2004 XC90 Steering oil cooler

[JB50]

Hi

This is not so much a question, just something I thought I would share in case it helps anyone else who has the same issue.

A leaking steering oil cooler was one of the problems in the long list I have found so far in my newly acquired XC90. I posted a massive list on here yesterday for any advice and would still welcome any.

The oil cooler sits at the very front of the car just in front of the bottom of the main radiator. I noticed oil dripping down from this yesterday when the car was running. At first glance it appeared to be coming out where the lower rubber high pressure hose joins the metal cooler. However, the metal cooler pipes are held by a metal bracket with rubber/plastic bushes less than an inch from this joint. When I looked more closely the leak actually seemed to be coming from within the bush around the pipe within this bracket. I didn't expect, or want, that!

To investigate, I removed the 2 bolts holding the 2 brackets to the car and pulled the cooler forward and out to look at it. I carefully bent open and removed the bracket covering the leak. There was nothing visibly obvious. I then started the car and to my surprise a fine jet of oil sprayed out of the cooler from a hole that was almost invisible to the eye.

I removed the cooler from the car and emptied it. I cleaned up the metal pipe work and applied some liquid metal to the outside of the pinhole and all around about an inch long section of the pipe where the bracket had been. I then cut a length of high pressure hose that my local motor factors let me have which was a good fit for this diameter of pipe (slightly increased by the liquid metal) and pushed it on to the pipe. I then tightened this either side of the leak with jubilee clips. I flushed the remaining power steering fluid from the car, by turning on the engine for a few seconds and letting all of the fluid pump out into a bowl. It was a reddish brown colour which I believe is wrong and I expect was due to the previous owner presumably constantly having to fill up the reservoir prior to dumping the car on me through an auction!

I confess that I then decided to ditch the offending bracket altogether and I held the two pipes apart with a rubber exhaust hanger that I had in a drawer for some reason. This was a perfect fit and will mean that the cooler would stay wedged in place even with no brackets. (There is still one).

I then re-assembled everything, refilled with a green CHF202 fluid and bled everything as per Haynes.

A thirty mile test drive, not a drop of fluid and the steering is fine.

The total cost of this repair was approximately £10 plus my time. It also means that identifying some of the other leaks I have will be a lot easier because I now think that a lot of the mess under my car was pas fluid running back on everything at speed.

I am keen to know, does this cooler normally leak at this point? It was as if the bracket bush had picked up fine grit and attacked the pipe because the surface damage on the cooler seemed to be limited to that area.

Is there any reason why what I have done will cause any problems? Please don't tell me that a couple of inches of rubber hose on the cooler will stop it working to the point that it can cause harm.

[cn90]

I did the same thing using generic hose to rebuild the ATF cooler in my 1998 S70 GLT, see the link below.
I didn't use jubilee clamps, I used Oetiker clamps.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=55794

[JB50]

That was a very impressive write up. I take it jubilee clips are fine though?