Bottom oil line on 914/6 oil tank.... Options

[Joe Bob]

Stoopid freaking rotten godamned oil line is sweating out the pores of the rubber and cloth weave oil ine.....looks like a replacement is needed.....I don't think it can be removed without pulling the tank.

Anyone been able to get up to that nut with the tank in place? Should be the 36mm one ........ (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/headbang.gif)

[Carl]

For a fix of a related problem …

The oil line on the bottom of the 914-6 tank uses aluminum fittings (read: fragile) on a very rare hose. The design relies on the aluminum squeezing the hose between the inner and outer portions of the fitting to secure the seal.

Over time they begin to leak. Why? Because the heat cycles eventually harden and shrink the rubber. When it shrinks there’s more gap between the inner and outer parts of the fitting and oil escapes.

Unless you scavenge one from a 6 or an early 911, a replacement hose is very tough to find. The following is a simple repair my brother worked out on his 911S that has also worked on my 6.

Remove the rocker panel. Separate the fitting at the union where you typically drain the oil. If the hose at the tank end is loose on the aluminum fitting connected to the tank, it will unscrew pretty easily by twisting the hose. Of course, this presumes that the aluminum fitting is tight where it mounts to the tank. If it isn’t then you need the crows foot wrench or take the Z approach by doing a tankectomy.

Once the hose is separated from the aluminum fittings, rinse with solvent then clean thoroughly with acetone to remove all traces of oil from the rubber hose ends. Likewise, clean the fitting ends with solvent and acetone. Carefully coat the hose ends with a thin film of silicone sealer (Permatex or equivalent) and reassemble snugly. Silicone won’t bond to anything oily so be sure to get it clean. Let it set for 24 hours or so before putting oil back in the tank.

I know Cap’n Krusty is going to gag with the use of silicone sealer but there aren’t many other choices with this one. BE CAREFUL not to apply excess sealer but this fix is cheap and it works.

I had difficulty getting the tank end of the hose installed and had to bend the hose in half and keep it that way with a tie-wrap in order to thread it back onto the tank fitting. That hose is stiff. I also had to start threading the outer fitting onto the inner one BEFORE screwing the hose in because the hose was so stiff that it would cause the outer housing to cross-thread on the inner fitting.

Below are some photos of the typical swedge-style fitting that’s used on each end of the hose.

HTH,
Carl