Lancia Fulvia coupé 1.3S Rallye S1 oil filter bracket non compatible for oil cooler?

[SanderVdW]

Hi guys,

I recentrly purchased a Lancia Fulvia coupé 1.3S Rallye Series 1 but quite some work. I've sorted out most of the electrics and ran the engine, but Ive got a small oil leak at the filter bracket. Now it's really weird, Ive got the oil cooler in my engine compartiment mounted but the 2 hoses lead nowhere and there are no mounting point for these two hoses.. So I went and looked at a buddy of mine who had a spare engine and I saw that the oil filter bracket was different on his engine than on mine. I don't know how this happens (maybe the garagist who fixed mine up (he did a revision of the engine and suspension etc, bodywork) swapped this part for a non-oil cooler fitting bracket of some sort, I have no idea. Anyway to stop the leaking I think I will just have to replace the gasket, but I think maybe he swapped that part.

Do you guys have any idea what I'm talking about or any advice? VIN is 818.360..., engine I don't know by heart.

Thanks in advance!

[Racer]

Here is a pic taken of mine earlyer, it should look same as this I think.

Tor


Re: Fulvia 1,3 HF

Very interesting indeed Ed.

Today I have worked on my oil filter housing. An 818.342 HF 1,3 spesific part by the partnumber casted into it. Perhaps same housing used in the transition period between 1,3 HF and 1,6 HF:



Tor

[SanderVdW]

Hey Racer,

Thanks a lot for the fast reply. So yours is the oil filter housing with the connections for the oil cooler hoses right? Mine looks like this one, it doesn't have the connections for the hoses though..

But then again, I don't understand why it has the cooler installed in the engine in the first place. Do you know which models in particular had the oil cooler and which didn't? Does anyone know?

Thanks!

Here is a pic taken of mine earlyer, it should look same as this I think.

Tor


Re: Fulvia 1,3 HF

Very interesting indeed Ed.

Today I have worked on my oil filter housing. An 818.342 HF 1,3 spesific part by the partnumber casted into it. Perhaps same housing used in the transition period between 1,3 HF and 1,6 HF:

Tor

[bmarler]

i'm pretty sure the 1,3 rallye is supposed to have the cooler. you must have either a replacement motor or filter housing.

[lancialulu]

Unfortunately you have had the proper oil filter mount for your car swapped for a standard one. rallye S1 S should have an oil cooler....

They are available at a price. I think there is only one type of mount with oil cooler ports on it. But some one may check the various parts lists....

[Marnix]

As far as I am aware, the oil cooler was only installed on S1 cars, being the 1,3HF, the 1,3S and the 1,6HF. Lancia seemed to have deleted the item on S2/3 cars.

Also as far as I know, the oil filter base with the oil cooler connections is the same for 1,3HF, 1,3S and 1,6HF S1. They can be found. Be aware that there is a thermostat inside, and that should be checked for correct operation.

There is some debate among some whether the cooler is really useful. One of the explanations I heard why Lancia deleted the item on S2/3 is the introduction of oils in the seventies that were a lot better at standing up against a wide variation of temperatures, while the oils in the sixties needed to be kept at a smaller temperature variation range. I can imagine that with modern oils, the oil cooler is not strictly necessary, certainly not on a 1,3S engine. But I can also understand that one wants to keep the car original. Be aware that the oil cooler installation potentially gives trouble when the parts are not in good condition: the tubes and the cooler have to withstand a pressure of up to 6bar (or even higher?), and the thermostat in the oil filter base needs to work properly. Both have been known to have failed.

[SanderVdW]

Okay guys,

Thanks for all the info, this is going to help me a lot. The specialist who did the engine revision is known for being a good Lancia restorer, but I know now he's a big charlatan (as he also just took out some gaskets on the carbs and never replaced them, so leaks like crazy) For now I will keep the cooler etc in the engine bay, but won't connect it. Probably will do so when I sell the car. I'll only replace the gasket and that should fix the problem.

Thanks a lot everyone!

[Fulvia-hf]

My 1200HF never had the oil-cooler as it was installed for the first time on the 1300HF Hence the 818.342 number casted in it. Many people think they have a 1200Hf engine when they see 818.140 cast in the head. But Lancia used a system were the first car model to receive a certain part gave that part its number. It is basically a number or origin.

My car is modified to give somewhere close to 120hp on 1216cc. And with modern 15W50 Motul fully synthetic I never have felt the need to retrofit a cooler. I know that oil-pressure on Fulvia engines is always a concern as the capacity of the oil-pump was never great and over time many pumps are past their prime. Oil pressure will be even lower if the pump has to push oil not only through the engine itself but also through 6ft of hose and a cooler. As said it is nice to keep things original but a Fulvia nowadays can do perfectly without.

Cheers,

William