Oil return line, pre-formed 90 degree edition

I rage quit working on the MX6 last night because i ran into the same damn problem i've run into every single time i've had to R&R the turbo on it.

I use high quality 5/8" line for the return/drain that i get from Earl's for a good price.

Both the turbo and the oil pan are huge unnecessarily long barbed fittings, probably.... 12 barbs on each.

The problem:

If the line is even a half inch too long, it kinks like crazy. THEN, i can't pull the line back off because it grips to hard on the million barbs that it slips over, so i have no choice but to cut it off one of the barbs and try again. Inevitably, once i make that first cut, the line is now too short and will only make it over 1.5-2 barbs on the oil pan.

Which would be fine, since i have about... 8 extra barbs on the turbo side i could in theory pull down, but of course, the line doesn't come off until you cut it.

Wash, rinse, repeat until you pop blood vessels in an apoplectic rage. Then end up with a "berkeley it" attitude and leave it with 1.5-2 barbs contacted on the oil pan side.

Which of course, will leak like a sieve.

Solution:
90 degree pre-formed oil-safe 5/8" hose.

Question:
Where to buy this magical stuff of my dreams?

Replace the hose barb fittings with 90 degree AN? It's a little spendy, but you can either put a 90 degree hose end on a rubber or stainless steel hose or the oil pan fitting can be replaced with a bulkhead-to-90 fitting?

I realize I'm not actually answering your question, but it's the closest thing to helpful I've got...

Dude. Pixxors?

wae wrote: Replace the hose barb fittings with 90 degree AN? It's a little spendy, but you can either put a 90 degree hose end on a rubber or stainless steel hose or the oil pan fitting can be replaced with a bulkhead-to-90 fitting? I realize I'm not actually answering your question, but it's the closest thing to helpful I've got...

Well, -AN fittings and lines are my go-to solution for everything in normal situations, but that doesn't fit so well in a Challenge budget, plus i just put this motor in. Pulling the oil pan isn't real high on my list of "wants" at this point.

turboswede wrote: Dude. Pixxors?

Sure i can get some today.

In the meantime, here's pics (kinda) of the bung on the oil pan. It's huge.

Steel.

Cut the fitting(s) down to a reasonable length/number of barbs? Quick and dirty.

Bumboclaat wrote: Cut the fitting(s) down to a reasonable length/number of barbs? Quick and dirty.

Yeah, that's potentially a possibility, would just have to make sure i don't get shavings in the oil pan, and remove the turbo again.

I'd really rather just find some 5/8" oil safe pre-formed hose, though.

Is that hose-barb or a pipe nipple? Because from those pics, it really looks like threads.

It's not threads. It's hose barb. Same sort of thing is on the turbo.

Couple of 90's and a steel pipe?

I have all sorts of not-so-elegant solutions for this that i can put into place, up to and including just buying another 5 feet of the hose that i use and beat my head against the car until i end up with a serviceable line to my satisfaction.

I will be changing the bung on the oil pan this Spring, but it is not an option at the moment.

At the moment, i'm only trying to find out if the hose that i asked about in the OP is a thing, or isn't a thing. I looked on ATP Turbo and google (which pointed me to Ebay), and neither seem to have it, but i may also not be using the right search terms.

Well, if you're planning to fix it properly in the spring and just want something easy for now, stick with the status quo.

I suspect the hose you want exists, but as an OE part on some random vehicle. I think most rubber heater lines will be oil safe, no? Does NAPA have a big Echlin book of oil hoses?

Keith Tanner wrote: Well, if you're planning to fix it properly in the spring and just want something easy for now, stick with the status quo. I suspect the hose you want exists, but as an OE part on some random vehicle. I think most rubber heater lines will be oil safe, no? Does NAPA have a big Echlin book of oil hoses?

I think there's some bad juju using heater hoses. I had to do it once, and it lasted about 6 months before it ballooned up and started weeping. Of course, 6 months would be plenty of time, i suppose.

My local NAPAs are useless, unfortunately. I was in both of them recently because of an old thread in which you said to check NAPA and go through the big book for thermoswitch information. Everyone looked at me like i had grown a 3rd eye and then spent 30 minutes rummaging through books and un-organized boxes of random sensors to no avail.

Which reminds me, i need to order a new thermoswitch as well.

Sounds like status quo is about what i'm going to have to do. Boo. Hiss.

Okay, what about this:

http://www.amazon.com/Edelmann-80165-Steering-Molded-Reservoir/dp/B000CGTNVE/ref=sr_sp-btf_image_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1387472960&sr=1-3-fkmr2&keywords=gates+hose+5%2F8+molded

Looks like a 5/8 hose for power steering fluid which should be safe for motor oil, right? It looks like it has the 90 degree bend in it that you could cut out and couple to the rest of the turbo line?

