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Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:59 am

ok, so parts came in for my boston bob engine, however, the oil cooler is a 'euromax' brand and is made in china :x looks to be a decent piece, but i am a bit leery using it. my old cooler is not leaking and i can flush it out. has anyone used one of these?
thanks for the input

Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:23 am

you got something against the chinese? Just kidding, but I couldnt resist. I have no idea about the quality of the cooler.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:35 am

busmania24 wrote: you got something against the chinese?

not yet, but i will if it leaks

Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:15 am

If it leaked, Bob would not sell it.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:18 am

Randy in Maine wrote: If it leaked, Bob would not sell it.

That's what I was going to say, but you beat me to it, Randy.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:49 am

bob couldn't get one :(

Mon Mar 01, 2010 9:51 pm

skills@eurocarsplus wrote: ok, so parts came in for my boston bob engine, however, the oil cooler is a 'euromax' brand and is made in china :x looks to be a decent piece, but i am a bit leery using it. my old cooler is not leaking and i can flush it out. has anyone used one of these?
thanks for the input

I'm about to install one tomorrow. I installed a used one last year but it began leaking after a couple months. We'll see how the Euromax unit works out.

-Bryan

Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:23 am

Run Forest Run.The chinese are great at making babies.German.

Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:57 am

dwill49965 wrote: Randy in Maine wrote: If it leaked, Bob would not sell it.

That's what I was going to say, but you beat me to it, Randy.

:lol:

How ironic - the oil cooler on Darryl's Boston Bob's engine leaked and he had to replace it.

Tue Mar 02, 2010 5:31 am

Well, they don't make them like they used to.

:P

Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:02 am

What's causing these oil coolers to leak, whether German or otherwise? Does the metal wear thin or pressure blow them out? If worn bearings are throwing off metal shavings will that damage an oil cooler? Can they be repaired at a radiator shop?

So many questions, so little time :)

Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:18 am

BryanNAutumn wrote: What's causing these oil coolers to leak, whether German or otherwise?
Lousy quality control and sub standard materials on the Chinese ones, don't see too many German ones leak but if they do it's from overpressure, old age cracks or external damage.

BryanNAutumn wrote: If worn bearings are throwing off metal shavings will that damage an oil cooler?
Nope, but those particles get stuck in the cooler and can come back out into your clean, new engine later, not good.

BryanNAutumn wrote: Can they be repaired at a radiator shop?
Possibly.... sometimes, but what would that job cost and could you trust it? It's not like they are an arm and a leg and a failure could render your entire engine a boat anchor in less than a minute.

Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:53 am

I'm not sure if you're talking about a type 1 cooler or type 4 but here's something I found out recently. Had an oil leak from the cooler on a recent engine build I did. Found this:

Knowing that there are cheap EMPI chinese crap coolers on the market I was finally able to find this:
a genuine OEM made in Germany cooler from Thesamba classifieds
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=823849

Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:14 pm

Cleaned my Westy's cooler with solvent prts washer and carb cleaner soaks & shakes until it 'ran clean', and assumed it was finally usable.

A VW/Porsche dealer tech buddy said to first 'boil' it in a Tide detergent/water solution for 24 hours. Did so utilizing an electric 'roaster' pan purchased used for low bucks. Surprise... the additional crap that came out of the cooler made it look like it had never received the solvent/carb cleaner treatment at all! Rinsed, then dried with compressed air, and mounted on the rebuilt engine, it's given no issues for way over 100K mi.

Most of the Chinese wares are made to the lowest spec that will sell... not that will function well. Nothing against the Chinese; it's a fairly natural response when an American importer is basing their supplier choice on price alone. IMHO... go with your thoroughly-cleaned-out OG cooler and make sure to use silicone seals with it.

Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:16 pm

I appreciate the feedback to my post, thanks.
Taking a break to eat a PBJ and then back out to install the cooler (2.0 L FI in a '74 bus).

The chinese cooler required some filing of the perimeter in order to mount the support bracket. Accessing the cooler only required:
- Remove muffler.
- Unbolt, but not remove, alternator.
- Remove fan.
- Unbolt the fan shroud.
- Key point here: Unbolted and removed oil fill spout at the case in order to remove the fan housing. Doing this allowed the CAT and heater boxes to stay in tact.
- I'll replace the dipstick boot (viton).
- I'll obviously replace the oil cooler seals (viton).

When I'm employed again I'll invest in a German oil cooler. When it's time to do the next clutch job I'll give the engine a good go over as well.

P.S. Busdaddy, congratulations to you and Canada on the Olympic Gold in Hockey.

Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:21 pm

Thanks again for the help everybody. I'm heading back out to finish up. I'd sure like to get motivated to put the gas fill pipe(rubber) from the '78 bus back in there. The '74 gas fill pipe (metal) causes nothing but grief when filling up...it backs up and leaks gas out of somewhere?

Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:36 pm

Joey wrote: dwill49965 wrote: Randy in Maine wrote: If it leaked, Bob would not sell it.

That's what I was going to say, but you beat me to it, Randy.

:lol:

How ironic - the oil cooler on Darryl's Boston Bob's engine leaked and he had to replace it.

Yes, but it wasn't a Euromax - it was "reconditioned" VW one! And yes, I'm prepared for the onslaught of comments about the quality of my oil filter. :P Now, it's a "gasp" .... System 1!

Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:19 pm

aeromech wrote: I'm not sure if you're talking about a type 1 cooler or type 4 but here's something I found out recently. Had an oil leak from the cooler on a recent engine build I did. Found this:

Knowing that there are cheap EMPI chinese crap coolers on the market I was finally able to find this:
a genuine OEM made in Germany cooler from Thesamba classifieds
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=823849

Arghhhh, I could eat a rock having just bought a chinese oil cooler when I could of had one of these for less. I still might consider getting one of these for my next rebuild though. Thanks for the post.