Oil filter housing 2.2 DCI

[keithy]

Hi, Can someone point me in the right direction please. My engine has started to leak oil at a very fast rate. On closer inspection it appears to be coming from a previous owner's attempt at a quick fix.

On the oil filter housing, there are two pipes which come out the rear. On my car someone has looped the two pipes together in order to bypass what i guess to be a cooler of some kind. I could just repair this by renewing the hose clips as the car has been running fine but i would like to know what i am bypassing.

Does anyone have a picture that they could show me as to where these hoses should go?

The engine is a G9T

Many thanks in advance

Keith

[ross]

Hi Keith,
this type of oil filter housing is heated/cooled by water from the engines cooling system, and it is the flow and return pipes that I assume have been joined together to by-pass the oil filter.
this is generally done as a result of oil leaking into the water system from the heat exchanger inside the oil filter housing.
I assume it is this oil that is now leaking out of the oil filter housing that you are seeing.
the easiest, and costliest fix is to replace the complete oil filter housing, job done.
the alternative is to take the oil filter out of the car, three bolts hold it to the engine block, and remove the heat exchanger to see if you can repair the leak.
I would suspect the water pipes that the hoses should be attached to are the source of the problem, as oil doesn't make metal corrode.
best of luck.
Regards
Ross

[keithy]

Many thanks for your reply. So the cooler is built into the filter housing and the two pipes are supply and return for coolant? This is where someone has actually looped the two pipes that come out the housing with a piece of hose to contain the oil and the hose clips on the filter have failed hence the oil leak.

Do you know what the electrical sensor on the housing is for? it appears that the wire has been cut also.

Many thanks

Keith