If you don't want to add the coupler, maybe look through the NAPA book of transmission cooler lines? Although, those might be a little too small.

wae wrote: Okay, what about this: http://www.amazon.com/Edelmann-80165-Steering-Molded-Reservoir/dp/B000CGTNVE/ref=sr_sp-btf_image_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1387472960&sr=1-3-fkmr2&keywords=gates+hose+5%2F8+molded Looks like a 5/8 hose for power steering fluid which should be safe for motor oil, right? It looks like it has the 90 degree bend in it that you could cut out and couple to the rest of the turbo line? If you don't want to add the coupler, maybe look through the NAPA book of transmission cooler lines? Although, those might be a little too small.

Actually... that's pretty long, i'd be able to cut that down perfectly! Long side looks like about 20", short side 15".

Total straight length of what i need is only about 7", so this is worth a shot.

I really appreciate it, i'm going to order this and see how it works. Little worried about a 300F temperature rating, but again, it's only got to last til Spring.

Oh, one other thing I found:

http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?domain=hbd&command=showProduct&category=aotomotive-hose&product=UB58R-coils

A coil sleeve to force a regular hose into a 90 degree?

wae wrote: Oh, one other thing I found: http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?domain=hbd&command=showProduct&category=aotomotive-hose&product=UB58R-coils A coil sleeve to force a regular hose into a 90 degree?

Yep, i've used those in the past. Work fine on pliable heater hose, not really up to the task of the stuff i've been using from Earl's.

wae wrote: Replace the hose barb fittings with 90 degree AN? It's a little spendy, but you can either put a 90 degree hose end on a rubber or stainless steel hose or the oil pan fitting can be replaced with a bulkhead-to-90 fitting? I realize I'm not actually answering your question, but it's the closest thing to helpful I've got...

It's not spendy if you're otherwise replacing the hose every time you have the turbo off.

I see AN line as an investment, not a cost sink. It's more or less infinitely reuseable and if the hose itself fails, the ends are reuseable too.

Knurled wrote:

wae wrote: Replace the hose barb fittings with 90 degree AN? It's a little spendy, but you can either put a 90 degree hose end on a rubber or stainless steel hose or the oil pan fitting can be replaced with a bulkhead-to-90 fitting? I realize I'm not actually answering your question, but it's the closest thing to helpful I've got...

It's not spendy if you're otherwise replacing the hose every time you have the turbo off. I see AN line as an investment, not a cost sink. It's more or less infinitely reuseable and if the hose itself fails, the ends are reuseable too.

Agree totally -- When my turbo coolant feed line got bumped a bit and started leaking, I went ahead and spent the $100-some-odd bucks to replace the feed and return lines with stainless braided hose with proper AN connectors.

But on a Challenge budget, it's only the line that's actually on the car when you arrive at the track that counts. So, if you have to replace it a hundred times before you show up in Gainesville it can be "cheaper" than spending fewer actual dollars to do it right once. :)

Knurled wrote:

wae wrote: Replace the hose barb fittings with 90 degree AN? It's a little spendy, but you can either put a 90 degree hose end on a rubber or stainless steel hose or the oil pan fitting can be replaced with a bulkhead-to-90 fitting? I realize I'm not actually answering your question, but it's the closest thing to helpful I've got...

It's not spendy if you're otherwise replacing the hose every time you have the turbo off. I see AN line as an investment, not a cost sink. It's more or less infinitely reuseable and if the hose itself fails, the ends are reuseable too.

I see AN fittings and line as an investment as well. Probably to the point that i should consider buying stock in Earl's.

HOWEVER, i don't see this particular car in question as an investment, and even if i did, i'm limited by an outside set of rules that limit how much i can actually invest.

I could convert to AN for $50 or less and an afternoon's worth of time. Can't afford/don't want to hit the Challenge budget with that.

So don't use AN, just use regular pipe fittings with silicone hose.

Not for an oil line you don't.

turboswede wrote: So don't use AN, just use regular pipe fittings with silicone hose.

I'm going to replace the oil pan fitting in Spring with a 60 or 90, just can't do it now.

Silicone is no bueno for oil, though.

Swank Force One wrote:

turboswede wrote: So don't use AN, just use regular pipe fittings with silicone hose.

I'm going to replace the oil pan fitting in Spring with a 60 or 90, just can't do it now. Silicone is no bueno for oil, though.

Um, that's what was factory on the turbo-dodge cars (it was reinforced, like a radiator hose). They also got the oil line correct by angling it upwards in combination with a flange bolted to the bottom of the turbo. That's okay though, any oil-safe hose could be used in combination with generic fittings.

You know the solution, you can choose to do it, or not.