crushed oil line

[crimedawg]

78 911 SC

Being very new to p-cars, I was unaware of the proper running temp. By reading through the forums I have found that an average 3.0 should run somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 o'clock on the oil temp gauge. Well mine has been running at about 10 o'clock, with 11 o'clock being the start of the red. I followed the advise of a prior poster who suggested I feel the trombone cooling tubes while engine was warm and see if they too were hot. They were not, barely warm. I located the oil sender/return lines and found one to be crushed right at the jack plug hole. Question: if the thermostat is working properly, shouldn't there still be oil traveling through the trombone or would it stop all flow? Is there a way of "uncrushing" the aluminum tube by using a wrench to reround it? Or is there an alternate solution to fixing this, other than purchasing new pipe? Thanks so much for your help in advance.

On another note, I determined that my oil pressure sending unit had in fact failed and purchased a new one. I have not changed it yet, but by looking at the space available, I am not sure how a standard wrench will fit. Is there a "special" tool used or am I going to have to remove some equiptment. I don't have the AC comp. installed right now.

[Eagledriver]

The crushed tube needs to be fixed. The oil might be going through some kind of pressure relief bypass at the thermostate but I'm not sure about that. I've seen these lines patched by cutting out the crushed part and slipping on a copper pipe to replace the cut out area. The copper pipe is then soldered in place with a torch. Other option is of course to find a replacement. You could try to "uncrush" the pipe but I suspect that has a poor chance of success.

-Andy

[defcon65]

Sorry about the damaged oil line, it is unfortunately too common of an occurence. You will have to replace the oil line to fix it properly, aluminum is not very resilient to being bent back into shape, chances are you will weaken it and cause a future leak. This damage was invariably caused by a mechanic who did not know better when jacking the car or just didn't care. I take the time to explain these things to mechanics before they have the chance to ruin something they don't understand. I could care less if they think I'm insulting their intelligence, because chances are, if I didn't warn them and they crushed one of my oil lines, their next act of foolishness would likely be the statement "I'll just bend that back into shape."
There's a reason mechanics don't go to college.

[quattrorunner]

Those lines won't uncruch if they are crushed badly BTDT. I patched the crushed parts with copper cause I didn't know where to get brass which is what the lines are made from. I look at this fix as temporary till I replace the whole line or patch with brass. Works so far though.
Get it fixed while your changing the oil since you need to drain anyway. I would choose the finned oil lines available at pelican. They help with cooling. Look into a carrera cooler in the future as this seems to be a good upgrade for the sc. Then procede to add turbo, supercharging, and nitrous oxide(kidding)

[Scott Clarke]

Do a search using the term "crushed oil lines." Others have successfully un-crushed their lines by plugging each end, pressurizing with compressed air, and heating the affected area with a torch. This method is well detailed in the threads you will find, with proper respect for safety ond reliability.
-Scott

[slodave]

Check out this link:

Brilliant idea (I think) fixing crushed oil lines

Dave

[vanwyk4257]

I went with copper on the set that went on my car as well. My rationale for not trying to repair the damaged sections was that the stress to the original brass tubing could have weakened it. I believe McMaster Carr may actually carry Bronze tubing that will work, but your normal off-the-shelf 3/4" hard copper and couplings will work fine.

[rnln]

I was thinking of the torch but went to Home depot to check on temp and found those torch weld only stand up to 120 degree. Our oil can get up to 300 or above right?

Originally posted by Eagledriver
cutting out the crushed part and slipping on a copper pipe to replace the cut out area. The copper pipe is then soldered in place with a torch -Andy

[Jdub]

If the oil thermo. is working yes, it will allow oil through. But then again you have a crushed line, which means some of the oil is getting through (you mention the trombone is warm).

Uncrush or replace, but certainly drop the entire tubes/trombone (carefully- support so there is no stress) and scrub them totally clean, right to the metal. This will aid cooling in the future. Be sure to dump the current oil as that is probably damaged due to running at what appears to be 230+ degrees.

Then keep any eye on that gauge. If you continue to run at those temps consider a 28-tube cooler or equiv Mocal or ?

John

[Jdub]

Also, you might consider a bicycle framebuilder who can use Oxy/Acet and silver brazing material. If so, be sure to clean the inside of the tube thoroughly with poker/rag/acetone to prevent extreme smoke and stink.

John