Rob Edwards

Just a heads-up, I got the '90 up on the liftbars today to start my TB tension check/ PS hose replacement. In preparing to drain/pull the radiator, I noticed the oil cooler was crooked. This cooler was replaced in 1997 at 63K miles, dunno whether the replacements come with grommets or not. Looks like Carl will have to develop some blingy solid billet oil cooler mounts for better cooling

dr bob

Looks like you might be missing a washer.

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No solid mounts, please. The oil cooler grows when the engine gets warm, shrinks when it cools. Solid mounts would quickly lead to tube failures and loss of oil. Get some nice grommets, a short bushing made from tubing, and a couple washers to sandwich the grommet and the tube bushing, bolt through the middle... Or buy the right part from our friendly local 928 parts store in Anaheim.

borland

No washer, just the grommet. Looks like your rubber grommet is split.

The bracket is a separate part, so it's probably original.

No belly pan? The belly pan actually provides some support for the cooler. If you notice the belly pan has two long extensions on the front that attach to the body and the cooler attaches to the belly pan and front spoiler on spring mounts. So the belly pan provides support for the grommet mounted engine oil cooler.

Rob Edwards

Bob, I always learn something from your posts, even when I was kidding. Should have thought about the heating/cooling expansion thing m'self......

Borland- that's good info! The car came without a front belly pan, I bought an aluminum one but haven't actually installed it yet. Didn't realize that it mounted there! I will get the right grommet from Jim and reinstall correctly. I have a receipt from 1997 showing replacement of the oil cooler, it would be amusing if it wasn't actually replaced.....

borland

Well..... I looked under my car and found a large washer installed. So, dr bob is correct.

I had just looked at the PET which doesn't show the washer, just the grommet.

perrys4

Washer does make sense......good to know. I learned something too.

Rob Edwards

Actually, I have a washer on the driver's side too, but not the passenger side, where the grommet pulled thru. Perhaps they forgot to put it back on during the R&R of the oil cooler.

Normy

So the '90 GT's have the oil cooler mounted down there? Don't lower one of those cars then! My air dam is all mangled because the PO lowered the car 1/2 inch....

How is that mounted by the way? Apparently thats not the same part that is mounted at the top front of the radiator on the other 4-valve cars...

N!

Rob Edwards

It's mounted to the ends of the front frame member using two 10 mm nuts on studs that pass thru rubber grommets and (at least one) washers.

I'm replacing the PS hoses today, including the cooler line. The front spoiler and oil cooler ducting had to come off to get to the two lower condenser mounting bolts. Then I could raise the condenser encough to get the PS cooling loop out. I've been at it 4 hours and am maybe half done. I took a bunch of pics of this area and will post for posterity when I'm done....

JP Rodkey

Starting for '90, the oil cooler is mounted that way (including on S4's) - below the radiator support and directly behind the spoiler bracket. There is one bracket on the top of the cooler at each end. The grommets are inexpensive if missing or bunged up. Large washer and 10mm nuts will get them back to normal. There are three tabs riveted to the lower cooler cover that provide the top mount for the front spoiler 'support' (that thin S-shaped doo-dad). And you're right, it is very low. A PO for my car hit something hard and low enough to break the spoiler, put a significant kink in the oil cooler, and break off all three of those tabs. By appearance, it's amazing it doesn't leak.

The top front of the engine radiator is the automatic transmission cooler.

UKKid35

Is that why the spoiler on later cars is different to that on an early S4?

JP Rodkey

To my knowledge, the spoiler is the same for all '87 and up. I've replaced an '88 and now the '90 and they are the same part.

Rob Edwards

Another reminder, I had the GT up the other day and found that the 'repaired' oil cooler mount in post #1 had failed again, and the oil cooler was sitting on the spoiler. I guess this is another good argument for keeping your belly pans on a 90+ car - your cooler won't fall on the ground and destroy the engine.

One side of the GTS's cooler had also dropped despite my having installed it less than 4 months ago. Maybe it's just me...... The factory washer has too small an OD to prevent the weight of the cooler from pulling out of the grommet.

The grommets are NLA anywhere, and since they're all 'tired' by this point, I ended up using a larger diameter washer. A 3/8" I.D. washer fits nicely over the mounting post.

GeorgeM

One my POs had bottomed out my '91 and the cooler was seeping. Couldn't get a refurbed cooler, so I got a new one (~$450). While I was at it, I replaced the bent cooler bracket. Amazing how well the spoiler fits when the bracket is new and straight, as well as the belly pan with all the original mounts on the cooler itself... well worth the extra few bucks.

Incidentally, the cooler was made in Germany by a company called Modine. There was a Modine factory not 10 minutes from my house outside Stuttgart when I was stationed there. I always wondered what they did, just never bothered to look it up. Now I know.