Auxilary Engine Oil Cooler Lines

[ochsinc]

I have been trying to find a wrench to remove those oil cooler lines. I looked all day on the net and have had no luck. Of course there are a ton of transmission oil cooler line wrenches. Does anyone know where I can get one if they exsist?

[njdevi11]

Not sure if the 6.5 is the same as my 6.2 but i actually just removed and replaced mine this weekend, i used a standard open ended wrench (it was 7/8" or 15/16" i cant recall, i just remember it was bigger then 3/4" and smaller then 1") i also had to use a 3/4" wrench on the fittings that adapt the male female hose fiting to the female fitting in the engine.

Ideally you would want to use line wrenches for something like this but they're expensive and a very mono-tasker.

[ochsinc]

Thanks for the reply. I have done that method on both my 6.5 t.d.'s. It is a pain in the you know what and is very tedious turning a wrench a 1/16 of a turn at a time. I'ld rather buy the expensive specialty wrench if someone know where to get one!
Thanks-Mark

[gregie998]

bought a new wrench at truevalue and had to cut it inhalf to fit up under and then be able to turn........cut off the old lines, and thought I was going to use the old conections on the block, nope, had to buy two new block conections. good luck

[Husker 6.5]

Thanks for the reply. I have done that method on both my 6.5 t.d.'s. It is a pain in the you know what and is very tedious turning a wrench a 1/16 of a turn at a time. I'ld rather buy the expensive specialty wrench if someone know where to get one!
Thanks-Mark

Go to your local GM dealership. If it is a specialty tool, they will have a P/N for it, and be prepared to pay an outrageous price! (Bring your first-born child). You could also try Snap-On or Mac. My mechanic, who's shop has about every conceivable tool known, just used flarenut wrenches to do mine.

(See the oil-leak thread in this forum.)

[sixnickel]

I have never had the good fortune of changing my oil cooler lines. But I would guess it's no big deal. I thought that I had a leak at my swivel adapters so I ordered a pair from Walt. Turns out they weren't leaking. It was my hydro-boost unit dripping down on the fittings. Anyways I have the swivel fittings. If you look at the fittings they have snap ring type clip in it. They are made this way so that the fittings are installed in the block at the engine factory. On the truck assembly line the lines are just popped into the fittings and the snap ring type clip holds the line in the fitting. If I were to remove the lines from the block I would just remove the snap ring type clip pull the line out of the fitting. then put a socket on the fitting. Don't think of them as a swivel but as a quick connect fitting. I might be all wrong with this idea but this was my game plan to change to change the fittings. Sorta the way the heater hose snaps into the water manifold. Now I have a question? How do you get a 1/16 turn out of a hex fitting?

[Husker 6.5]

I have never had the good fortune of changing my oil cooler lines. But I would guess it's no big deal. I thought that I had a leak at my swivel adapters so I ordered a pair from Walt. Turns out they weren't leaking. It was my hydro-boost unit dripping down on the fittings. Anyways I have the swivel fittings. If you look at the fittings they have snap ring type clip in it. They are made this way so that the fittings are installed in the block at the engine factory. On the truck assembly line the lines are just popped into the fittings and the snap ring type clip holds the line in the fitting. If I were to remove the lines from the block I would just remove the snap ring type clip pull the line out of the fitting. then put a socket on the fitting. Don't think of them as a swivel but as a quick connect fitting. I might be all wrong with this idea but this was my game plan to change to change the fittings. Sorta the way the heater hose snaps into the water manifold. Now I have a question? How do you get a 1/16 turn out of a hex fitting?
Yeah, its either where they snap in that leaks, or the fitting to hose crimp that leaks after time. My hoses themselves were leaking at the crimp, the fittings were also replaced as a pre-emptive at the same time, since they tend to leak once the lines have been removed. I guess they get about a 16th of a turn by flipping the wrench over. It's tight under there.

[sixnickel]

6 does not go into 16 now if you have a 8 sided hex 8 goes into 16 wait a minute! a hex has 6 sides?? so it must be a 1/12 of a turn! DOOOH

[Husker 6.5]

6 does not go into 16 now if you have a 8 sided hex 8 goes into 16 wait a minute! a hex has 6 sides?? so it must be a 1/12 of a turn! DOOOH
Well, if you are using a combination wrench with an offset open end of 22.5* which many are, that is 1/16th of a 360* circle. So, if you flip the wrench over each time to put the open end on then you are turning 1/16th of the circle each time...hold on, weren't they talking about what a PITA it is to remove the fittings originally? They are, which is why I let my mechanic put it up on the lift and paid him to get pissed at it:D :D instead of me laying on a creeper in the driveway getting pissed off at it:D :D

He has the complete set of every manufacturer's shop manuals on CD-ROM, and the 6.5 manual says to replace the fittings with the lines. They are essentially a one-time use part. He had the lines on hand when I pulled in, but my truck sat on the rack for 2 hours after the new lines were on the radiator waiting for the dealership to deliver the damn block fittings he had ordered from them at 8 that morning (5 hours earlier). Evidently the dealership didn't see the neccessity of timely delivery.

Reference other thread, yeah it's like we always said in the Army: "Never assume, it makes an ass of u and me!"

[sixnickel]

Hay Husker 6.5 Didn't you read what I said. Pop the snap ring clip thingie, pull the line out of the fitting, THEN put a socket on the fitting ( to remove and replace it).When you put your's back together you put the fitting back in the block with a socket then popped the line in? Who needs open ends? And I can only get a 1/12 of a turn unless I use my 30 deg 60 deg Snap On offset open ends with my regular 15 deg open end then can get 1/36 of a turn!!!

[ochsinc]

Thanks for all the replies. Husker, you helped a lot. I didn't even think about poping the retainer clips. I am not sure how accessable they are but when I change them again, clips and socket wrench after that sounds good to me.

[Husker 6.5]

Thanks for all the replies. Husker, you helped a lot. I didn't even think about poping the retainer clips. I am not sure how accessable they are but when I change them again, clips and socket wrench after that sounds good to me.

:eek: It's the lines on the oil-cooler that are the real SOB to remove, that's why I let my mechanic do it. One you can sort of get to through the gap at the bottom of the grill, the other one is BEHIND the cooler support bracket! That's the ITTY-BITTY turn at a time flare fitting. Depending on your patience, removing the grill and possibly the front bumper to gain additional access to the oil cooler lines is a possibility. My mech removed the grill, dismounted the oilcooler and bracket, then removed the lines from the cooler. One line was leaking from the hose-crimp at the fitting into the cooler, leaving unwanted calling cards in my customers' driveways!

Happy wrenching!

Husker 6.5

[99burb]

The grill is really easy to remove, then I took off the oil cooler to clean it and clean behind it...:D
later JJB

[wbburban]

the oil cooler line fittings in the block are 1 1/4" and the ones at the cooler are 1 1/16", you can get wrenches that size at most hardware stores.

[996.5T]

I had my oil lines changed about two months ago and I took it to a mechanic also. He change mine by taking a pan off from behind the bumper.

[grancito]

You need to employ a spider monkey with an eye on the end of one finger to pull the clip. I used an open ender then pulled the clip when it was out. An o-ring replacement stopped the leak.