MISHIMOTO OIL COOLER IS A FIRE HAZARD!!

[chadstyle]

I want to update everyone that cares..lol..

Tyler has been great, he really has. He sent me an email first thing this morning apologizing again and telling me he is working on a resolution. I told him that I really need some sort of resolution today as my car has been down since last Sunday. He just emailed me for a second time today letting me know that parts have been shipped and I will receive them tomorrow. That is awesome news!

There are a few things he touched on in the email that I would like to share. I have asked his permission to quote the entire email here so you can see the solution to my problems and how it effects all kits moving forward. I am happy with his reply and resolution and I will share it as soon as he gets back to me.

I'm extremely optimistic that the new parts tomorrow will solve my issues and I will be very happy with this kit. I already know how amazing the difference is in temps when it's working properly so as long as I can get the kit leak free, I am ecstatic.

I'll keep all of you posted!

Chad

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by tonystewart

Even using the correct sealants and the proper torque FBM oil coolers can leak at the fittings and the cooler as well.

I don't doubt that they can. Heck, check out @ATL BRZ 's Perrin install. He had to go back and tighten his down as well and they use a similar Mocal core. Again these are all off the shelf parts from other manufacturers. The only thing Perrin or Full Blown are supplying are the brackets. I don't think that is the case with the Mishi one though.

[ATL BRZ]

Originally Posted by King Tut

I don't doubt that they can. Heck, check out @ATL BRZ 's Perrin install. He had to go back and tighten his down as well and they use a similar Mocal core. Again these are all off the shelf parts from other manufacturers. The only thing Perrin or Full Blown are supplying are the brackets. I don't think that is the case with the Mishi one though.

Yup, but I don't think it had to do with the core. I just didn't have the nuts on the lines tight enough on the core's fittings to begin with. Wasn't leaking when fully warmed up in the driveway but when I went around the block for a quick romp then it sprung small leaks on both core fittings after the oil pressure went up under load. I also used Permatex high temp thread sealer on all the fittings. Re-tightened them in a jiffy (helps to have a BRZ bumper cover for easy access with wrenches) and no leaks since then with sustained high rpm load.

[lbroskee]

man im so tempted to grab an oil cooler with how hot our cars get down here and how big a diff u say it makes. but since i want to go FI down the line wih an FMIC I'm worried how the hell that will work since an IC will take up all the space and i want to keep my grill and not mod lik ft86speed-factory did =/

[ATL BRZ]

Originally Posted by lbroskee

man im so tempted to grab an oil cooler with how hot our cars get down here and how big a diff u say it makes. but since i want to go FI down the line wih an FMIC I'm worried how the hell that will work since an IC will take up all the space and i want to keep my grill and not mod lik ft86speed-factory did =/

The Perrin (Mocal) cooler will fit with the Vortech FMIC and likely others without modding/removing the grille.

see

[lbroskee]

Originally Posted by ATL BRZ

The Perrin (Mocal) cooler will fit with the Vortech FMIC and likely others without modding/removing the grille.

see

o ok. speed factory jus mounted it much farther forward. thanks

[chadstyle]

OK, sorry for the late reply..got busy today. I wanted to share Tyler's reply today. Here is a direct copy and paste. A very drastic difference from our first experience with Pat.

"Hi Chad,

I am sorry that it has taken this long to get you the parts, and that your car has been out of commission. I understand that this is a very frustrating experience for you, and I am here to help. I received authorization from my manager and I have packaged up and sent out your parts. Your package is being sent next day air so you will be receiving it tomorrow. In the package I have included a new sandwich plate, both CNC adapter plates, two new banjo fittings with new Dowty seals, and our newly designed square O-rings. You will notice that the square O-rings are on the sandwich plate and adapter plates. This is a running change we are making on all of our sandwich plate adapters to create more surface area for the O-ring to seal. We also pre-installed the sensor port plugs with Teflon tape for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions, as I would be happy to help.

Your shipping number is through FedEx, and is 4485 XXXX XXXX.

Thanks,
Tyler"

I am excited to see the revised parts tomorrow and install them to hopefully rid all my leaks. He sent a second message to let me know that he also wants to send some replacement hoses once they get some more in stock. I am hopeful that this fixes the leak!

I will update tomorrow after installing the new parts.

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by lbroskee

man im so tempted to grab an oil cooler with how hot our cars get down here and how big a diff u say it makes. but since i want to go FI down the line wih an FMIC I'm worried how the hell that will work since an IC will take up all the space and i want to keep my grill and not mod lik ft86speed-factory did =/

Perrin designed their Oil cooler with the Vortech FMIC installed in the car.

[lbroskee]

Originally Posted by Sportsguy83

Perrin designed their Oil cooler with the Vortech FMIC installed in the car.

thats y it works so good with FMIC then... smart move Perrin lol

[Nightbringer]

Thanks for keeping us posted. Glad they're taking care of business and getting things worked out for you!

