I fitted a GSF oil cooler to my 9a 16v in my Corrado last year because one of the coolant pipes on the original was corroded. The new GSF one has now failed, and leaked oil into the coolant. I have checked for a leak by blocking one water pipe, and putting about 5psi of air into the other water pipe, whilst submerging the cooler. Lots of air bubbles coming out of the part where there should only be oil. I am now faced with a choice, go back to GSF and get another, or get credit against other parts I need, and get one from VW, in the hope that it 'might' be better quality, although I would not be suprised if it is from the same manufacturer. Is mine just an unlucky one off, or are the GSF oil coolers poor quality?
As far as i know you should be entitled to your money back if an item isn't suitable for the job which it is meant for. Just tell them about the inconvenience its caused by blowing oil into the coolant system and you having to strip it and drive back and forth to sort it all out.
The genuine ones fail in the same way BTW. I had one do exactly that. Replaced with a GSF item, and it was fine for the five years prior to me pulling the engine out.
while its true the genuine ones do fail, its worth noting they do it after 18 years or so, not after less than a year probably a one off though, not heard anything bad about the GSF coolers so far. Mine certainly is working alright been in there over a year now. genuine one is definitly better than the gsf ones, having fitted both a new gsf and vag item you can tell the difference in the quality of the castigs. also the new vag one i fitted came with a new high pressure oil switch, not sure if it was meant to or an accident but I want going to complain
The one I replaced I guess was the original VAG one, if it was it had lasted 16 years, not 7 months. There is no brand name on it, and I don't remember what was on the box. I'll give the stealers a rinig and find out how much they want for one.
VW want 68.53 for an exchange oil cooler. I think I may have to risk another GSF one, and hope it is ok as I need to give GSF the faulty one back.
Hi, just thought I'd let you all know that I too have had a GSF oil cooler burst within 9months of it being on the car. Just had the pleasureable job of removing all the oil/water mixure from the coolant system. [:^(] It strikes me that places like GSF, ECP etc are now having to go to such lengths to cut costs that even the most dodgy of far eastern low cost suppliers are being used. Annoying thing is that I didn't actually need to change the flamin thing! (if it ain't broke, don't fix etc etc). The cooler to mounting bracket seal went one cold morning spraying oil over the engine bay, so I thought I'd change the original cooler whist I was at it. Reason for mentioning ECP is that I also got two track rod ends from them and the rubber perished within 6months on both.... Got them replaced FOC, but it was a ball ache travelling there and back etc. Will be sticking to VW original parts wherever possible from now I think...
My GSF oil cooler has just gone POP.... on the car for only 4 months and 2000miles... Oil in the water and getting worse all the time. flushed the system through about 10 times and wasnt sure how to diagnose whether the new cooler was gone or the head/block had cracked between a oil and water channel. then I bypassed the cooler by taking the coolant hoses off and used some copper pipe to join them direct. after 10mins of warming up engine oil started dripping out of the water outlets in the cooler! so I have found the culprit. If I can find the reciept I will take it back for a refund! Going to get one for the VW dealership now. NEVER BUY A GSF WATER/OIL COOLER mk1storm16v I didnt need to replace mine either just was 20years old so thought I'd have a new one too....bad move eh
had my gsf one on for around 9/10 years now ,paid 18.00 for it ,i only changed it because i was advised to after big end bearings went having said that i dont do many miles gsf one is around half the price of dealer one
Still on my genuine oil cooler from VW - no problems, but only done about 5000 miles so far. I don't want to slate GSF too much though. On the whole I have no issues with the parts I buy from them, and their service is far far better than my local dealer's parts dept.
well I took it back and got my money back. they said they had some problems with them.. dont I know it. getting a dealer sourced one tomorrow.
Funny thing was, the one from the dealer looked more cheap and nasty on the outside than the GSF one. Hopefully they put the money into making them more reliable!
I know everyone says you shouldn't re-use old oil coolers, and for good reasons, but I'd go and get an old VAG one off an engine in my garage, or out of a scrapyard, soak it in petrol and slosh it out till it runs clean (replace with fresh petrol near the end to see if it's clean). I've done this before and not had a problem. Lots of Audis have the same coolers, if you can't find a golf or passat with one. I'd rather use an old VAG part than a new unbranded/suspect one.
if you're going to reuse an old one make it a low miler. and have a look at the overall state of the cooling system before you bother. if header tank is full of rusty dirty water and leaks everywhere, don't bother. if coolant is nice shade of G11 blue or G12 red/pink, chances are the oil cooler passages are still minty fresh. if coolant is kept healthy the cooler will last a long time. if you let it get all nasty, it'll start to corrode away
the state of the cooling system will make the most difference the one on my mk3 is original after 225k miles
