I have a leak from my oil cooler. The dealer wants $332 for a new cooler and and $130 to install. It started about three weeks ago. Oil filter is tight

I haven't found any threads of oil coolers going bad. Has anyone else had a problem?

I'm thinking about just cleaning it up and changing the filter to see if it still leaks.

I have a leak from my oil cooler. The dealer wants $332 for a new cooler and and $130 to install. It started about three weeks ago. Oil filter is tight

I haven't found any threads of oil coolers going bad. Has anyone else had a problem?

I'm thinking about just cleaning it up and changing the filter to see if it still leaks.

Oil coolers do not have filters. They are similar to a small radiator and are sometimes even incorporated into a partitioned coolant radiator. Most likely it is just a fitting that is leaking and tightening that fitting or pulling it and wrapping it with teflon tape before reinstall should fix it. If it is leaking at a weld or if you have a small hole in it then you could have that repaired by a radiator shop for about 100$-- assuming you can remove the cooler and re-install it yourself.
How old is your Armada? How many miles?
Is this an engine oil cooler or a transmission fluid cooler?

Oil coolers do not have filters. They are similar to a small radiator and are sometimes even incorporated into a partitioned coolant radiator. Most likely it is just a fitting that is leaking and tightening that fitting or pulling it and wrapping it with teflon tape before reinstall should fix it. If it is leaking at a weld or if you have a small hole in it then you could have that repaired by a radiator shop for about 100$-- assuming you can remove the cooler and re-install it yourself.
How old is your Armada? How many miles?
Is this an engine oil cooler or a transmission fluid cooler?
All Armadas have an engine oil cooler, built into the housing that the oil filter screws into. They are not an air cooled radiator type, but a heat exchanger using engine coolant to cool the oil.
The oil leak is probably due to a poor seal on the filter. There haven't been any reports of a leaking oil cooler, so I think you have the right idea - replace the filter and clean up the leaked oil, then watch to see if you still have a leak.

Now I know who to go to when I have a problem!:D

Thanks guys for the comments. I get the Armada back on Dec 26 and I'll keep you posted. Also, I was shocked to find the oil cooler to be a 5 round puck that is about 3 inches deep. It has an input water line and an output waterline.

OK, I tried replacing the oil filter but it still leaks. I'm going to pay the $450 to have it replaced. Darn it.

I sure hate to see you spend all that money when the problem may only be a simple O ring that is leaking.
Look at attachments. Replacing the cooler is a simple job. The problem could be just the O ring, part #8 in the drawing.

I have had the center stud get lose before and cause a leak between the cooler and the engine. This was caused by overtightening the filter and having to force it off, causing the stud in the center to loosen up a bit. It is either a 10 or 12mm allen wrench that fits inside the threaded part that the filter screws on to, part #5. You may want to clean it off and make sure where it is comming from before you start fooling with it. It is not a bad job to change like scr38 said, and it will save you a lot of money.

Mine was leaking at the hose connections and running all over the place. I replaced the crappy spring clamps with worm clamps and fixed the problem!

Well, I spent the money and the leak went away. I was heading to the dunes and this was leaking pretty bad. I ran out of time. I wish I had the above data sooner. Thanks everyone.

I appear to have the same oil leak issue on my 06. Where can i find an o-ring to replace the one that i'll be taking out?

I have the same problem, when I drove 1400 miles down to Florida. Got down to change out oil filter see a few drops from the filter. Screw it off and found out the black gasket on the Bosch filter was not thick like the K&N filter. Got back to Boston check it and have not seen a drip. So stay away from the Bosch filter, no wonder auto zone was having a great deal on the filter, buy 5 quart of oil and get the oil filter free.

Nissan Armada 2004 Oil-cooler O-ring Part Number????

Welcome to CA rfardonk!

Check the diagram here and the link for the parts list. http://www.courtesyparts.com/armada-parts-ta60-2004-2010/genuine-nissan-parts/exhaust-cooling/213-oil-cooler/-c-1063_1064_1085_1089.html

http://www.courtesyparts.com/images/ta60/ta60_213-1.gif

Thank you for the image....Yes i've seen it before
from the people of Courtesy Parts....

