Engine spun a bearing. Reuse oil cooler?

Question is in the thread title. A little background info: 

Over the summer I picked up an otherwise solid Saab 9-3 vert with rod knock for almost nothing. It's been garage kept it's whole life, never seen snow, and aside from some sun damage, is overall clean and complete.  I was hopeful that I could get away with replacing the main bearings and get it running, but metal shavings in the pan quickly ruled that out. One of the rods spun its bearing and wiped out the rod and crank. Luck was not on my side, but I knew this was a likely possibility when I bought the project. I'm swapping out the bad engine for a replacement from Golding Saab, and am getting ready to button everything up.  I'm concerned that any home-brew solution to clean the out oil cooler could be insufficient, and the first time the oil cooler thermostat opens I'll send send metal debris through the fresh engine.  The problem is I'm having trouble sourcing a replacement. OE Saab parts are hit or miss, and the oil cooler is a solid miss. It appears to have been out of production for years. I haven't had any luck sourcing the correct used one. Oddly, Goldwing shows as having one available across several marketplaces, but a call yesterday confirmed they are out of stock.  I'm posting on the usual marketplaces for a replacement but with no hits so far.  

Am I being overly cautious?  Should I just flush the cooler out with ATF and call it good, or would any attempt to reuse the cooler result in another engine failure?

Even with a flush, I'd never trust it again.

I was half way done pulling an oil cooler in the yard when I felt grit in the oil.  I just walked away.

They're inexpensive enough that it isn't worth the risk.

Generally I'd give a big NOPE to that idea considering what a replacement oil cooler typically costs, but if this one is irreplaceable, getting it professionally cleaned could be worthwhile. Not just a flush with ATF, it'll need to be disassembled as much as possible and generously flushed out in a parts washer, and then flushed with oil to get the parts washer solvents out.

Probably more than you'd want to spend, but can you find the correct sandwich plate and just make your own oil cooler using a Setrab core or similar?

It sounds like I'm the correct amount of worried about the oil cooler being compromised.  On the plus side, it's 3 degrees outside here in western NY, so I wasn't about to go driving around with the top down anytime soon.  I'll keep working on tracking down a good used cooler. I've got plenty of time until spring. 

In reply to z31maniac :

I thought about going this route, but I can't find a practical way to bypass the existing cooler loop. The hoses are secured to the engine side with a bolted down bracket and sealed with an o-ring, nothing threaded.  

I spoke to soon.  There is an aftermarket adapter to threaded fittings that preserves the stock housing and thermostat.

https://genuinesaab.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=963
 

Any guidelines on properly sizing an aftermarket cooler?  

In reply to andy_b :

Bigger is better? It really is for track use and minimizing pressure drop, I run a 30-row on my Toyobaru, those have major oil temp issues. If it's just for street use and high oil temps aren't a known issue, anywhere around the same size as stock should be fine, typically aftermarket designs are more efficient, especially vs. older factory coolers.

Is the oil cooler before the oil filter?  I'd flush it and run it if the cooler if the oil filter was next in line. 

In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :

That is a great question.  I don't know.  the best diagram I could find in the WIS online manual doesn't specify. I would assume it does based purely on orientation of components. 

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

Is the oil cooler before the oil filter?  I'd flush it and run it if the cooler if the oil filter was next in line. 

Maybe if the filter has no bypass valve or is massively oversized, otherwise I'd be worried the bypass valve could open on cold startup and let the glitter through.

I re-used the oil cooler on der Scheißwagen.  I didn't even go too crazy with flushing it out - I sprayed a bunch of brake cleaner and then blew air through it.  Better to be lucky than good, I guess.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

Strictly causal street use.  Stock replacement is all that is necessary if it was available. 

Thinking about it, the optimist in me thinks either it's before the filter, and anything that could resist a cleaning but eventually dislodge should get caught by the filter, or it's after the filter, and would have only received clean oil.  The perfect storm of debris making it through both the filter and cooler seems low. However the peace of mind bought with a $40 adapter and aftermarket cooler is a fairly cheap deal. 

I would look around for a radiator shop and see if they would boil it out and clean it for you.  
 

For a replacement I always use Mocal coolers. They are pricy but worth it to me. 

I reused the oil cooler from a blown up Saab B235 this summer. Previous engine had been hydrolocked, two bent rods and lost of bearing damage. I washed out the oil cooler pretty well with old gas and degreaser. I haven't had an issue in 2k miles on the new engine build.

Good to know on the Geniune Saab oil cooler adapter though. I may have to explore that if the oil cooler line leak I have persists.

If the cooler is after the filter, I'd consider flushing it and reusing it, as the junk shouldn't have gotten to it in the first place.  If the cooler is before the filter, I don't think I'd risk it. 

If you can find a place that does flushing of hydraulic systems they may be able to set something up to flush it until the flow gets down to the proper particle size maximum.  (Paging Bob the Oil Guy here for what that is? - 5 microns?).  

The standard we use for hydraulic systems on offshore platforms is to SAE AS 4059 Class 6 B-F and it outlines different levels of cleanliness.. 

I don't know who/what is available  your area but its a possibility.   Possibly some place that deals with hydraulic systems on construction equipment.

Have it ultrasonically cleaned and flushed.

It's not ideal to reuse the cooler but I've done it more times than I can remember without issue.

For now, the adapter block from Genuine Saab and a single hose as a loop bypassing the cooler will let me get the car running for under $50. I'll have plenty of time to find a good used cooler or piece together an aftermarket solution. The adapter should arrive Saturday. 
 

Cleaning out the current cooler would probably fine, but I know I'll forever be worried about it if I went that route. 

There are companies that specialize in this 

https://www.oilcoolers.com/

Maybe something like this? Its for trans coolers but seem like it could work.

https://lubegard.com/products/kk/