[V8] RE: Oil cooler lines

[Kent McLean]

"Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz at kla-tencor.com> wrote:
> My BiL lost an oil cooler line on his non-turbo 5000 ... and ended up
> needing to replace the NF engine ... 

I lost the oil cooler lines 3 times in my 200 TQ. The first time,
old age failure caused a line to break at the connector, spewing
oil over everything.  I shut down immediately. I replaced the bad
lines, cooler and all (the mechanic in Concord NH said trying to
get the old lines off would ruin the cooler; a used Audi parts
source was right next door.) The second time I was a mile from
home and I said "screw it", and drove home with no oil (I was
very upset with my car). Replaced the bad used lines with an
after market cooler and lines, filled it new oil, started it up,
and the engine didn't make any funny noises.  It didn't seem to
do any damage. Then I was down in NC when a new line slipped off.
Shut down immediately, refitted the line, tightened it good, then
put in the quart of oil I had in the car. After all this abuse,
the I-5 turbo still runs great. That is one tough engine.

But, I credit synthetic oil for doing a great job.

If I were about to make a trip with questionable lines, I'd
put hose clamps over the existing oil cooler hose connections,
as insurance.  And I keep a quart or two of oil in the trunk.

-- 
Kent McLean
'94 Audi 100 S Avant, V6-12v FWD automatic
'89 Audi 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy"