Please help identify my oil return tubes
 

I bought my 85 911 back in 1995. One of my first projects was to replace the leaking OEM oil return tubes. There was no Pelican support group back then. I simply don’t remember who I bought them from or what brand they are. They are a high quality aluminum tube. The one I replaced was leaking from the center little black O-rings. After 16 years and 60 thousand miles one tube was leaking.

I know they are not the factory OEM collapsible because the O-rings on the end are way bigger than the OEM style O-rings. I know this because I bought a set of OEM style rings and they are green, and much smaller. Once I got the tube off, I could see they were much different than the OEM style. Fortunately I did have one spare set of O-rings in a sealed plastic bag stored in a dark drawer.

Do you recognize these tubes? Any ideas on what the part numbers for new rings would be.

In the picture you can see at the top is the old O-ring and it has a definite bevel to it from age. One of the small black O-rings was so brittle it broke, the other was pretty flat. The tube went back on without issue and I feel sure that the other tubes will start to leak fairly soon.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299450253.jpg

Beside the factory ones, Pelican sells the Rauch & Spiegel.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299451447.jpg
they do look different than yours (might be a old design) but the O rings could be the same. And, if all you need is O rings, take them down to a hyd. shop. I'm sure you can find a replacement that will work.

the gold factory ones are easier to use. the red o-rings on the ones pictured don't last very long and the black ones get hard.

Does anyone make a O-ring that would fit in place of the red one and last like a factory ring?

Yes, the green ones, Pelican sells them.

The green ones Pelican sells are much smaller than the red ones.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299468127.jpg

That green one is way small.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299468166.jpg

This is the package of O-rings I got from Pelican. Those ain't gonna fit my tubes.

those are the inner seals for the steel/gold tubes. the outers are the same as the reds. notice it says that on the bag.

Wayne's book says use a little oil to help them slide. Silicon grease works better.

Sometimes the new ones don't want to slide real well, even when well lubed. Prelube the seals in advance.

Those tubes pictured above look like the Weltmeister ones I bought back in 2000 when I first got my '87

999-707-112-40-m260

oil will not work on the green ones. Dow 111 heavy silicone paste is the only lube that works for me. you can oil up the middle o-rings and slip the two sections together and you won't be able to pull them apart.

That is some great info right there. Thanks! I will put that on my wish list ASAP.

So I presume I can use the OEM outer seals 999-707-112-40-m260 but the OEM style inner O-rings are WAY bigger than my little balck O-rings. Now I just need to find a source for the inner rings that will fit my non OEM tubes.

I searched the Pelican site for the Dow 111 heavy silicone paste and did not find anything. With Google I found one site that had only 5 gallon buckets of it. I am real sure I don't want 5 gallons of Dow 111. I found this site: Dow Corning 111 Valve Lubricant And Sealant

So I will order a tube of it. It is something Wayne should add to his inventory. List it on the same page with the green O-rings.

Now to find those little inner O-rings. Do you think a standard hydraulic O-ring can stand up to 220 degree engine oil? How about the green rings from an automotive air conditioning system?

Yep that's the same problem I've had- on black o-rings too.

You can get the Dow 111 from McMaster Carr McMaster-Carr. I bet you can find your inner orings there too

I used Syl-Glide from Napa autoparts for the grease - worked great. I think I saw it suggested here in an old post...

Hello John,

I just recently purchased a set of factory collapsible oil lines with the o-rings. The o-rings came in the little "Porsche" baggies with the right part number etc but are black instead of green... I was surprised as I thought the OE were always green. Do you know if there was a change? The Porsche part ID label did note that the country of manufacture of the o-rings was Italy.

Thank you,
Allan

+1

My technician suggested Sil-Glide for my caliper rebuild, and I also used it on my aluminum return tubes. Good stuff.

My supplier had this to say:

-Wayne

Allan,

The green o-rings were typically known as the good ones because the green color is uncommon for most people to see. So we typically said green is good because we knew them as the good Viton material (Viton is a DuPont name for their rubber material). Turns out Viton is not only green.

McMaster-Carr

So the black ones are fine.

Great information, thanks!!!