Morning,
This easter I had a frantic couple of days because the oil cooler had a perforation and was weeping badly. Tried to repair it - couldn't so bought new. While fitting it I noticed the pipes are a tad corroded and pitted so may not be far off going the same way... I have spent a bit of time "under it" over the past week and noticed the engine oil pipe fittings are also damp and there are a few drops of oil around.

Although i think the "LR Active Rust Prevention" system is excellent and often under appreciated, I'm thinking of taking the plunge and replacing all of the iffy pipes for both engine and gearbox

(The car has done 186,000 miles, 1993 and all of the pipes look original). Oh, and I live and work in Grampian, the rust inducing region of the planet so more corrosion is inevitable.

Anybody got any thoughts or experiences with suppliers and costs they'd like to share ?

I have made up loads of such hoses for comp safari and rally from stainless steel braid and they are great especially if the hose you want is not a std item that you can buy off the shelf.

The downside is the cost, especially seeing as the fittings into the engine ( depending on which model ) are often awkward to match to and you end up replacing these as well.

Given that your existing ones have lasted that long and that exact copies are available of any LR shop I would be very tempted to put std ones back on and use them for the next 180,000 miles.............

Have a look at my motorsport plumbing website for an idea of the sort oh hose and fittings I'm on about if you want.

David
LLAMA 4x4

thinkauto.com - they will have everything you will ever need plus a myriad of stuff you won't and they have facility to custom machine any fitting you want - but at a price. They sell their stuff to other sellers so you are unlikley to get the stuff cheaper.

The fancy colour anodised fittings are pricey - approx £ 15 a pop or more - cheaper steel galvanised ones are approx £ 5 or less. Most popular size is BSP (most likley found on LR and other British production cars) and JIC.

When deciding what fittings to go for, think about how you can bypass the cooler i.e. can you disconnect and plug in hose to another should the cooler get holed in the field? - i.e have compatible fitting threads and size.

Ah two excellent sites and tips, Thank you

The more I think about it, the wiser it seems as I wouldn't know I've got a problem with a hose until a light comes on and knowing luck, that would be when the engine is under load (Corgarff springs to mind).