After about a months trouble free driving, yesterday was set as the day for my mechanic and I to give the inner sills a de-rust and underseal in preparation for the MOT in early December. When I went to put the car in the garage I noticed a damp oily patch on the ground under the front R/H corner of the car. Opened the bonnet and noticed that the top of the coolant expansion tank was wet on the top. Opened it up, put my finger in the tank, which was full to the top and brought it out covered in a thick brown liquid that was not anti freeze.
I assumed the worst at first, cracked block, blown head gasket (even though the car was still driving great when I parked it up the night before).
Then I remembered the engine oil cooler buried in a water jacket in the V of the engine (don't know who thought that was a good idea!!) so, when my mechanic arrived I started the car briefly to get it up the slope and into the garage.
Change of plan. We assumed it was the oil cooler rather than a blown HG so we (he!) dismantled the manifold and extracted the cooler which was sitting in a little bowl of oil rather than coolant.
Weirdly, upon draining the rad it was only full of coolant, not an oily mixture, so we at least won't have to clear that out.
Don't know the route the coolant takes from the oil cooler bowl but it seemed to go practically straight to the expansion tank and displaced the water, filling up the expansion tank and forcing the oil through the expansion cap.
Anyway, cannot seem to find a new oil cooler on ebay or with a general internet search under the part number.
Any idea where I can get one or is there another option (like just connecting up the two oil pipes that go to the cooler and bypassing the cooler completely?)
I would prefer a new cooler as I don't really want a second hand one.