Expandable Oil Tube Rebuild

[surfdwn]

I was under my very oily car tonight looking at the clutch and noticed that the oil return tubes are the expandable ones. They are leaking very badly. Has anyone had luck rebuilding these with new seals?

David Nolen
1970 911T

[Ricks911s]

Just replaced all 4 of my expandable oil tubes with Weltmeister(s). I obtained them elsewhere but was told one should ask our vendor here first (Vendor doesn't list them). If they can't provide them you can purchase theirs or PM me. I've tried both.

A couple of considerations. Some expandable return tubes are better than others. With all the heat down there (expansion and contraction) and your comment about them leaking badly . . . I'd replace the tubes as well as the seals. If you're trying to do it really on the cheap and you can find the right seals for your specific tubes . . . I suppose replacing the seals is feasible. But I'd bet 5 to 1 it's more trouble than it's worth.

Takes a little time and is frustrating your first time. There are many posts here (use search) that explain good techniques. Using hose clamps and using some lubricant to help them expand into place are the key techniques.

Good luck.

[hcoles]

take a picture and we can see what brand they are... I "rebuilt" mine with over the counter O rings.. I think they were Viton. I have an O ring speciality store near here and the guy helped me figure the best size/material... Be careful of the size on the "big" end. For some reason I recall that these were an inbetween size or a size they did have and were hard to get in... but they don't leak. Take care and use lubricant to avoid damage or flipping the O rings. I polished the "running" surfaces where the O rings slide.. hoping to help with the sealing. Not sure if it did any good, but it felt good.
I think you can even order a "kit" with all the O rings.

[efhughes3]

Pelican sells OEM expandables, and individual seals. They're listed online under engine/oil recirculation.

[Mitch Leland]

David,

There's a good chance you'll end up doing some damage to the existing tubes before you get them out because they get hung up on the "O" rings. I would just order new tubes. PP has both steel and aluminum tubes.

You only want to do this once... Using the hose clamp method to install works well as you probably already know.

[175K911]

I tried going the rebuild route, but discovered that there are several different sizes of seals used depending on the brand of the tubes. Since I didn't know the source of my tubes, I took a chance and ordered new seals from our host for about $25. Had two problems- 1) the seals weren't the same as the ones on the tubes I had, and 2) one of the existing tubes was bad.

So I ended up ordering 4 new tubes. Personally, for all the work to change them out, I think it's false economy to just reseal the old ones. It's only maybe $50 additional to get all new tubes.

[3.2 CAB]

175k, were your tubes aluminum or steel? What color were the new o-rings PP sent? As far as I know, the green seals match the OEM steel 2 piece tubes and the red o-rings go with the aftermarket type, aluminum 2 piece tubes.
I have replaced the o-rings on the collapsible type tubes in the past on other 911 engines. They never had any leakage issues after the replacement. These were all the OE and OEM steel 2 piece tubes. I can't say about the aluminum type, I have never used them.

[dshepp806]

Originally Posted by 175K911

I tried going the rebuild route, but discovered that there are several different sizes of seals used depending on the brand of the tubes. Since I didn't know the source of my tubes, I took a chance and ordered new seals from our host for about $25. Had two problems- 1) the seals weren't the same as the ones on the tubes I had, and 2) one of the existing tubes was bad.

So I ended up ordering 4 new tubes. Personally, for all the work to change them out, I think it's false economy to just reseal the old ones. It's only maybe $50 additional to get all new tubes.

What did you find "bad" on the tube?

Thanks,

[gregwils]

Originally Posted by efhughes3

Pelican sells OEM expandables, and individual seals. They're listed online under engine/oil recirculation.

+1 on OEM tubes from Pelican.

Put a magnet on them, if they are steel, you may be able to get seals from Pelican. if they are aluminum, don't believe seals are available. go with new steel ones.

[Mattcamp]

Seals are avail for Aluminum........Just not on Pelican.

[surfdwn]

As it turns out, I have the aluminum ones. Where does one get parts for these?

David Nolen
1970 911T