I have been struggling to determine why my 88 TD 4x4 Auto Townace overheats. I recently noticed that what I think is the oil cooler remains cool to the touch even when the Van is running extremely hot. The thing that I think is the oil cooler is just behind the front bumper and just in front of the a/c condenser and horizontal radiator. It is quite small: only about 2” tall and the same length as the horizontal rad. Is this the oil cooler? Does oil circulate through it or is it coolant that then goes to an exchanger to cool the oil? Should it be cold to the touch? Can anyone offer any tips on getting it working again? Thanks.

- (#13949) lee laskin, 29 Oct 04 16:18

There are two oil coolers on the 4WD autobox Townace. One is for the transmission oil and it is built into the main, or vertical radiator. You will see the flow and return pipes, on the left hand side near to the top when you lift the passenger seat. The other oil cooler is for the engine oil and it is a hollow flange, linked to the main engine cooling system, and it is mounted onto the boss which takes the engine oil filter at the rear, right hand side of the engine. I think that the cooler you are referring to is part of the A/c condensing system unless, at some point, someone has installed a supplementary oil cooler. This is unlikely but, a check on the routing of the pipework will show you what it is.
Ref your overheating problems, have you done all the checks which are detailed in the archives, ie, thermostat, viscous fan, rad/filler cap, integrity of the discharge/suction pipe to the expansion tank etc ?

- (#13949) John Davis (Leics), 29 Oct 04 18:00

As John says, you're referring to part of the A/C system. Only fitted on 4x4 autos.

- (#13949) David Miller, 30 Oct 04 02:20

Thanks for the input. I guess I can test to see if this small cooler is part of the a/c by turning on the a/c and seeing if this cooler gets hot, correct?

- (#13949) Lee Laskin, 30 Oct 04 02:43

Yep, but it IS the second bit of the AC condenser, so don't bother testing it, as we know what it is. If yours is an '88, it may not have the engine oil cooler as the models up to 87/88 were not fitted with the cooler, later ones have an adaptor on the oil filler, with the oil cooler take off from there.

Regards Rob.

- (#13949) Rob Drinkwater , 30 Oct 04 19:10

Sure about that, Rob? Looks to me like ALL 2CTs have the cooler on the filter housing, some early 2Cs have a seperate plate stack bolted to the block tho...

- (#13949) David Miller, 31 Oct 04 03:26