Solder repair on 6th gen oil cooler

My oil cooler has developed a small but very messy leak at the inlet on the bottom of the cooler. I'm assuming a radiator shop can just solder repair the leak. Does anyone have good or bad experiences with this kind of a repair? Thanks.

 

AZ (or should I address you as "Traveler"?):

Sorry to hear you're having the problem, especially since my ride is also a red '07. I haven't had the issue, but two things I'd be concerned about and ask any repair shop about are:

1. The oil cooler see's significantly higher pressure than a coolant radiator. Radiators typically have 10 or 15 psi pressure caps on them, engine oil pressure typically runs about 70 psi when warm with possibly higher pressure on cold start-up. Hopefully the repair shop will pressure-test their repair to verify it's truly fixed.

2. The high temperature of soldering will be not good for the residual oil film in the area of the repair, possibly creating ash or other stuff you don't want in the engine lubricating system. Hopefully the repair shop will have a way of flushing the cooler to assure it's cleanliness at the completion of the repair. The good news is that, as nearly as I can tell from the shop manual, the cooler is upstream from the oil filter. If some crud does get into the cooler it should be caught by the filter.

Good luck!
Bob S.

 

I was fortunate to find a local vendor who specializes in motorcycle radiator and oil cooler repairs, but only aluminum. I took it in on Monday, had it back in an hour, but didn't get a chance to test ride until today when I put on about 300 miles without a problem. I'm very happy with the repair, the service and the price. The vendor is Myler's Radiator in West Jordan, UT. Here's their webpage.

Mylers Aluminum Radiator Repair

 

Mylers is legendary for the repairs they have been able to make to seemingly destroyed aluminum radiators and oil coolers. They fixed more than a few of my offroad radiators after I screwed them up. Great company.

 

Outstanding! It looks like you went to a quality outfit that knows what they are doing. Glad you were successful.

Ride safe & have fun!
Bob S.