Is anyone familiar with how to properly seal up the oil cooler adapters on the 454. It appears to be stock - I'm referring to the adapter that gets installed between the block and the oil filter. Lines run from it to the radiator and back. The new engine didn't have a cooler so I swapped over the adapter and lines to the new engine. I used new gaskets - one paper and one o-ring - and put it together. Nothing seemed amiss - it fit like it should.It was fine until now - 600 miles later. Oil is pouring out of the thing - it's clearly getting right past the o-ring gasket. I ordered up a new gasket set. Is there some sort of trick to getting these things to seal?

make sure you dont have a restriction in the cooler or one of the lines.Have had many of these off and never had trouble with leaks.Also did you torque the mounting bolts on the adapter ?I use grease to hold gasket and o ring in place while installing

dakdave wrote:make sure you dont have a restriction in the cooler or one of the lines.Have had many of these off and never had trouble with leaks.Also did you torque the mounting bolts on the adapter ?I use grease to hold gasket and o ring in place while installingGood idea - I'll check for a restriction. I did torque the mounting bolts. I took the filter off last night, cranked the bolts down some more and it didn't slow the leak down. When I installed it, the engine was on a stand. I had the luxury of being able to rotate it upside down to install the gasket and o-ring. Will have to use the grease method this time around.I'll have to take a very close look at it before I take it out. I'm 99.99% sure that it's coming out between the block and the adapter. I don't see where else it could be coming from.Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfq2F3hqRm4&list=UUx9SX_GLn95n1wOKg9T9-RQ

are you sure its not coming from fitting for cooler lines at housing we had a lot of problem with them on cars very poor design

Did you put any sealant on the threads before installing?Did you get the correct adapter into the right hole? There is a difference between them.Did you get new adapters or use the old? Replace the O-rings?

allbrandauto wrote:are you sure its not coming from fitting for cooler lines at housing we had a lot of problem with them on cars very poor designNot 100% sure. I need to take a closer look at it in the daylight.

P30 Oil Cooler Leak | Good Sam Community

28 Replies

BrianinMichigan
Explorer
Dec 14, 2014
Are you using any sort of gasket sealer? If it were me I would be using good ol Permatex. The dark brown stuff that you can never get off of your hands.
turbojimmy
Explorer
Dec 14, 2014
Motor7 wrote:
I know this is an older thread. But, my 350 was leaking at the adapter gasket and like you I replaced it. A few thousand miles and it was leaking again. When I went to the auto parts store I was advised to get the Fel-pro brand kit over the cheaper kit I bought earlier. 5K on the Felpro and no leaks.

Thanks! Mine has a slow leak again. I'll look into the better kit.
Motor7
Explorer
Dec 14, 2014
I know this is an older thread. But, my 350 was leaking at the adapter gasket and like you I replaced it. A few thousand miles and it was leaking again. When I went to the auto parts store I was advised to get the Fel-pro brand kit over the cheaper kit I bought earlier. 5K on the Felpro and no leaks.
BigRabbitMan
Explorer
Aug 22, 2014
turbojimmy wrote:

EDIT: When you say you don't use the mechanical one at all, is it removed? I'd like to go that route. Can you see the make/model of your electric pump?

In my case, yes, I removed the pump and covered the opening with a flat plate made for that purpose. You could just remove the pump arm and let the pump body cover the hole so that oil doesn't splash out. There would not be any fuel lines connected to the pump in that case.
turbojimmy
Explorer
Aug 19, 2014
1984Allegro wrote:
I have an electric fuel pump on my 84 Allegro...and an extra one! I do not use the mechanical one at all. I will say that at first I had an issue after it sits, with it losing prime. If that happens, I leave the key at the "on" position for a minute or so and it self primes. I read some discussion about mounting the pump lower than the fuel tank to prevent that, but for now it works fine.

Electric pump mounted on the frame rail on the right side?

That's where mine was. I can see someone removed it. The previous owner had a new one in storage but it was ancient and didn't work. I got a new Airtex pump.

EDIT: When you say you don't use the mechanical one at all, is it removed? I'd like to go that route. Can you see the make/model of your electric pump?
1984Allegro
Explorer
Aug 19, 2014
I have an electric fuel pump on my 84 Allegro...and an extra one! I do not use the mechanical one at all. I will say that at first I had an issue after it sits, with it losing prime. If that happens, I leave the key at the "on" position for a minute or so and it self primes. I read some discussion about mounting the pump lower than the fuel tank to prevent that, but for now it works fine.
turbojimmy
Explorer
Aug 19, 2014
Took it on a short (couple mile) journey to make sure the repairs are holding up. No oil leak. No upper rad leak. Rad cap is still weeping a bit. Not sure how to fix that.

Fuel line is still leaking at the pump. Got a new line on the way.
BigRabbitMan
Explorer
Aug 17, 2014
turbojimmy wrote:
Eventually I may do away with the mechanical pump completely.

Thats what I did. Rather than deal with two systems, I did away with the mechanical pump and then carried a spare electrical pump. They are small and don't take up much room. That way I only had one pump to diagose and a spare for a quick repair should it fail. That ended all fuel pump issues for me.
turbojimmy
Explorer
Aug 17, 2014
enblethen wrote:
Trying to suck through the electric pump could cause early problems with the mechanical pump. Try sucking through a straw with your finger over the end.

I thought so too. Like a geek I tried sucking through the pump (obviously it's new and had no gas in it). It's not easy.
enblethen
Nomad
Aug 17, 2014
Trying to suck through the electric pump could cause early problems with the mechanical pump. Try sucking through a straw with your finger over the end.