrical plugs. 
 

All done. No leaks so far. Knock on wood.

 

 

 

Any update on this? Mine are starting to drip and I was going to do a fix using AN fittings and braided line but this looks much easier. 

 

After seeing this I may get some 1/2" transmission hose with some good hose clamps and do the same fix. My only concern is the sustained 35-50 psi with hot oil causing issues

[AJMBLAZER]

So far so good.  I did get a set of fuel injection style clamps of the appropriate size for it but haven't put them on yet.  Been a busy winter.  Next oil change I'll swap them.

[Bush Bandit]

I didn't think of using those. I may go that route. That paired with transmission hose should hopefully get me through the life of the truck. I'm planning on doing this with everything mounted and not removing the original lines since the only leak is at the crimp 

[valric]

On 12/26/2023 at 4:00 PM, AJMBLAZER said:

Nvrmnd. 

 

On 11/10/2023 at 12:14 PM, relevante said:

Haven't done it yet, but I just discovered my lines leaking just out of warranty a few days ago. After realizing what a nightmare just getting the old ones out in one piece was and how insane putting the new ones in was going to be, all for the reward of replacing them with the same shitty crimps that are already leaking with only 67,000 miles, I decided to go DIY. At least being out of warranty has some upsides.

 

Provided it all works out, I'll share some photos, but the general plan is to cut off the factory lines to remove the rubber hose section and both crimps, flare the tubing ends with a 37 degree flaring tool (would probably have to have the other ends of the factory lines loose as well in order to get access to cut and flare - mine are already taken off), and then use AN-8 double male couplings and a couple of short pieces of 1/2" OD aluminum tubing, flared on both ends, to replace the bend that the rubber hose used to make. As far as I can tell it should be far longer lasting than another set of factory lines and hopefully a bit easier to do as well. Parts and flare tool should be here tomorrow, so will be finding out soon.

 

The process for doing braided lines would be fairly similar, would just have to decide where you wanted to cut off the factory lines and then use AN connectors to join to the braided line, and make sure they were routed and well secured.

 

 

On 3/14/2024 at 9:36 PM, Omar17 said:

Hey im currently doing mine on a 2019 Silverado, im stuck at the connector/sensor how did you disconnect the sensor 

The connector/Sensor  has this tab that you push up on and it will allow you to pull off...