crankcase hard oil line fitting

[Gene Smith]

I have my 1969S engine out and the hard line that goes under the engine is stuck to the crankcase fitting. Unfortunately the end into the crankcase is loose. I can't get a wrench on the fitting without removing the oil return line. Does anyone have a solution? I'd love to cut the pipe and spin it out fitting and all for separating at the workbench but I haven't seen an identical pipe available for replacement. The crankcase adapter fitting is really stuck to the pipe's gland nut so even if I crush one oil return tube and install a telescoping one (not the most elegant solution) I feel it will still be dicey holding the already buggered flats of the adapter fitting in the soft Mg case...

Does anyone have a clean used pipe I could buy so I can just cut this stuck one and replace the fitting and pipe?

Thanks!

Gene

[MBEngineering]

HI Gene
have you tryed taking the oil pressure spring cap nut off, as this will give you some more clearence with a thin spanner to hold the fitting in the case, is the oil line a small bore, under the bellhousing and to the oil tank, if it is I have S/H if needed.

regards mike

[tharbert]

My inelegant solution was to buy a cheap/large monkey wrench and grind the crap out of the jaws till it gained fairly good purchase on the gland nut. I'm sure I'll have to use the thing eventually to reinstall the line. In any event, it didn't take much torque to separate the gland nut from the oil line so don't worry too much about maintaining integrity of the wrench jaws.

[Gene Smith]

That's what I'm looking at. A 27MM spanner ground down to fit and HEAT.

If not I'll cut the hard line and spin the whole assembly out and replace it. I don't want to put stress on the case. It already has no sealing ring (thickness) it is sealed with snot.

So- I'm not sure what I'm looking at. It could be I'm already short a few threads and that is why there is no ring. I have time on my side. Our asphalt burning season is finished here in S Jersey. One half freeze and they'll brine the roads heavy...

So I'll take my time.
I'm still hoping someone will step-up with a nice used pipe that they don't want.

Thanks Mike- What is S/H?


Thanks.

[Gene Smith]

Victory! I was able to get the gland nut loose with a little heat and a long-nose vice grip holding the adapter. Luckily since it was already loose I was ale to turn the assembly a 3/4 turn exposing more clearance to insert the needle nose. It is now cleaned up re-installed and ready for action. When I was a kid working in an outboard shop I had "some" experience with stuck stainless fasteners in soft aluminum. The key is to heat 'em up and then shock them with a rap- If you just apply torque the softer metal smears and you often get a mess. It takes a little courage to smack an adjustable wrench against Harbor Freight long nose vice-grips in a priceless numbers-matching Mg case... All in all a good day in the garage!

Thanks guys-

[Flat6pac]

Don't hit the nut or adaptor, the magnesium will break.
Cut the line close to the nut and remove. it's cheaper than making an error and costing way more.
Bruce

[Gene Smith]

No I didn't whack the case. I used my palm to "bump" the wrench instead of a gradual pull that sometimes 'sticks" and makes a mess...

It is free and fantastic now.

[MBEngineering]

HI Gene
UK to USA translation;

S/H in the UK is Second/ Hand, used, parted out, so if you need a used oil Pipe to fit on your engine, I have a S/H one hear

regards mike

[Gene Smith]

Thanks Mike, I got mine apart with no issues. Thanks again! I should've known that Mike, my dad was from Leeds...

[theiceman]

bringing this thread up as i was searching for an answer.
i got mine out okay, there was hard sealant ln mine as there is no crush washer at this location

my question is what do i put my new one in with ( which sealant )

thanks

[theiceman]

okay more.info

mine was tough all the way out due to the sealant that was on it. the stuff is like green concrete on the threads and stopping me from getting my new one on. i had a rag soaked in acetone in their for 15 minutes and it didnt even touch it.

i even tried a pic and could see aluminum coming from the thread were i scraped so i stopped that

any thoughts how to soften this stuff up ?

[Flat6pac]

There is a crush washer for that location.
Bruce

[theiceman]

thanks Bruce i did find this after i posted this. i decided go hit it with the acetone again and while it soaked i experimented with the old fitting. sure enough you were correct but i could not see it for the green hard sealant.
i soaked the fitting in acetone and after an hour the sealant started coming off in chunks and eventualy i saw the crush washer.

so i went back to the threaded area and picked it all out with some patience. put the new one in with just the crush washer and a thin coating of yamabond for good measure.

now for my next challenge. broken tinware mounts on my rear engine bracket.

[Dave Kost]

Is there a torque spec on the fitting to case oil line adapter with the alum crush washer? I think would be pretty hard to get to after the cross over line is installed and you get a leak.Any lube or anti seize on the threaded section of the fitting?

Thanks

[KTL]

That oil line adapter fitting is M22x1.0 threads and the spec book says it's 120 Nm = ~88 ft-lbs. I wrote in my spec book "Oil Sump Return Line"

It uses a threadlocker liquid and that's why a lot of guys post about encountering the hard green stuff when they remove it. I strongly recommend anybody removing it should use heat to assist in getting it loose and removing the remaining green crud

You're correct it's pretty hard to get at with the oil line installed. It's quite difficult to counterhold the adapter fitting even with the exhaust system removed. I have a thin wrench that I ground down on the bench grinder to get more clearance between the engine case and the oil return tube in that location.

[Walt Fricke]

While the original poster solved his problem without resorting to heroic measures, I offer an alternative:

Cut the steel line , preferably as far out as you can go and still rotate the stub. When you have both parts on your bench, and have separated the fitting from the nut using a method of your choice, just weld the two parts back together. Whatever steel is involved in the line, it is easy enough to weld. That's how I have made adapters to AN fittings, and my welding skills leave a lot to be desired, but they've held up just fine.

No thread locker is needed if everything is in good shape here. Green Loctite is very powerful stuff, so it is tempting to use it when things aren't quite right, as I don't know if it is even possible to use standard thread repair parts in this application.

I also suspect that one reason these threads seem so often to get buggered up is the failure to use a thin wrench to counterhold the fitting when, understandably, cranking hard on the nut part.

On the matter of stainless and steel, I wish I had known of the hammer rap approach, because just using torque removing a plug from a stainless bung on a header did what was said - smeared the threads on the bung. A replacement plug only sort of resealed the hole, though a hose clamp keeps it well in place for its modest task. Luckily I had bungs on both headers, so could use the other one for a wide band sensor. Dummy me for not liberally applying anti-seize to the threads back when.

[mikedsilva]

120 Nm torque spec sounds like a lot to me?

[proffighter]

Originally Posted by mikedsilva

120 Nm torque spec sounds like a lot to me?

But according my Typen, Masse und Tabellen Booklet it's correct.