996 engine oil cooler leak.

Hi; I have been looking forever for some info (pics are best), on how to remove the parts to allow access to this engine oil cooler. I have the "Bentley", which is quite thorough and clear, but pic's, or a video would be very useful. Also, maybe someone who has done this have amassed a few tricks, ie; do's or don't do's. It doesn't seem too difficult, just time consuming like most repairs on these cars: I believe it is just dried out O-ring type seals (4) from winter storage; in any case I am changing the cooler as well as it isn't that expensive once I'm in there. Anything else worth checking in the same area? Thanks for your interest.

With the cooler being located up in the top right corner, I'm thinking you will have to remove the throttle body, plenum, AC compressor, and power steering resoviour (sp?) and bank 2 intake plus lower the motor as much as possible to gain access. Make sure to not stretch the coolant hoses to much. It actually may be easier to just drop the motor....that way the TB, plenum and intake stay as is.

Might as well do the AOS if you have to take off the plenums. Lowering the motor 3 inches and loosening an intake manifold (driver's if you do do the AOS) will help with the plenums. They were the toughest part for me.

Thanks for that input. I am going to try it without dropping the engine; I'm not really equipped for that adventure. I realize all the components that need to be drained, then removed or placed aside. Getting the new gaskets and clamps etc. is always stressful, making sure you have a list of every part needed before beginning. Living in the "Boonies" requires ordering from Pelican Parts long in advance ,or ordering from Porsche Dealership which doesn't stock anything and has to order them in as well. I would add that Jason and Tony at "Prestige Porsche", in Montreal are extremely helpful and accommodating. Cheers all!

AOS has been done a year ago. PS. I'm sure the cooler will prove to be fine and that the O'rings are the culprit, but I am changing o'rings and cooler for piece of mind. These cars do seem to be prone to leaks.

My car has been in the garage for a week. After installing a new OEM (Behr) cooler from Pelican, it leaked between the cooler and the block; got new O-rings again and they took it out , cleaned block again, and re-installed. Still leaks but less. Pelican Parts is sending me a replacement with more O-rings. (they say they have never had a problem with this OEM part). That said, are we missing something with the installation? Could it be a warped cooler or the O-rings. I'm thinking I'll give it one more shot with this garage, then move on. The joke is, the original cooler wasn't leaking, and they pulled it anyway. The leak was coming from the power steering pump. Grrrrr !

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Do you have the proper O rings? We see bad OEM and even genuine heat exchangers routinely.. We pressure test every new unit because of this, before installation.

Yes always Porsche supplied O-rings; my garage doesn't have equipment to pressure test. Maybe I should find a shop that can.

Just to add closure; it was the O.E.M. coolers (2) that I bought from Pelican Parts that were the problem. The bottom of the cooler was warped so new oil rings didn't seat properly; and the replacement proved to be the same, warped bottom. I had all three pressure tested and that was fine. I ended up installing the original with new o-rings, end of cooler leak. This was all done with the motor in the car, no need to drop it in my opinion, but it is tedious to reach the cooler.

' it was the O.E.M. coolers (2) that I bought from Pelican Parts that were the problem. The bottom of the cooler was warped ' Wow ! Can't blame Pelican but this is an amazingly bad situation for 2 O.E.M. parts that could have caused engine failure. Warped base would be easy to catch in Q.C. at the Supplier. I wonder if they are importing these parts from off-shore and just adding stickers and boxes in Germany ?

This isn't a new problem. I've been seeing it for 5 years. It has been reported to the Mfr many, many times. I made a jig to test these units before we install them, most are twisted, and will not seat flat. Only people that actually build things will know this, not a reseller of parts.

Is it possible you could give me the steps you used to get to the cooler? I have a small leak from the rear of mine and don't want to drop the engine. Thanks!

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Remove airbox, tb, both plenumns and the passenger side intake. This will give u clear access unless u have a 3.4l with the fuel lines going to the ac compressor. Then u would have to unbolt the ac compressor and shift it foward.

Thank you. I have a 3.6 motor. I think since I'm already there, I'll change the AOS, since it will be exposed, and water pump and thermostat since I'm draining coolant. Any other items you recommend changing since I've got things exposed?

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I changed out my o-rings in January while I had the transmission out doing the clutch and IMSB. Like you I had a very small coolant leak, like a dribble that dried before ever making it to the ground. My '00 was barely driven for 10 years before me so the coolant side o-rings appeared deformed. I also tested the cooler with about 5 psi of compressed air in a pan of water before reinstalling. You only need to drain a gallon of coolant to drop the level below where it attaches to the top of the block.

I did a clutch last summer. Bought an oil cooler and had it in stock when I dropped the transmission. I looked real hard it and with no visible leaks did not do the job and returned it to FCP. This summer I'm making attempts to avoid bore scoring. The recommendations from Flatt6 are to replace the injectors. The intake manifolds will be off to do this so I'm going to tackle the AOS, and accompanying plastic hoses, and Secondary Air stuff. I keep throwing a secondary air code. If you are taking the intake manifolds off to do the oil cooler you may want to consider the AOS and injectors.

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Hi Just in the process of doing the clutch on my 997.1 3.6 and I have the same - coolant stain on the block below the oil cooler. Are there any tips you can share on removing the oil cooler from transmission side? The far left bolt (facing the flywheel towards the rear) seems it will be the biggest challenge to remove and install. thanks

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Sure - it was fairly easy for my average sized hands and I did mine on jackstands. Be sure to remove at least a gallon of coolant, enough so it doesn't spill out, especially into inlet/outlets. I used a fine (72 click) mini ratchet (especially for that back bolt you mention). Use caution when removing the old o-rings and placing the new ones. You don't want one falling into the passages. My small torque wrench wouldn't fit so I guess-torqued the 8mm bolts and so far so good. Lastly, if you are keeping the same cooler, test it with compressed air in a bucket of water. I could tell it was my original o-rings that were weeping and, now 5k miles later, so far so good. Good luck!

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Thanks mate!

If you are going through the trouble to replace the o-rings, replace the cooler. It is relatively inexpensive.

Anyone know if the oil cooler for a 997 3.8 will fit underneath the intake manifold on a 996?

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Unfortunately the only oil cooler that fits in the 996 is the 996 oil cooler. If you want more oil cooling, LN developed an oil cooling kit that fits the cayman and I believe the 997. But the 996 has no room in the engine area. However, you can remove your mufflers and run pipes of which the oil cooling kit will fit in the muffler area. In the meantime, LN is working on a better solution for the 996.

Thanks GC. I figured someone brighter than me had already been down that road but worth the ask.