I need to replace my engine oil cooler lines (98 XJR). The Jaguar Classic Parts website provided me the part numbers, and from that I learned that the return line is discontinued, NLA, and very expensive if you can find one. So I'm going to attempt to replace the hoses in my existing lines.

My question is: does anyone know the size of the aluminum line and the hydraulic hoses? Inside and outside diameter would be very helpful. I am planning to remove the cooler from the car and have a local shop fit new hoses for me. I came across a thread on here some time ago, but I can't seem to find it now. I think there were some details in that thread that would help me here.

The local shop said their fittings and hoses are standard, not metric, and I suspect that this might be a problem. If I need to order a special hose size and fittings for the shop to use, I can do that. Any advice you have is appreciated. I have next week off, so I'm planning to tackle this project so I can enjoy the car this summer!

PS: thanks to addicted2boost for pointing out that I need to replace the oil cooler hoses from a picture I posted in an unrelated thread a while back. No doubt his observation saved me from a hose bursting and losing engine oil!

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...emoval-287648/

Post #38 has the size. If I had to do mine again (still not finished), I would cut just the hoses off, carefully cut the crimped aluminum over the old hose off and get hydraulic hose to fit over the rib and use 2 T-bolt clamps (if they make them that small??) for a total of 8 clamps and go with that. I couldn’t get a hydraulics shop to touch it. It’s doable with the cooler still attached but, nobody wants to deal with it.

 

Thank you, that’s the thread I was trying to find.

Would it work to just do a flare fitting? Cut the aluminum, slide on a flare nut, flare it, and then make a hydraulic hose of the right length to connect to the flare fittings. Even if the flare nut wasn’t the exact perfect size, it’s the flare that matters most. I think it would fit tight and wouldn’t leak.

I’m going to try to find a correctly sized hose and crimp, and the shop I talked to said they would crimp it for me. The flare fitting is appealing to me as a solution that would probably work fine.

 

I suppose you can. Just don’t try and loosen those fasteners no matter how tempted you may feel.

 

Fasteners that attach to the cooler itself you mean? Yeah it sounds like the threads permanently weld themselves. Not worth messing with if I can get the hoses replaced by just removing the entire assembly.

 

That’s correct about the fasteners on the cooler itself.

 

Mine came right off. I know what you mean about welding. That happened on my lower transmission cooler radiator line. I used the oil cooler on my LS swap. The hydraulic hose shop had no problem connecting hose to the metal tubes going to the cooler and AN fittings on the other ends.

 

I suspect almost every situation presents it's own set of circumstances. However
it is great we have such a wealth of information that gives us choices in the process.

 

I'm also considering having a welding shop attach (tig weld) aluminum AN fittings, then have the hydraulic shop cut hoses with AN fittings to match. The welded hard line fittings would be male, and the hose fittings would be female swivel. That's probably the best solution for me because I'll likely never sell the car, so if I have to replace the hoses again someday it would be pretty simple.

Edited to add: I know I'll figure this out when I get under the car, but do I have to drain the engine oil before removing the cooler lines? Hoping I can just remove the lines and stuff a rag in the holes til I'm ready to reassemble.

 

Project is done. My fittings came loose immediately and unthreaded by hand, so I didn’t need to remove the cooler itself. The car having spent most of its life in Nevada and Arizona no doubt helped me here!

I ended up cutting off the pipes and having 12AN male fittings tig welded on to the aluminum pipes. I bought female fittings and hydraulic hose and cut it to the lengths I needed, accounting for the fittings.

It turned out great. I recommend this if you can tig weld or can find someone skilled at it. Below are a few pictures. I ultrasonic cleaned the parts, scuffed the weld area, cleaned again, then cleaned with acetone, and took the pieces to the tig welder guy. I wanted to be sure the pieces were properly prepped because I hadn’t used this guy before so I wanted to be careful.

I'm glad a2b noticed this problem from a picture I had posted. The old hoses were completely shot. I feel better now!

 

Ok, I’m happy for you that everything came apart so nonchalantly. 🤣🤣
Meanwhile, everybody else is struggling with their oil cooler. 😝