Oil cooler repairs
Oil cooler repairs stop oil and water crossing between circuits. Send the nameplate and what has happened, and a specialist who works on that type will come back to you. Coverage is UK wide.
Tell us about your oil cooler repairs
Five answers, all from memory. The detail comes next, and it is optional.
See the privacy notice for how these details are handled.
Common problems that need oil cooler repairs
It has failed or is leaking
Fluids mixing, a leak at the unit, or one that will not hold pressure.
Emergency repair →Losing dutyPerformance has dropped
Higher pressure drop, a wider approach temperature, or a duty it no longer reaches.
Cleaning options →PlannedA service or shutdown is coming
Planned maintenance, an outage window, or a spare that needs to be ready.
Servicing options →UnsureNot sure what is wrong
Send the nameplate and what you have noticed. That is enough to get an answer.
Send the details →Oil cooler repairs cover
Oil cooler repairs cover leaks, fouling and lost cooling on hydraulic, engine, gearbox and transformer oil coolers. Which way a leak runs, oil into water or water into oil, changes both the urgency and the repair.
- Oil in the cooling water, or water in the oil, which means the two sides are connected
- Oil temperature running higher than it used to at the same load
- External leaks at the joints, gaskets or end covers
- Fouling on the water side that has taken the cooling away
- Servicing and cleaning ahead of a shutdown
What happens next
Send the details
The unit type, the nameplate, and whether it is oil into water or water into oil. Which way the leak runs changes the urgency as well as the repair.
A specialist makes contact
To confirm the type of cooler and whether it is repaired in place or removed.
Clean, inspect, repair
Cleaning first so the surfaces can be assessed, then tube or plate repair, or replacement of what has failed.
Tested and returned
Pressure tested on both sides before it goes back, since cross contamination is the failure that matters here.
What affects the job
Cooler type
Plate, shell and tube and air blast oil coolers are different repairs. So is a transformer cooler, which carries its own requirements.
Which way the leak goes
Oil into cooling water is an environmental problem. Water into oil is a machine protection problem. Both faults take the unit off line, for different reasons.
Water quality
Raw or untreated cooling water is the usual reason an oil cooler fouls or corrodes, and cleaning without addressing it buys a repeat.
What the cooler protects
A hydraulic system, an engine or a gearbox each set how long the plant can run without it, which changes whether a fast repair or a full one is right.
Oil cooler repairs questions
There is oil in the cooling water. What does that mean?
The two circuits are connected, through a failed tube, plate or joint. The unit needs to come off line, and the source is found by pressure testing each side separately.
Can an oil cooler be cleaned instead of repaired?
If the problem is fouling and lost cooling, yes, cleaning is usually the answer. If the two fluids are mixing, cleaning does not touch the cause.
How long does an oil cooler repair take?
The cooler type and the strip down findings decide it. What can be established early is the assessment, and from there a real programme becomes possible.