when i bought my 93, those oil lines were the first thing i got rid of. all the s10s and everyone i know who has one those things always seem to leak. theres a $7 part you can buy at the dealer to thread into the block so you can just put a oil filter on and be done with it.

 

Yea, but what about a 98 with a W VIN engine? There are 4 hoses. One set of 2 between the engine and filter, another set of 2 between the filter and radiator (cooler lines which I am talking about). If they had something like that for a 98 that keeps the oil cool, I would go for that in a heartbeat.

Also UPDATE: I went back to Pep Boys today. They say to bring it in tommorow morning at 8am. Also I looked under the car today. It is not only loose, but LEAKING at the plastic fitting where the hose clips into the lower radiator. See photo. View from top. Same on bottom, but with oil building up under it. You can see that it is halfway off on one side.

 

The plastic does not really do anything other than go over the clip. If the clip is not fully seated the clip could come off & line could come out. Then you will have a big mess. GRRR Keep a close eye on your oil pressure until it is fixed.

They either cut the o-ring because they did not lube it or it was not straight when they pushed the line in or the o-ring is hard and should be replaced.

The best way to do it is to put new o-rings in. They can unscrew the hex piece, take it out & replace the o-ring.

 

So I should tell them to put new O-Rings in? That shouldn't take any "ASE-certified mechanic" longer than the 3.5 hours the first job took, right? The O-rings really make a huge difference?? Thanks for all the help so far. I just want to prevent those lines from pulling out and causing a major catastrophe.

Also as I asked before, is it dangerous for the top line to be "jammed" against the airbox? It seems seated properly and not leaking, but it is jammed against the airbox. I am afraid to get to the air filter with the lines that way.

BD

 

I wouldn't like the way that top line is resting against the air box... Looks as though the line is a little on the long side when it comes out of the radiator. Other than attempting to reposition the air box or cut it to clear, I do not know how else you would remedy the situation.

 

The correct way to do it is to use new o-rings. Any decent mechanic knows the old o-rings are as old as the hoses. The rubber gets hard and looses it's ability to seal. The old hoses leaked because they got hard with age. Don't expect the o-rings to be in better shape than the old hoese. It's just common sense. So to use the old o-rings is doing only half the job.
O-rings are about 50 cents each. Now that the hoses are on it would only take 5 minutes each to remove the fittings and put new o-rings in. If they did not do that the first time they were cutting corners.
Ask them. If they are honest they will tell you. Maybe they did use new o-rings and just cut it in the install.
If the pipe is just touching the air box it is probably no big deal. They could put a piece of vacuum hose around the pipe as a cushion. But if it is in a bind something is wrong. When I have used Dorman lines there has not been a problem. Double check the part # and if they used the right part # look at another set and see if the distance from the bend to the radiator is the same. It could be a manufacturing error and the one you have might be too long.

 

UPDATE: They looked at the truck today (Pep Boys). They say the oil under the lower fitting is "Residual Oil". I ask why it is crooked they say "That's the way it fits. It's not OEM" They always blame non-OEM parts even though this is the same guy who mentioned there is a TSB out on those hoses..... Weird. I asked "Is it good for the trip home Thursday?" He said yes. I doubt they replaced the O-Rings because they didn't come with the oil lines. Also I figured out the solution to the upper line problem. What if I put in an AIRAID 200-133 ($170) or a Spectre 9901 (only 100 bucks) Cold Air Intake and toss the airbox and related parts completely ?

 

If they did not clean up when done it could be residual oil. Just check it on occasion and see if it is leaking or not.

Putting on a cold air intake may cure the contact problem with the stock air box. Sounds like an expensive fix to me. Plus you will get the benefit of more dirt going into the engine. GRRRRR
Unless an air filter increases the surface area of the filter media, in order to flow more air they must have a less restrictive filter media which means it allows more dirt in the engine. Not my idea of a good choice.

 

Ok thanks to all of you for your help on this project. It looks like the upper line is not a defect. It is the way it was meant to be made. Looks the same as all the photos of the part on various websites. What kind of threat does the airbox actually pose if it is against the pipe? I can't slip anything under it and I couldn't remove the upper airbox to check the air filter today. I was afraid to force any movement around that area (The nerd way).

 

It all depends on how hard it is pressing on the air box. The line just floats in the radiator fitting and relies on the o-ring for a seal. I suppose you could crack the radiator or eventially wear a hole in the air box in an exterme case. Look carefully and see if there is any possible way to move the air box slightly away from the line or move the radiator slightly forward at that corner. I can't remember what the upper radiator bracket looks like. On some you can drill a new bolt hole in the bracket to move the radiator a little. If it was ever in a wreck something might be slightly out of position. The air box fits over 2 rubber grommets on a plastic bracket. The bracket slips into a place for it in the vertical sheet metal beside the radiator. There is a plastic piece you press to release the bracket so it will come up. It just snaps in place when you push the plastic piece back down. Take it apart and see if anything looks out of place. As a last resort you might be able to leave the air box off of the 2 grommets and that might let the air box mobe back a little. I don't think the air box could really go anywhere but you could try it and see. A little silicone spray makes it much easier to get the box off and back on to the rubber grommets.