450C oil cooler

[jD450Nut]

I am new to this site and to my 450c. Just a little background. I purchased my crawler last December. It had been sitting in a barn for 9 years. My wife and I worked on correcting a number of things. The machine seemed to be working correctly. About two weeks ago I started the machine to move it and after about 10 minutes steam was coming out of the engine compartment. Quickly shut the engine off and let it cool. We found that engine coolant had mixed with the engine oil. The oil pan was full of this mixture and the radiator seemed empty. After doing some research (that's how I found this message board) there were several references to oil cooler problems. We bought a new oil cooler, removed the old one, and are now finding it nearly impossible to connect the two steel lines to the new cooler. HELP! Any suggestions?

Any help with the above problem and suggestions on trouble shooting the engine coolant in oil situation would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[LeonardL]

Hello and welcome to the madness!! I'm not sure what your issue is with reconnecting the steel lines. They are a pain if you have mixed them up because they do only really fit one way. Then there are the preformed rubber elbows that connect the lines to the cooler. They can be a real pain in the butt as well. They're just enough different that they will only really fit one way as well. I'm sorry to say but it is just a matter of figuring out which way those lines fit the machine. I'm sure there is a part number reference for both of those lines that would help direct you to where they fit. Sorry to say that the numbers are missing on those lines and who knows which one is which. Even when you get them right they aren't an exact science. So the best I can say is fiddle with them until they fit and nothing hits or rubs against them.

Hopefully the cooler is your issue. It could also be a cracked head, head gasket or one or more sleeve seals leaking and allowing the coolant into the crankcase. Once you get the cooler sorted and back together I would fill the radiator with plain water first to see if you have it fixed or if you still have an issue. That way you're not waisting new coolant. It's easy to drain and refill after you check it. Hope this helps, I know it isn't much but it is what it is. Some of these other guys may have a suggestion that I haven't thought of. Good Luck!!

[Jim B]

To go with LeonardL's post here is a link to the oil cooler and lines in the online parts catalog.

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sid ... gId/132137

[jD450Nut]

Thanks for the suggestions. Spent time working on this project and finally got one line installed. Could the steel lines be replaced with flexible lines?

[Jim B]

I'm sure someone has replaced the tubes with hoses. I wouldn't in that location. It would look like you would need molded hoses to not restrict flow in some of the bends. Did you purchase the correct new hoses for the ends? If you are trying to make the old hoses work or are using new hoses, kind of like the old ones, that won't help the fit up.

[jD450Nut]

Thanks for the comments/ suggestions. I had previously bought new generic rubber connector hoses. That might be the problem- wrong length or exterior diameter? Yesterday I ordered from J Deere the OEM parts. Hopefully that will solve my install problem. We will then follow the suggestion of testing by running the engine with plain water in the radiator and fresh oil. I am thinking of running the engine for about 10 minutes, turn it off, check both oil and water levels. Would repeating this test for an hour be sufficient to say the original oil in water problem has either been solved or more investigation is needed?

[Jim B]

Pressure test the old oil cooler. Plug one coolant port and hook up adjustable, regulated air to the other coolant port. Stick in in a bucket of water (heat the water if you can) and put some air to it, start with 15 - 20 psi and let it set, see if you get air bubbles out of the oil side. (Your 450C Technical Manual may give an actual test procedure and pressure.) If no bubbles after half an hour, I think you problems may be deeper.