Thread: New type fuel cooler retrofit

Originally Posted by sierrafery

Hi, i want to be prepared for when my fuel cooler will start leaking (270.000km and still dry) and i dont want to mess with o-rings on the old one so i decided to retrofit a late type of cooler when the time comes cos it's cheap and more leak-proof, can anybody tell me what mods on the pipework are needed for this one PIB000080 FUEL COOLER OE BEHR

I've got one of these on my D2a, and there are some significant differences between how the coolant hoses are routed to those shown in RAVE on the older cooler, the cooler inflow is more of less the same, but instead of the outflow going to the heater matrix mine returns to the elbow between rad and thermostat and has a bleed point on it..... and have I have no idea where the return from the heater matrix goes, nor have I any idea where the oil cooler return goes to.

Now, I don't know if you actually NEED all these changes, but you will probably have problem with your existing pipe work between the matrix and fuel cooler not being long enough, and its worth bearing in mind that with mine the bleed point is important because the design permits air to be trapped in the fuel cooler loop

Why would you not want to just do the o rings?

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Why would you not want to just do the o rings?

As stated he doesn't want to mess with the o rings sort of self explanatory.
The joys of having a update model.

Except he doesn't, he wants to retrofit this different style cooler. 90% of fuel cooler leaks are simply just O-rings. The standard cooler works fine, bgkdavis seems to indicate there's going to be some faffing around.
And if we're going into semantics, saying he doesn't want to do something isn't an explanation of why that is

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Except he doesn't, he wants to retrofit this different style cooler. 90% of fuel cooler leaks are simply just O-rings. The standard cooler works fine, bgkdavis seems to indicate there's going to be some faffing around.
And if we're going into semantics, saying he doesn't want to do something isn't an explanation of why that is

We know all this as he explained. And im fine with the idea of thinking outside of the square and going a different route. Plus i don't want to know his personal reasons on if it will work suits .And of course there will have to be a couple of mods which will help any new players.and that is what it is about.

And I never said he couldn't do what he pleases. I simply queried why.

Thanks guys...another reason to get rid of the old cooler is it's built in thermostat which is good only when it's really cold outside but i've seen 3 cases untill now when they failed stuck closed which means the coolant flow through the cooler was stopped and the fuel temp got high enough to cause driveability issues but if it happens when it's very hot outside and with close to empty tank(which wasnt the case untill now) there can be some scary scenarios....i dont mind buying some silicone hose and modify the circuit rather than put only o-rings to an old cooler which might have a "tired" thermostat too(not available as spare)

Maybe like this??

With a bleed port in the tee??
Also not sure about the restricter in the old unit or if the new type uses a thermostat??