[chadstyle]

Ok, so I have been super busy this week and I haven't had time to sit down and properly update this thread. I really put @Mishimoto on the spot, and I feel it was rightfully so, but I also feel that I owe them the respect of updates as the situation progresses to be fair.

Tyler has been great. I shared his email and I honestly didn't quite know what to expect when he mentioned the "square" O-rings. The old o-rings had very little surface area protruding above the surface of each CNC plate. The new O-rings have a flat surface that's about 3mm wide and it protrudes up from the plate much taller now too. I felt great about the chances of it solving my issues after seeing them but I still had a few questions. It was Weds night around 7:30 PM and I sent an email to Tyler asking torque specs for the banjo fittings and if they recommended any teflon tape or paste for the threads. He emailed me back on Thursday morning and gave me all the info I was asking for. (no teflon tape or paste recommended on the fittings) I grabbed some fresh rags and some gloves and pulled off the old plates and made sure everything was spotless before doing the install.

I torqued everything down to spec and added an 1/8 turn for good measure. No tape on the banjo fittings. I checked the oil level and fired it up.. No leaks. I let it idle for about 10 minutes until the motor was nice and warm, still no leaks. I shut it down and wiped everything down with a clean rag just so I could tell if it leaked anywhere and jumped back in and took it for a ride. It ran great and my oil temps stayed in the 170-180 ballpark the entire time. I did manage to get my water temp up to 195 and kick on the fans for the very first time since buying the car so I wonder if the oil cooler core is radiating heat right into the cooling system now..I will keep a close eye on both temps. After about 20 minutes of driving and some redline pulls through a few gears I checked under the hood. Clean and dry..no drips anywhere. I drove home and put it back in the garage and looked under the lights..didn't see a drop. I ran another fresh rag over everything and got just a hint of oil from one of the banjos (the one on the right when standing in front of the car) so I will have to keep an eye on that fitting for the next few rides. Not enough to worry about and the fittings are still tight.

I took a couple pics of the new parts as Tyler has mentioned they will be used on all future kits. You can see the flat area on each o-ring now and how it has way more surface area for a far better seal.

[37]

Originally Posted by chadstyle

I torqued everything down to spec and added an 1/8 turn for good measure.

So... in other words you over-torqued everything?

Couldn't resist.

Originally Posted by chadstyle

I ran another fresh rag over everything and got just a hint of oil from one of the banjos

Why are they using banjo fittings? This is at the sandwich plate, correct? Perrin uses 90-degree hose ends into straight pipe-to-flare adapters, which seems like the better option. Banjos, if poorly manufactured, can be rather troublesome. Unlike steel, aluminum banjos don't allow the pressure needed for a good seal.

Who makes the fittings included with the kit? Are they a name brand like Earl's or Aeroquip or some off-brand foreign made stuff?

I ask because I've seen more AN adapters and hose ends leak with cheap brands over the good stuff. When the good stuff leaks it's typically either poor assembly or user-error rather than a manufacturing issue.

I never use banjos when plumbing fuel, water, or oil lines. Those are saved for brake lines exclusively and always made of steel, never aluminum.

[chadstyle]

Originally Posted by 37

So... in other words you over-torqued everything?

Couldn't resist.

Why are they using banjo fittings? This is at the sandwich plate, correct? Perrin uses 90-degree hose ends into straight pipe-to-flare adapters, which seems like the better option. Banjos, if poorly manufactured, can be rather troublesome. Unlike steel, aluminum banjos don't allow the pressure needed for a good seal.

Who makes the fittings included with the kit? Are they a name brand like Earl's or Aeroquip or some off-brand foreign made stuff?

I ask because I've seen more AN adapters and hose ends leak with cheap brands over the good stuff. When the good stuff leaks it's typically either poor assembly or user-error rather than a manufacturing issue.

I never use banjos when plumbing fuel, water, or oil lines. Those are saved for brake lines exclusively and always made of steel, never aluminum.

Yes, that's exactly what I said, I OVER torqued everything!!! Lol. After the first round I'm beyond paranoid. The main bolt (oil feed to filter) is at 30 pounds and each of the banjos were spec'd to 15 and I went to 18. Not a ton of extra torque but enough.

The banjos are at the sandwich plate. I agree that a 90 degree fitting would be much better than a banjo fitting with far less chance for leaking. The fittings are silk screened with Mishimoto's logo but I can't verify that they manufactured them too.

The banjos worry me still and the weather has been hot and rainy for the past week and the next week doesn't look much better. I thought about taking it out tonight and see if it leaks but then I got a notification for rain so it's not worth it. If its nice for a couple hours tomorrow I will take the car out and see how it does. I feel much more confident about the new square o rings but I still have little faith in the banjo fittings.

[Mishimoto]

We use our own banjo fittings with our kits.