Oil cooler leak only on cold start

You've made a statement, not asked a question, but since this is a discussion forum I'll discuss nonetheless:

If you don't need the cooler, remove it and revert to the stock WRX cooler. Do your oil temps exceed 110' for significant periods of time? Are you logging "knock" and can attribute that to temps? Are you logging retarded timing and/or reduced boost as a result, that you can attribute to temps?

This may be a classic case of one of my fav sayings:

What is not there cannot fail.

Someone not bound by the bourgeois ideals of logic and frugality will no doubt pay a pretty penny for your Sti oil cooler. They will likely not need it but will likely buy it.

Just a thought.

I didn't pay more for it, I bought the wrong one and they denied a refund. It's the same oil cooler as the EJ205, and it fits without the adapter. I put it on there after I installed my short block. I haven't had problems with it leaking until my 4th oil change.
It's the only thing on my car that *might* be for a STi.

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Check the surfaces for gunk

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Aha, OK so it's the round sandwich cooler above the oil filter, not the remote front mount oil cooler with bars and fins?

There is a "gasket" (it's more of a ring, but anyway) between the cooler sandwich and the block. The bolt that goes through the sandwich and into the block is torqued to 55Nm, and the bolt that is outside the sandwhich is torqued to 69 Nm. Heh... I said 69.

Anyway, that's ONLY for MY car, a 2002 2,0L WRX. Check to be sure it's the same torque for yours. I'd get a new gasket, consider new bolts while I'm at it, and like XJman said I'd clean the surfaces.

Use a torque wrench it's so easy to jack up those fittings.

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This morning it was leaking oil on a cold start but whenever I started it up cold this afternoon it didn't leak. I know the oil pressure goes over 100 psi on cold starts, maybe that's why it leaks.
I remember tightening the post that the oil filter threads into to 55 ft/lbs. I couldn't tighten the bolts that go into the block because my torque wrench was too big. That was the same time I replaced the gasket (which wasn't damaged at all) and sealed it up with gasket maker.

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Just to clarify, I strongly suspect 55Nm and 55 ftlbs are two drastically different torques. I use Nm; check that your torque setting was correct when you tightened that "post" bolt thing.

SD_GR said:

Just to clarify, I strongly suspect 55Nm and 55 ftlbs are two drastically different torques. I use Nm; check that your torque setting was correct when you tightened that "post" bolt thing.

Click to expand...

I meant to say 51 ft/lbs (69 Nm), sorry. I got that from this thread:
http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?p=393633
But I've seen a thread on the Outback forum where the EJ255 requires 40 ft/lbs (55 Nm).


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The CENTRAL bolt requires LESS torque than the other bolt. Stand by; will attempt to post diagramme ASAP.

Thanks, I thought there were seven bolts holding it to the block, but that was for the adapter. I haven't looked at it in a while. Thanks for the diagram though.

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Ok good luck.

I had the same problem on my 2005 WRX a few months back. Got the gasket for like 7 bucks popped it in torqued it down and it was all good

Turns out that gasket maker got too hot and brittle and failed. After cleaning the remains of the gasket maker and whatever else on the oil cooler, I sealed it with silicone. Now it doesn't leak, and it shouldn't leak anymore.
Thanks for the help, guys

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You shouldn't be using any sealer on it that I'm aware of

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Yea I second that. Id just swap out that gasket and torque it to spec you should be golden

I just put it on there because the first time it started leaking I did it the normal way (change gasket, torque it down) then it leaked immediately afterwards. Bought another gasket, put it on with gasket maker and it held up until now.
I didn't put a ton of silicone on it, just a thin layer around the outside edge.

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Update, so I put on a new gasket because it was leaking again. This time, I used a brand new torque wrench. Still leaks. Obviously it's not an oil cooler leak, it's coming from something up higher.
I'll have to do some investigating, but I thought for sure it was the dreaded oil cooler gasket.

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