Hello community! I have a Volvo Penta 2003 turbo diesel onboard. Unlike the Volvo Penta 2003, it additionally has an oil cooler which has started leaking. It's practically impossible to buy a new one quickly. I want to completely remove it from the system. What dangers might I face on this path? I usually don't go above 2,000 RPM. Thanks!
It would be very difficult to isolate the oil cooler, and it could lead to turbo failure due to overheating.
I had a 2003T on a previous boat, and had to replace the oil cooler due to it leaking. When you're in that area of the engine, you should also check a small high-pressure oil pipe which feeds the turbo - this pipe is prone to corrosion and pinhole leaks.
Where is it leaking? It looks quite serviceable.
If it really can't be fixed, an oil cooler isn't mechanically connected and has no moving parts, it's just two hoses in, two hoses out, so you could use any oil cooler from any engine (of suitable pressure rating) as long as you can physically fit it somewhere and hook up the hoses.
(https://cdn.webshopapp.com/shops/261453/files/358879148/volvo-penta-oil-cooler-2003t-volvo-penta-840957.jpg)
Quote from: Yngmar on July 17 2024, 15:52
Where is it leaking? It looks quite serviceable.
If it really can't be fixed, an oil cooler isn't mechanically connected and has no moving parts, it's just two hoses in, two hoses out, so you could use any oil cooler from any engine (of suitable pressure rating) as long as you can physically fit it somewhere and hook up the hoses.
(https://cdn.webshopapp.com/shops/261453/files/358879148/volvo-penta-oil-cooler-2003t-volvo-penta-840957.jpg)
The outer casing, the green one, has corroded so much that the inner tubes are visible.
The body is alloy and can corrode very badly. Whilst theoretically it's possible to replace it with any similar-size oil cooler, the problem is the water piping, with relies on precise positioning and uses O-rings to seal the joints. The pipes aren't fully supported and need the joints to be in place to work. When it happened to me, the cheapest solution was a replacement VP cooler.
Quote from: Bavaria 390 on July 17 2024, 16:01
The outer casing, the green one, has corroded so much that the inner tubes are visible.
That's what happened to mine!
There was an article in Practical Boat Owner a few years ago describing the replacement with a generic Bowman cooler but it was not a simple job requiring some new parts to be made to link up with the water circulation system.
Quote from: tiger79 on July 17 2024, 16:11
Quote from: Bavaria 390 on July 17 2024, 16:01
The outer casing, the green one, has corroded so much that the inner tubes are visible.
That's what happened to mine!
I had the same thing happen to me