Oil Cooler Leak
 

I've had a z1 25 row oil cooler on my car for the past year or so and it's been working great... until now. I noticed a LOT of oil dripping on my driveway, took a look down under, and discovered the leak coming from my oil cooler. The lines and fittings are all in good shape and dry, but the cooler itself has a bunch of oil seeping from it - mostly on the edges where the fins meet the frame of the cooler. Has anyone else had this problem with Mocal cores? The fix seems straightforward, but I'm trying to get some input on whether I should get the Setrab core instead as a replacement.

What cooler kit you have on now?

OH yeah, upgrade to the Setrab core. This should not have happened. I wouldn't risk driving the car just in case that core decided to totally let go.

I originally went with the Mocal core. I spoke with Z1 this morning and they are going to try to get me a warranty refund on it, but I purchased it 12 months and 2 weeks ago so I might have just missed the window. According to Russ, the Mocal core and the VHR don't play well together because there is an oil pressure spike at startup that puts a lot of strain on the cooler. He was surprised that this one lasted me as long as it did. So I have a Setrab core on order and hopefully I won't have to deal with this ever again. Of course the leak appeared when I was 200 miles from home - scariest drive home I've ever had! I must've pulled over 12 times to check the oil level and to see how bad it was leaking. In hindsight I should've just had it towed home because by the end the oil was getting really close to my brake rotor. Never going to do that again...

Wow that's cool they will try to warranty it but their comment is pretty surprising and disappointing. They continue to sell the product on their site yet are surprised it even lasted 12 months?! Really if that's the case then you are not doing your customers a service by offering a lower cost unit when you know it won't even last 1 year. Not sure about their oil pressure spike comment as all engines have a spike in pressure on cold start but maybe VHR is higher and if that's the case then don't offer the product that you know doesn't play well. Guess I'm glad I went Setrab up front.

:iagree: If Z1 knows about this perssistent problem, they need to remedy it before someone has a major malfunction!

I just had a z1 oil cooler kit with the 34 row Setrab core installed in mine. Everything was tightened down but there was a leak coming from the flange that connects the line to the core where it screws into the core. So my mechanic used teflon tape on all the flanges and it works fine now. I was told those o-rings will give out after awhile and adding teflon tape will make it last longer. I was disappointed that the flanges leaked at all considering the price of the kit.