Late Model question, S-10's and oil line leaks

Land Yacht · October 29, 2005, 12:45:17 AM

Have a Chevy S-10, 4.3L auto. It uses external oil lines up front that go to the remote oil filter and oil cooler. They leak at the fittings, Dad's truck does the same. I'm guessing it is a common problem, has anyone tried replacing the lines? maybe the fittings have loosened, or bad design.

tomslik · October 29, 2005, 09:47:17 AM

Quote from: "Land Yacht"Have a Chevy S-10, 4.3L auto. It uses external oil lines up front that go to the remote oil filter and oil cooler. They leak at the fittings, Dad's truck does the same. I'm guessing it is a common problem,
REAL COMMON
has anyone tried replacing the lines? maybe the fittings have loosened, or bad design.

about all you can do is replace them but ther's different designs...

btw, while you're doing that, replace the of adapter gaskets and o-rings.
you'll be glad you did.

Dave · October 29, 2005, 01:09:55 PM

Quote from: "Land Yacht"Have a Chevy S-10, 4.3L auto. It uses external oil lines up front that go to the remote oil filter and oil cooler. They leak at the fittings, Dad's truck does the same. I'm guessing it is a common problem, has anyone tried replacing the lines? maybe the fittings have loosened, or bad design.

Ive had 3 s-10,s with the oil leak and i was lucky i got em all fixed thru the warranty. the later design on the crimps was supposed to cure it but i didnt keep that one long enuff to find out. One went bad just 200 miles out of warranty and i * and they fixed it.
Dave

oiler · October 29, 2005, 02:37:16 PM

They've tried all types of designs changes and they still leak.
How they can make a PS line hold 1400Psi and not a oil line that holds 40 Psi is beyond me.
For awhile GM was having us cut the crimps off,disassembling them, cleaning and reassembling using a special type of hose clamp.
While I never had a comeback with them I was always wary of my oil pressure being held with a hose clamp.
I'd buy new ones KEEP the bill and mark your calender for 1 year less a day and recheck them before the parts warranty was up.
Jeff

enjenjo · October 29, 2005, 07:10:24 PM

It isn't just the S10's that have trouble, I have fixed the neighbor's Caddy twice, and my Dad's motor home once. And the * is, the fittings are special, so you can't replace them with standard hydraulic fittings. After the second set of hoses went bad on Dad's motorhome, we just took the oil cooler off.

Bruce Dorsi · October 29, 2005, 07:47:02 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"the fittings are special, so you can't replace them with standard hydraulic fittings.

Any possibility of grafting (brazing?) the OEM fitting to a standard NPT or JIC fitting?

I have a slight leak at the oil cooler lines on my full-size pick-up, which needs attention.

I HATE to replace crappy designs with the same part!

Anyone have a set of old hose ends I can experiment with?

oiler · October 29, 2005, 08:01:02 PM

honestly Bruce if I had a full size truck with a cooler I'd scrap the lines and change the oil filter adapter over to a regular filter adapter if it's a 2WD.
For a 4WD you have to plug off the adapter with 2 pipe plugs
I look at it this way, Hi Perf engines lasted for years without coolers and survived
What changed?
My 2 cents
Jeff

enjenjo · October 29, 2005, 08:13:11 PM

I agree with oiler. the purpose of the oil cooler was for extending the oil change interval. Remove the cooler and change the oil more often.

The problem I ran into on the Caddy, there wasn't enough room to use standard fittings. The Parker store said they could make up a hard line with a hose in the middle, but the cost was out of sight.

unklian · October 29, 2005, 08:38:41 PM

Classic GM engineering. :evil:
I'm on my 3rd set of oil cooler lines,in 100,00 miles.
Still has every other original hose and fitting.

The second time the oil lines started puking,
on the road 10 hours from home

,
I saved the old ones planning on coming up with a "better" fix.
Of course,they got thrown out by mistake.

Is it straight forward to remove the adapter block,
or do I need more parts ?

Bruce Dorsi · October 30, 2005, 07:15:26 AM

Quote from: "oiler"...if I had a full size truck with a cooler I'd scrap the lines. ...For a 4WD you have to plug off the adapter with 2 pipe plugs

Thanks for the advice Jeff & Frank!

Mine is a 1998 K1500 w/350 engine.

Jeff, I'm guessing the two ports to be plugged are where the hoses to/from the cooler connect to the adapter?

I'm also guessing there is a bypass (relief) built into the adapter, which allows oil to flow to the filter if the cooler should clog? ....If so, should I gut the adapter?

oiler · October 30, 2005, 09:11:13 AM

No just R&R the lines from the adapter and install plugs.
I believe they're 1/2 pipe plug but you can take one of the quick connectors to the parts store to match them up.
I usually pull both lines off at the filter and then the top line on the rad.
Then let the cooler drain over night, cleaner this way.
Then insert both lines into a dumpster and never leak again

Jeff

Crosley.In.AZ · October 30, 2005, 09:12:32 AM

I had a customer's caddy crack the oil filter adapter where it mounted to the motor. 4100 motor if i remember. what a mess.

Bruce Dorsi · October 30, 2005, 09:57:17 AM

Quote from: "oiler"No just R&R the lines from the adapter and install plugs.

Thanks for the help, Jeff!

Land Yacht · October 30, 2005, 10:41:10 AM

Also thankyou for all the input. I think I'll try replacing the lines.

The oil filter adapter is indeed a light metal, it flexes when puting the oil filter on.

Crosley.In.AZ · October 30, 2005, 09:18:55 PM

Quote from: "Land Yacht"Also thankyou for all the input. I think I'll try replacing the lines.

The oil filter adapter is indeed a light metal, it flexes when puting the oil filter on.

I bought a 4.3 from a yard that had the remote filter adapter only . there were no lines or ports for a cooler in the radiator.