How do you clean an oil line?

[jhg41977]

I pulled the oil tank tonight so i can clean it out as part of the rebuild. I plan on swishing and spraying brake clean through it to clean it out. I peeked inised and its nice and clean, no debris, build up etc. How do you clean oil lines? I was going to fish some nylon line through it and tie a bunch of kim wipes to one end, then pull them through. Anyone have another better or easier method? There was some very minor damage to a few cam lobes, nothing bad showing up in bearings. Just want to be sure I have cleaned out any crud that may be lurking.

[Trophy]

Stainless steel cable with some gun cleaning felts works very well.

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally Posted by Trophy

Stainless steel cable with some gun cleaning felts works very well.

That works nicely. Just be certain that you pay close attention to the fittings and the tiny space behind the swedges where the attaching nuts are. These provide eddies that trap metallic debris and are notoriously challenging to get absolutely clean.

Remember, VERY close attention to detail pays big dividends in the long run.

[jhg41977]

How do you secure the felts to the cable?

[tocobill]

if you get/rent a wire puller or snake from the local hardware store it has a slit in it to attach felt. these are very flexible as well.

[jhg41977]

So, thread the cable through the li e amd attach cleaning felts. Squirt brake clean on the felts and down the li e. Pull the line through. Repeat until felts come through clean. Then check the places Steve mentioned.

[tocobill]

yep

[BoxsterGT]

Parker has a cleaning kit that uses an air powered gun and the appropriate sized cleaning pads that are shot through the hose or hardline.

I will look for the one I have to post photos & details.

Len

[tocobill]

Sounds like a pig. We use them to clean out the pipelines at work. Though ours are much much bigger ...

[71scgc]

You can also get fiberglass fish tapes in varying lengths. Steel fish tapes are made of spring steel. If you are worried about damage potential from the steel tape, I wouldn't. An appropriate length of FG fish tape is likely cheaper than buying a steel tape with reel. Also, if you know an electrician, he could probably cut you a piece off an old fish tape.

Just some additional ideas...

Carter

[jhg41977]

Yeah, that pig might be just a wee bit large! I picked up 30 feet of, 1/16 inch steel cable. Im going to 'fold' the cable so its 15' long and use a ferrel at the folded end to create a eye which I can run cloth through. I plan to use terry cloth with brake fluid to scrub the tubing walls a bit, then use either kimwipes or gun cleaning cloths to finish. Let dry a day or so, blow air through and then more kimwipes and fluid. Final will be kim wipes coated with motor oil.