Quote:
Originally Posted by ngoma
But it appears to be an urban legend based on wishful fantasies (anything but admit to a HG problem).
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I think that is correct. Cribbing from RockAuto below is the application list for the 068 117 021 type cooler. Note that the application years range from 1981 all the way to 2006 and include all of the highest volume bread-and-butter models VAG has ever sold, both gas and diesel... Furthermore this list is definitely incomplete (right off the bat I see it is missing 82-83 Vanagon and 95-97 Audi A6 and 04-06 Golf), and even more important, it only covers US market models. The rest of the world saw many models and engines that also used this cooler, probably into more recent years also. We can estimate that the number of vehicles produced using this exact oil cooler P/N is in the hundreds of millions easily. Then if accounting for other engines/models using closely similar design cooler with slight changes for fitment -- size or orientation of hose connections -- perhaps another hundred million plus.
None of these models are known for common oil cooler problems. They can fail and presumably do, sure. But not often. I used to see dozens of TDI cars come through a shop every week, plus other Volvos and VW diesels using this part, many reaching 250k, 300k, 400k plus mile ranges. Never saw a failed cooler -- not one single failure. If they had any kind of tendency to fail, the much more common applications like TDI would have enthusiast owners buzzing with the need to watch for it, and the whole world would be aware that 25+ years worth of incredibly diverse VAG products ranging from ancient beater Rabbits to shiny late model Audis to commercial and military trucks have an oil cooler that needs attention paid. A pandemic of oil cooler failures across a colossal global population.
None of that is seen. Hence my skeptical opinion that it makes no sense this extreme low volume US Volvo D24T application would see hardly any failures at all, let a lone a high rate, and my guess that it is simple optimism or denial when people replace that cooler (or seek to eliminate it) after overheating their engine and finding oil in coolant afterwards....
Last of all, the use of one part in so many applications and with zero revisions across 3 decades is a pretty good vote of confidence from the OEM, who doesn't want to pay warranty repairs any more than we don't want to replace them all these years later, and uses failure rate data to make their decision.
All this simply to say to the OP (and whoever reading in the future with oil in coolant!), IMHO best not get your hopes up for an oil cooler failure, although certainly checking for it is always a smart idea in the interest of complete diagnosis. If you want to conclusively test the oil cooler for oil/coolant barrier leakage, you can easily disconnect the hoses and pressure test it in isolation from the rest of the engine.
Either from the coolant side using a pressure tester, or by running the engine with coolant hoses disconnected at the cooler and see if it flows pressurized oil out the coolant hose connections. This process rather than dye in the oil would rule the oil cooler out.
AUDI 100 1992-1994
AUDI 4000 1982-1983
AUDI 80 1988-1990
AUDI 90 1988
AUDI A4 1997-2001
AUDI CABRIOLET 1994
VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE 1998-2006
VOLKSWAGEN CABRIO 1995-2002
VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO 1990-1992
VOLKSWAGEN EUROVAN 1993-2003
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1998-2003
VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 1981-2005
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1993-1999
VOLKSWAGEN QUANTUM 1982-1985
VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT 1981-1984
VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT PICKUP 1981-1983
VOLKSWAGEN SCIROCCO 1984-1989
VOLVO 740 1985-1986
VOLVO 745 1985
VOLVO 760 1983-1985
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...17021b#fitment