Cutting Wheel Selection.. oil lines

[azhodge]

I am about to enter the scary world of trying to get oil lines off of the external thermostat. I am going to take the advice of wise men who have come before me and go straight to cutting off the nuts. I will use a Dremel but have noticed several types of cutting wheel choices. very thin ones held to the jig with a single screw, thicker one that has a quick take off attachment on the end. and even some after market non "Dremel" stuff. What I am hoping to learn is what dremel cutting wheel should I use, and if not a dremel, what cutting wheel should I use. some info on how to actually cut the nut off would also be appreciated. also, is there a Big ass nut splitter I could use after making the initial cut. thanks

[DRACO A5OG]

Oh geez, are you the original owner?

If not, it may be possible they have been changed in the past and there would be no need to dremel. Ask me how I know.

I swapped one damaged one with the elephant racing finned line and repaired the other one.

I thought the same and started to use the dremel, then for some odd reason I just decide to break one loose. Wouldn't you know it it loosened right up. The other un-cut one broke free too.

If you insist on using the dremel, cut but take care not to hit the thread, the cut should be one on each side as equally spread as possible then stick a BFS in there and twist, it should just pop right off.

Plan ahead so you can use the BFS.

BTW, I used the black Dremel cutting wheel

[Techno Duck]

I used the fiberglass reinforced type when i cut the nuts off the flexible lines at the oil cooler. 1 disc was enough for all 4 fittings, it went through each one in under a minute.

[rywats]

I attempted to take mine off last weekend when I was doing a valve adjustment... I quickly gave up with the wrench after a few attempts.

Will cut them off next oil change..

[pete3799]

Thin one. Get several .....they shatter easily. Wear eye protection.

[DRACO A5OG]

I used this one



but also have this one I picked up afterwards

[javadog]

The second wheel above works the best.

Getting back to your original post, you have not consulted wise men if they told you to pick up a Dremel first. I don't know a single pro mechanic that uses one, or even owns one.

Heat, penetrating oil, time and the use of proper wrenches is the way to go.

Just my .02, based on 40 years of wrenching and restoring on all sorts of stuff, including these dastardly 911s.

[jlex]

If you guys cut the nuts off the oil lines but want to re-attach the original lines, how are you doing that? Isn't the original nut captured by a flare end on the line?

[DRACO A5OG]

Well, for me, my oil lines was destroyed so it need to be swapped, it was the thermostat I was more worried about. I think OP is afraid of the nut damaging it too.

Master Java, how have you dealt with that oil line on the notoriously soft thermostat housing? How do you keep the nut from take parts of the thermostat threads with it on removal?

[tirwin]

Last year I needed to replace the engine side oil lines to the thermostat. I decided to take it to Goldcrest (local indy shop). I figured if I buggered the thermostat I would be mad at myself. If they did it, I wouldn't feel so bad.

John Walker suggests a method using an air chisel if I recall correctly to just give the nut a little love tap to get it started. I would probably spray some penetrating oil on it a few days ahead.

[JRSIII]

Based on feedback received, I'm currently trying the very tedious heat, penetrant, hammer, try, repeat method. If this doesn't end up working, I may resort to the dremel method.

Jlex...if (and this seems like a big if to me) you are able to cut the nut off without damaging the threads underneath, Elephant sells the following contraption...

Elephant Racing | 30mm Oil Line Tube Nut Replacement Kit | Porsche 911

I haven't tried but looks like a clever idea.

[theiceman]

interesting I was logging on to post the same question as the one from the thermostat to the hard oil line is leaking at the flex piece.

is it better to try and remove from the thermostat in place ? that way you are only trying to get one line off , if you want to take it out how do you do that with all the lines still in place ?

I was considering just cutting also as I have experience with steel nuts onto aluminum threads and the aluminum is easily stripped on removal. Plus even if you put a small cut on the threads of the thermostat I don't think its a big deal as long as it cleans up and the new nut goes on . the threads have no sealing requirement at all and im sure the nut will still hold, you are not reefing it up after all just snugging it up then a bit more to make a good seal .

I would hate this to be one of those projects that started with a minor oil leak and then you wish you have just left it alone.

[javadog]

If you have a damaged line and it can't be saved, go ahead and cut the nut.

If you have a good line, ask yourself if you really need to take it off.

If you need to take it off, consider removing the entire assembly and playing with it on a workbench.

In general, to remove stuck fasteners, you need the following:

Heat
Penetrating oil
vibration or shock
Patience

You heat the parts to get them to expand. You can do this with a heat gun or torch, depending on the size of the parts and other factors.

You attempt to wick a penetrating oil into the threads. I usually use Kroil, you can make your one from ATF and acetone, which may be even more effective.

You whack the joint, with an appropriate hammer.

You repeat this a number of times, thus the patience.

When loosening the fasteners, use good-fitting tools and don't just pull on them. Hold them, give one a sharp whack to see if it will budge. Don't be a gorilla, don't use a cheater. If it won't brake free easily, go back to the heat and oil. You have to know when you are putting enough force on it to break it free but not enough to strip the threads.

On fasteners like heat exchanger nuts, heating them cherry red is needed. Obviously, that's a special case. If you are trying to remove a nut from a stud that is embedded in plastic, or something like a dashboard pad stud, you may have to cut a small slot in the end of the stud to be able to hold it while removing the nut.

JR

[DRACO A5OG]

Doh, never thought about removing the whole assembly.

Guess what I am doing, I have an annoying weeping with my new Elephant finned line at the thermostat. I have been tightening it like a Neanderthal but no love. I contacted Elephant and they said keep torqueing it WTF? I even nailed them down at RR5 in their booth tent in front of other spectators, still telling me to just tighten it. I must be lucky to get the only defective line from them. Will not give up though.

I am way past the torque spec and I fear I will damage the thermostat. My other original line did not need as much torque to be leak free.

I tried removing it and cleaning the fitment, no love.

I will remove the whole assembly and see what is up with the fitment. My hope is, it is just an alignment issue it really did not line up like the old one.

Thank you so much Master JR!

[JRSIII]

I too am attempting to remove the whole kit and kaboodle in one piece. I've managed to loosen the connection between the crossover pipe and the oil line that goes to the thermostat. I'm working on the connection at the oil tank. If I can get that off, I plan to remove everything from those two points forward in one piece. I can then work on the other fittings as needed off the car.

Question...realizing that this will be frowned upon, but in order to make it less burdensome to deal with, I was thinking of just cutting the two short soft lines at the front cooler in half, so I could remove in two pieces. I plan to replace these anyway. I could then get the nuts loose from the cooler and the hard lines while it's off the car. Anybody know what they are made of? Are they just rubber? Do you think I could cut them with a ratcheting PVC pipe cutter?

[DRACO A5OG]

Oh boy, I would worry about shrapnel getting into front cooler. The fitment is steel to steel so I think better to unbolt them, why take a chance?

The oil line wrenches work well there.

[javadog]

The soft lines are usually easy to remove. I recently removed a pair and they were still quite usable, so I cleaned them up and sold them.

They are a reinforced rubber, so they can be cut. Go big. Break out the SawzAll and a video camera.

Or, just remove them like I've outlined above.

JR

[JRSIII]

I like the SawzAll idea! I can just imagine oil flying everywhere! I don't think I'll resort to that, but in all honesty I have tried loosening the nuts on the car and ended up twisting one of my hard lines. I'm hoping to take the thermostat, hard lines, soft lines, and cooler all off together, but if it doesn't work out I may need to sacrifice the soft lines. I know that's not ideal.

[javadog]

Unbolt the cooler too....?

[DRACO A5OG]

^^^ the whole kit and kaboodle