Firstly a big thankyou to http://www.adrad.co.uk/ for supplying me with an oil cooler in such a quick time! And superb on price too!
This month has seen my coupe develop an oil leak that has got increasingly worse as time went on. It seemed upon inspection, the oil cooler had a damaged fin caused by a loose bolt on the bodywork that got lodged in the cooler and caused the hole.
After phoning Fiat
, i wasn't happy with the price (KY and Arse springs to mind) so after someone recommended Alternative Auto's, i gave them a call...
to find they are closed (or not answering the phone). By this point i'm getting despirate as i need to use the coop next week to travel on business and this week is pretty much the only time i have to fix it. Then i look in the yellow pages and find Advanced Radiators, a quick call to them makes me smile
£112 for a new cooler and would be in-stock next day
So i collected it yesterday to get cracking with the repair.
DAY 1
While i'm sorting the cooler, i thought it'd be best to change the oil and filter so i got these from a local supplier and also got a sump plug tool since i didn't have one.
Got home to start the repair, first job, remove the oil. What a fcuk on that was! the sump plug was seized! eventually drained the oil from the oil temp sensor fitting. Job done. Next on the list.. Oil filter... Err where is it? i looked for 30 mins before giving up and looking on here for a specialist for advice, so i called Auto-Integrale (01189710281) and spoke to a nice pleasant chap who told me where to find it
, brilliant! found it in 2 seconds
then
i can't remove the bugger! Why did fiat think of putting the filter there? i can't get my arm in properly to get at it and there's not enough room to grip it!
I gave up on that after an hour and decided to press on with the original task... the cooler.
Another fcuk on! even with the help of the guides on here, it's still a git to do! After getting the cooler loose from the bracket, i gave up when i realised i don't posess a big enough spanner to disconnect the hoses from it.
DAY 2
Today is the first day i've used public transport since last year, i took the bus and local metro (train) to the nearest halfords who after a phonecall reseved me the necessary spanners i needed. Got them and proceeded directly home to crack on with the cooler.
I got stuck straight in and after 30 mins or so, the pipes were off the old cooler. Getting them onto the new cooler was a bit awkward, mainly to do with getting the pipes on so that they are not twisted or pulled when the cooler bolts back in. With that sorted, i bolted the cooler back in and made sure everything was back in it's place before finishing for today. with all that sorted, there's still the oil filter to do, which a local garage is going to do for me on sunday.
Two days of hell!
Ah Coupe Life
This month has seen my coupe develop an oil leak that has got increasingly worse as time went on. It seemed upon inspection, the oil cooler had a damaged fin caused by a loose bolt on the bodywork that got lodged in the cooler and caused the hole.
After phoning Fiat
DAY 1
While i'm sorting the cooler, i thought it'd be best to change the oil and filter so i got these from a local supplier and also got a sump plug tool since i didn't have one.
Got home to start the repair, first job, remove the oil. What a fcuk on that was! the sump plug was seized! eventually drained the oil from the oil temp sensor fitting. Job done. Next on the list.. Oil filter... Err where is it? i looked for 30 mins before giving up and looking on here for a specialist for advice, so i called Auto-Integrale (01189710281) and spoke to a nice pleasant chap who told me where to find it
Another fcuk on! even with the help of the guides on here, it's still a git to do! After getting the cooler loose from the bracket, i gave up when i realised i don't posess a big enough spanner to disconnect the hoses from it.
DAY 2
Today is the first day i've used public transport since last year, i took the bus and local metro (train) to the nearest halfords who after a phonecall reseved me the necessary spanners i needed. Got them and proceeded directly home to crack on with the cooler.
I got stuck straight in and after 30 mins or so, the pipes were off the old cooler. Getting them onto the new cooler was a bit awkward, mainly to do with getting the pipes on so that they are not twisted or pulled when the cooler bolts back in. With that sorted, i bolted the cooler back in and made sure everything was back in it's place before finishing for today. with all that sorted, there's still the oil filter to do, which a local garage is going to do for me on sunday.
Two days of hell!
