Pain in the Astra: Part 11 Oil Cooler Replacement

[@dosgos]

Was the original oil cooler oxidized at the o-ring connections? If you had to do it over again, would you have just replaced the o-rings?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Maybe just the rings if I had factory GM rings. The Dorman kit's rings aren't exactly the same as the ones I took off, so I wouldn't want to risk it with the Dorman ones. I remember there was some oxidation in the manifold that was exposed to air, but it looked fine on the inside past where the o-rings sealed.

[@dosgos]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Awesome! We already have the OEM rings...just keep putting off the pain!

[@webwildcatting]

outstanding video. thank you!

[@dosgos]

See PART 6 for removal of EXHAUST MANIFOLD.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Ya, what he said, here's a link kzbin.info/www/bejne/oonLk5lro6d4iJY

[@kianisback2014]

We have same problem,

[@dosgos]

Any issues removing the manifold nuts? Any tips?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Are you talking about the exhaust manifold or the oil cooler bolts? The exhaust manifold the best trick is to soak it in a rust penitrating spray as soon as you can. Next focus on being perfectly straight on the nut. The nuts are shaped weird so if you are not straight on, you could round them. Luckily the flats stretch back kind of far into the nut's shoulder, so if you weren't straight on and it stripped a little, you can put the socket straight on and smack the back with a hammer to jam it onto the nut. Then if you aren't replacing the nuts, you can lightly file the nut to regain a proper shape or remove the rust build up so you can reach the rear most flats.

[@dosgos]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom The exhaust manifold! I'm worried about the rust and having to get busted studs out of the block. We have the OEM gaskets for the oil cooler but know it will be a total root canal so keep putting it off. Also some idiot must have broken one of the 3 bolts at the other end of the manifold so there is a weld there too. Might be easy to remove the weld but getting that to seal again may be a root canal!

[@Astronite32]

What would be an average price for this job on an Astra J 2011? Thanks for the video.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I'm not sure for the Astra J, as we only have H's here in the US and I can't find any labor times on for the J. Hopefully we can get some other people to comment that have a J. But when I googled it, it seems like there's quite a range for times and costs that people have been quoted in pounds ranging from just about 200 not including parts to almost 700 pounds but that included also doing the valve cover gasket (which should be almost no extra time and to my American mind feels like someone was getting robbed as that is almost $1000 with tax). In the US, a shop normally quotes book time (a manufacturer supplied time to replace a given part which normally has 2 versions: an under warranty time and an out of warranty time) which would be charged at their hourly labor rate (in my area dealerships charge around $150-200 an hour, small shops range from $75-150 an hour) and then they could contact the customer saying that they ran into issues and need approval for more time and money. I know in other countries the automotive repair culture is very different from here in the US so things may differ depending on where you are located and how prices are quoted and additional fees added. I would expect a repair like mine in the US at a small shop to cost probably $325-350 out the door (that's replacing the oil cooler completely with about $75-100 in other parts; so the cooler pipe o-rings, exhaust manifold gaskets, oil, coolant, and miscellaneous things) if the rust was similar to mine. I think that's about 242-280 pounds but that would be the US repair culture converted and maybe not match your countries culture. Hope this helps.

[@Astronite32]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom OK thanks man for the indept response. I have had a few quotes now ranging from 800 to 200 lol Very strange. Think I'll go with replacing the whole oil cooler rather than just the seals if I can get it done for about 350 - 400 👍🏻 The joys of motoring eh.

[@Razz63096]

I know I'm late to this. Labor time is around 5 hours for this job........can totally be done in WAY under that!

[@dosgos]

How would you address the underbody rust without taking apart the whole car? Just sand and clean a bit then paint on some Rustolium RustRestore? Trying to maximize the life of the Astra.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I used some of Eastwood's Rust Converter on the Astra. It requires almost no prep beyond degreasing and converts the rust to an inert "coating" that protects it but it only converts the rust it can get to so some may be left lurking underneath. Using something to remove the rust is a good idea, so yes, sanding it could help if it's not a sheetmetal component. So the subframe, suspension components and other heavy steel items I would sand, clean and then prime and topcoat. The body sheetmetal itself though is tricky, there is a spot on my Astra where the factory paint was broken off but the factory rust preventative was holding up strong. I haven't edited the video yet, but the escalade was in a fender bender before I bought it and now there's some pretty significant rust directly at the repair. Sometimes when you sand through the factory rust inhibiting primer or metal coating, you make the problem 10 times worse and a ticking time bomb. So the escalade actually has a bit of Eastwood's rust encapsulator now, which is proving interesting as some rust is poking back through but it was a really rusty spot that I treated. Up here in Minnesota, once rust starts you can try to fight it, but it's best to start planning an exit strategy as it may prove more cost effective to get a different vehicle. With all the snow we've had up here, the roads are coated in salt and the melting snow makes it like the cars are taking a salt bath which gets into all the nooks and crannies and will probably cause the repair to be needed again in 2-4 years. Now if you live somewhere less rust prone, then fixing the rust can last a while longer and be a worthwhile endeavor. In the end, doing something for the rust is a better idea to help the car last longer than just watching it get worse. Really makes me miss working on cars in North Carolina, where rust was almost a non-issue.

[@dosgos]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Thank you so much! We live in a salty area but we have done so much work to keep the Astra nearly "new" that we would like to keep it going. It really does run like new (well the paint is failing a bit, the oil cooker is weeping and maybe the exhaust's days are numbered.)