The thing is..doesnt show the O-Ring exactly behind the Oil Cooler (Part #21305)
It show #21305D - Bold / #21305 - Oil-Cooler / But not the O-Ring

Any Comments?

Thank you for the image....Yes i've seen it before
from the people of Courtesy Parts....

The thing is..doesnt show the O-Ring exactly behind the Oil Cooler (Part #21305)
It show #21305D - Bold / #21305 - Oil-Cooler / But not the O-Ring

Any Comments?The safest bet would be to give them (Courtesy Parts) a call. Great folks to deal with (800) 527-1909 or (972) 644-3942.

Nop....
Called CP and even a couple of Nissan Parts Dealers...
They all claim i will have to buy the whole oil cooler ($300+) to
replace the O-Ring.....

One suggestion was to remove the existing Oil Cooler...look at
the O-Ring measure it and get it from CP based on specs.

Has anyone seen the actual O Ring and can provide me the diameter?

I Just found out...that the Pathfinder 2004 (R50) uses EXACTLY the same
Oil Cooler #21305 / Stud #21305D / and specifies O-Ring as #21304 ....
Would it be the one im looking for?????

Armada Chasis is TA60 .....Pathfinder is R50 ...

I know as a fact that the O-Ring must be either
Part #: 21304-?????? or B1304-??????

as all the other Chassis variants V42(Quest) R50(Pathfinder) Z50(Murano)
use the same number...B1304 or 21304....One of them should/must fit the TA60(Armada)

Check out the diagram !!!
http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder-parts-r50-1996-2004/genuine-nissan-parts/exhaust-cooling/213-oil-cooler/-c-4700_4701_4724_4729.html

I'm new to the forum, but know my way around the Armada. I have a 2004 Armada and have experienced most if not all the lousy problems that have been posted to this forum. Don't get me wrong...I love the car, and the engine has been very dependable. But these crappy quality issues keep creeping up when you least expect them. I'll save those stories for another day. But the latest:

I was seeing some oil leakage around the front of the engine. At my last Nissan major service stop (100,000 miles) they informed me that the gasket (O-ring) behind the oil-cooler was bad and needed to be replaced. They wanted $200 to perform the replacement, and I said no thanks, I'll replace the $6.00 part myself. Oddly enough, the O-ring is not listed as a separate part in the service manual. But thanks to this forum, I found that the O-Ring Part #21304 is indeed the perfect replacement.

In less than 1 hour I replaced the O-ring, torque the center post of the oil-cooler to 36 ft-lbs, changed the oil and the filter. After starting the engine and checking for leaks, the engine was good and not a drop, so off to the store I went. By the time I got to the store (4 miles away) my oil idiot-light came on. Turns out I left a trail of premium 30 weight all the way from my house to the store! I was livid!

Short story long...I got fed up with rechecking the installation and double checking the gasket and the torque requirements...all good; still leaked like a sieve. We had plans to drive to LA the next day and needed the car repaired ASAP. No time to order the part myself, so I drove the car to the dealer and said fix it. They said the oil-cooler had a split seam between the face of the cooler and the heat exchanger housing. Said they never saw anything like it before. The crack is not visible, and when cold does not leak. But as soon as things come up to tempurature, the think squirts oil all over the place. They said the R&R of the new O-ring and re-torquing of the cooler no doubt aggravated the situation and made the leak more pronounced. They didn't have the part in stock, so I left it and had to rent a car for the trip.

So if the Oil filter is sound (meaning integrity of the gasket on the filter is good) and you have a new oil cooler gasket in place and it still leaks... Replace the cooler! Cost me $650 with dealer...You can do it with your eyes closed for less than $300.

Hope this helps...

welcome to the club gizzmo! OUCH! That is a Biiaatch! Good informative post though. Thanks!

Part #21304 ....It is !!!! Just that it doesnt exists for the Armada (A60) but
for the Pathfinder it does (R50)...

You guys wouldnt believe how much crap i've heard about this o-ring only
comming with the oil-cooler assembly (21305) ....
At a Nissan Dealer they even told me that if you tried to remove the
ring from the cooler you will break it .... It even falls by it self !!!!

