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Oil Cooler Hard Lines

dvinesquirrel

dvinesquirrel

1/2 ton status
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mays landing, NJ
I replaced my radiator the other day with a new all aluminum unit but broke a few things when yanking out the oldie. The transmission lines snapped off but that's an easy fix. The hard part is finding replacements for the hard lines that cross the radiator for the oil. Out from the engine to the rubber is fine, I just need to find the lines that actually connect to the radiator. searching around seems to be a wasted effort. Napa said they don't have a part number for what I need, hydraulic shop locally said they can't find a match for the radiators threads and wont reuse my old fittings.
I'm at the point of an aftermarket cooler or cap the lines. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
If it were possible to save the fittings by cutting the old lines off near the fittings you could flare the "stub" of old line ,or use compression fittings and use steel or copper tubing to replace the rotted part....................................................................................................Oil cooler lines on my 82 pickup look like they'll pop anyday from rust where they exit the block,and the rest of them that cross over by the fan aren't much better looking either--30 years old now!..:eek:...been considering carrying some 3/8" NPT plugs with me so I can just block off the hose ports in the block,if one fails on the road...supposedly the oil cooler ports have a by-pass valve so if the lines got clogged ,or the cooler,it wont starve for oil--probably lose some pressure and flow if you plug the ports I bet though...........................................................................................................I've read the oil goes from the pump right to the cooler first on 6.2's,then back to the engine and on to the bearings and oil passages in the block..kind of strange to me,I'd think the oil should be pumped to the bearings and rest of the engine first,then on to the cooler.................................................................................................A friend of mine is a maintenemce engineer at a cranberry bog and is responsible for a lot of equipment repairs and upkeep,he has told me they have a fleet of GM trucks from 1980's to 1990's that have 6.2's and 6.5's and he has plugged off the oil coolers on quite a few of them as they aged and the lines failed or they broke when installing a new radiator...claims he's never had one blow up or suffer any from the lack of the cooler,and they haul a lot of berries in those 1 ton dump trucks...the stock cooler is not very big at all,I kept one I chopped out of a scrap 6.2 radiator and its only 3 stacked plates about 2"x6" anyway...I'd probably never miss it since I only plow my driveway and do short trips with it......................................................................................................................an aftermarket cooler is probably better than the original ,and they just use bulk hose and barb fittings to connect them up--but I think the fittings in the radiator are some oddball metric booger,so you may still end up using the originals if they can be salvaged...You might try Rock Auto,I saw some kind of fittings listed on their site when I looked up oil cooler lines for my truck--had to use 1895 for an application,they are the same lines as my 82,but they dont list them if you type 1982 in!..(the lines coming from the engine is all they show,the other half from the steering box to the radiator aren't listed...
 
Wow, Thanks for the detailed response. I came across a lot of the same info in my attempt to find correct hoses. From what I gathered the metal line from the steering box is/was only offered directly from GM. Trying to search for the part numbers I found turned out to be dead ends short of going to a dealership. For now I think I will grab some plugs and monitor the engine until I can get an auxiliary cooler either new or from a scrap yard.
 
I bought a c10 with a 6.2 that had bad oil cooler lines and I just took some 3/8 pipe plugs and plugged the ports in the block,worked great.
 
Thanks I'll look into those.

I redid my transmission lines with rubber hose the other day. for the tranny side i used short lengths of steel line and bent a little over 90* in them facing the rear of the truck then ran the hose over top to the driver side and up to the radiator. Gave it a cleaner look than factory and it is definitely not as exposed.
 
I hope you used the proper hose,because ordinary fuel line sometimes pops when used on tranny lines!...Dayco and Gates both make special tranny cooler hose,and its not that much more than regular fuel line costs..................................................................................................I prefer using steel lines,with as little rubber as possible to join sections together to the cooler --though they do rust away all too quickly !--I did mine over last year with "Poly-Sheild" brake tubing and in spots the coating already is peeling off,and the lines starting to show rust...so I slathered grease all over them,and cut up some old garden hose and slit it ,and used it to cover the lines to sheild them from salt spray...why GM put the tranny cooler in the radiator on the wrong side (and the oil cooler) and used lines a lot longer than needed,I dont know,but it does make routing new ones a real pain...I was afraid the garden hose might catch on fire,but so far they havent!..despite being on hot tranny lines and not that far from the exhaust pipe on the drivers side...........................................................................................................................................................................................................I saw a military auction site during a google search the other day,that parts out CUCV's and other trucks,they had a OEM set of lines shown for sale,I think they were like 60 bucks??..I was searching "fuel injector lines for 6.2 diesel" and that site showed up,they had some used sets for 100 bucks..:eek:...glad I was able to get some from a member here !..I wish I could buy one of their "crate" 6.2's that look brand new for my truck.....
 
diesel4me said:
I hope you used the proper hose,because ordinary fuel line sometimes pops when used on tranny lines
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Yes I actually bought transmission hose from NAPA. Didn't want to have to go and fix anything later or have to go wrong on the trail. but just in case I have an extra 6ft of hose for emergency repairs.
 
Yeah,its better to use the right stuff,than risk a failure on the road...I have used fuel line in a pinch on a busted tranny line,or P/S return line,and had it last a long time,but if its any longer than a 6" run,it tends to harden up and eventually pop or crack,once I used ALL rubber right from the tranny to the radiator ,and didn't get 10 miles before one blew apart..the truck had a shift kit,I think that may have contributed to the failure,because "stock" trannies in other cars and trucks I had spliced with rubber hose never gave a lick of trouble..I think the operating pressure on a tranny is right at the borderline of how many PSI the fuel line can withstand,and its not rated for that high a temparature either..................................................................................................I'm still tempted to try using copper tubing on tranny cooler lines,in spite of GM saying "never use copper,aluminum or brass tubing,it wont withstand the vibration and will work harden and crack..."....OK,but what if I join it at the tranny and cooler with short peices of rubber tranny cooler hose?..I'd think that would isolate any vibrations,and I'd secure it with clamps to the body where possible............................................................................................... I trust a new copper line a lot more than rusted old steel lines that are thin as paper and ready to pop...they trust it enough to use on air brakes,(and there is thicker walled stuff sold for that purpose)...I've seen old 60's mopars with factory copper tranny cooler lines too...unless they used some copper/steel alloy,I bet its nothing "special"......................................................................................someone told me not to use copper tubing for my diesel fuel lines,that it wont hold up to diesel fuel--if thats true,why are the 35 year old copper lines going to our oil tank to furnace still intact,and look like new still??....isn't heating oil and diesel about the same difference?...I'd rather run copper than the steel original lines that are covered with barnacles,that are likely to fail any day now..
 
I have an extra pair of factory hardlines if you want to buy original parts. Things don't rust and corrode out here so they still look great.
 
kennyw said:
I have an extra pair of factory hardlines if you want to buy original parts. Things don't rust and corrode out here so they still look great.
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I'll let you know. Right now I'm ok with the plugs and eventually getting an aftermarket cooler. from what everything else has cost me to get this thing running again I need to start saving money.
 
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