Just got a recon engine and as soon as the engine is fired up it seems to be peeing oil from the oil cooler. All rubber seals have been replaced and the cooler seem fine. From what i can make out there is a slight indent/gouge thats been made in the block on the top which runs to one of the oil cooler depression rings. It seems that when viewed from the side you can see it dip down below the ring of the oil seal. (Does that make sense?). Anway wonderd if anyone else had come across this before?
They do crack here, usually along the side of the milled flat part that the cooler stand sits on. Might sound extreme, but get a crowbar under the part that sitcks out above the barrels and see if a more obvious crack opens up (carefully). The cracks are often impossible to see otherwise. Or if you prefer or still in doubt, run it without the tinware on for a minute, it won't hurt for that long and you'll see where the oil is coming from. I got very fast at removing and re-installing T1 engines the first time I came across this.
I have driven 30000 miles with some oil leak near the cooler. Just used to putting in about a litre every 500 miles in three top ups according to my log book. Several attempts to find it have failed or made it much worse. On one occasion it just poured out of a trapped oil cooler seal.. At first it was because the silver paint on the recon engine block (2005 vintage) went under the seals round the oil cooler feeds and the paint flaked off leaving a way for the oil to escape. The real cause is probably a crack or porous casting as the top of the block looks rough. It comes out faster at 110 degrees plus oil temperature. But as it goes well and has survived I dont yet feel the need to change. And it keeps the rust at bay...