Nissan sells the oil cooler for almost $400.....
you can even get it for $246.00 at http://www.factorynissanparts.com
part #21305-7S01A (Oil Cooler - Original Nissan Part)

But if you are looking for just the O-Ring try
#21304-R50001 at http://www.courtesyparts.com for just $6.07

By the way.... PepBoys would charge me $200.00 for installation of the
whole Oil-Cooler but i did it at Hi-Tech Oil Change and just tipped the guy
for $20.00 extra .... $55.00 for regular oil change plus $20.00

Hope this helps!!!!

^^^Thanks for the info. I noticed when I was changing the oil last weekend, there was some oil around the oil cooler area. I'll hit up the local dealer and see if I can get this part asap.

Same story here - slight leak....slight leak....slight leak.....time to fix the leak. Bought the o-ring for under $5.00 from the dealer (they quoted $200 to complete the repair). Fixed it in 1 hour.

Edit - NOT A DROP anywhere to be seen since the fix. :)

Good post I was pulling out my hair.

The oil cooling unit has a seal on it . It only cost seven dollars from the dealer and any body that changes oil can fix it. It only cost me $74 plus the oil change. Sorry i could have told u sooner.

This thread is a lil old but it did help me. I have a 2004 armada that had a leak around the oil filter/cooler. So I took the cooler out to check the o ring and I found that it didn't have one.?.? So I went and got the o ring from the dealer. Had a lil trouble finding the rite one since there is 2 that start with 21304. so I had to measure the diameter to match up.

The one I got fits were it looks kinda burnt lookin. Is this the rite spot? It did stop the leak.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p160/PANCHO1969/IMAG0351.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p160/PANCHO1969/IMAG0350.jpg

This is the exact part number I got

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p160/PANCHO1969/IMAG0353.jpg

My daughter's 2004 started leaking at oil cooler..I tried to get her to just buy o-ring but she took to a repair shop who told her her 2004 oil cooler didn't have a seal..Duuh..Long story short I have her old oil cooler on my desk..Shop put a new one on..told her she got screwed...told shop they screwed her but they blamed it on local Nissan dealer who told him that a new one needed...

Welcome to CA JMD504!

**It definitely happens!

First of all I was pretty ticked when my QX56 with only 51,000 miles started leaving puddles after an oil change.

Fact part:
It only makes sense that torquing/un-torquing this adapter will eventually cause it to leak or crack.

I read this post (and some others) and decided I had a bad block-biscuit gasket too. Ran up to Nissan got the part and installed in all in about 60 minutes. I patted myself on the back so hard I left red marks.

However the next day oil was leaking worse! Discovered the new gasket 21304 is for the new biscuit cooler and is too large (diameter) for the OE cooler. I didn't remove the water lines and stretched it blindly to fit the next ring outside the original.

Reading more I discovered the error of my ways and also that a PH7317 filter gasket was almost an exact fit (diameter) and thicker than the 21304. I am not about to buy from Nissan a $300 replacement crappy biscuit cooler. I used a little oil-resistant RTV to make sure this was the last leak for a while.

TIPS:
-Use HD-spring clamps on the water lines before you disconnect them. I only spilled about 2 cups of water when I removed the whole unit.
-Remove the cooler to clean it thoroughly. A lot of sludge/dirt was packed in/outside of it.
-Have new hose-clamps ready.
-Ready your deep/deep well 22mm socket (I used an impact socket) for the biscuit stud.
-Clean/scrub the mating surfaces well (with solvent/alcohol)

So I consider this a rather "ify" temporary fix using an old fram gasget. But I am having some pretty crappy luck finding an oil filter re-location kit+cooler combo that will fit.

** Any advice on where to get one? **
I am trying to stay $120-180 and can't wait to change an oil filter that looks like it fits a truck and not a moped.

Opinion part:
1st- Nissan's engineers completely botched the approach to cooling oil! Adding a biscuit adapter takes the cake for oil cooling on the cheap!

2nd- Nissan was not thinking when they added the skid-plate to this package that bolts to the frame and front air-dam that has to be removed on every oil change! (6 bolts) Both air-dam clips have been broken off from Giffy-oil-change over the years.

3rd- NEVER put oil systems next to water systems in a cheap arrangement like this. One internal crack in that biscuit and you've got an engine-oil milkshake waiting to happen.