The engine came from a car that had the oil cooler next to the radiator. I think this was done on some of the later 280SLs. Here is a link to a video showing this arrangement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMgBY5ZAxPcSLS has a nice drawing here, showing the piping:
https://www.niemoeller.de/w113-en/B044-182.htmlThe previous owner transplanted this engine into a 1965 230SL. I doubt that the radiator would have fit. Regardless, the oil cooler is history, and he attached the hoses together, doing a shoddy job with 3/8" ID hose. He cut the original pipes that carried the oil to the radiator, and used this hose to connect them. Well, kinda. The hose has an ID of .375 and the pipes to which it are attached are about .450, so it is not possible to slip the hose far enough onto the pipes to make the clamping secure.
Twice the hose has slipped off the pipe is was attached to. I've been unable to find metric hose that would be the correct size. (NAPA and Grainger don't carry it.) I'm sure I can find some on the Internet.
Regardless, the line carries so much pressure that it really does need screw connectors of some sort.
I did take the parts to a hydraulic shop and they, too, don't have metric hose or fittings. The guy there said he could weld SAE fittings onto the pipes and fabricate a hose with fittings on the ends, and then all parts could screw together.
This adds clutter to my engine bay, and I'd like to avoid that. That is why I asked if I could crimp and solder the pipes that come out of the filter housing - that would be a cleaner fix. The cleanest would be to replace the filter housing with one that is not set up for an external oil cooler. (Assuming one could simply swap them out.)
I'm afraid that cutting and crimping would choke off the oil flow, but I don't know how the ports in the filter housing are arranged. I do know there is a lot of pressure there.
Thanks,
Joe
1965 230SL, white, stick, with 280SL engine
1965 230SL, horizon blue, stick
1965 230SL, carcase
1967 230SL, red, auto, 250SL engine
1967 250SL, red, stick, 280SE engine
1971 280SL, red, auto
1959 Nash Metropolitan, convertible
1979 Mini
1989 2CV Charleston
About 60 Cushmans
Many issues....