Re: Braided oil cooler lines

[William Elliott <William.Elliott@mail.mei.com>]

At 14:37 25.04.98 GMT, Phil Payne wrote:

>> I blew the stainless braided oil cooler hos in my 87 5KCSTQ.  Apart from
>> the dealer, does anyone have any ideas?
>I had this discussion with a UK MB owner only an hour ago.  He's bought
>stainless lines that are badly made and don't fit.
>Since every case of oil cooler line failure that I've ever heard of
>has been from the _inside_ - why stainless?

Aleksander Mierzwa replies: <<I don't know about Ur-q, but on my 5KT 
(and I recall several other 5K owners reporting similar failure) it was
 the metal crimp that corroded and finally broke, allowing the hose to 
slip off the fitting.>>

Just a guess: Braided oil cooler lines fail only from the inside _because_ they
are stainless?  Non-stainless lines would be more prone to other
types of failure? Mine failed due to the unfused battery cable shorting
our along it.  Destroyed the seal between the hose and fitting. None
were available in the U.S. List price was almost $300 per line.  I decided
that the line was fairly well protected from damage and was sufficiently
distant from the turbo/exhaust heat, so I had the local NAPA use my
fittings and construct a 1500psi non-braided line for $25.  About 5000
miles later, no leaks.

Bill Elliott
Lake Mills, WI
85 UrQ