The all-encompassing Turbo Oil drain/feed line thread

[lord_verminaard]

Ok, simple enough concept.  I want to see what people are doing for oil drain/feed lines for turbos.  Specifically, I know what the stock OEM stuff looks like, so I would rather see what people are doing when they have swapped turbos, added turbos to N/A, flipped manifolds, etc...
Of course, pictures would be good, and details like drilling the oil filter flange and what they tapped it to, and what sorts of line and sources for getting it.  Also oil pan options, etc...I sort of have an idea how I'm going to do it, but after searching on here for a long time I didn't really find everything I was looking for.  Thanks!

Brendan

[arb]

Until I replace my NA oil pan with the turbo pan I recently got, I'm running a hose arond to the front to "T" in with the vac pump return line.

Here's the "T"

[Rabbit on Roids]

i would *NOT* do an oil drain like that. does it flow down hill ALL THE WAY from the turbo? and if it is down hill, its still a REALLY long ways for the oil to travel. i would have took and poked a hole in the oil pan and put a bung in it. but thats just me. i always thought you wanted as short and straight of an oil drain as you could get off a turbo.my drain for my VNT is about 5" long. just a straight shot out the snail and down back into the pan.

Oil pans are not as hard to modify as people think. and i know you can weld, cause thats not a VW downpipe or flange

[53 willys]

i would *NOT* do an oil drain like that. does it flow down hill ALL THE WAY from the turbo? and if it is down hill, its still a REALLY long ways for the oil to travel. i would have took and poked a hole in the oil pan and put a bung in it. but thats just me. i always thought you wanted as short and straight of an oil drain as you could get off a turbo.my drain for my VNT is about 5" long. just a straight shot out the snail and down back into the pan.

Oil pans are not as hard to modify as people think. and i know you can weld, cause that's not a VW downpipe or flange

yeah I'm with you on this one....looping the drain up over the trans to the front of the engine is gonna cause some issues....specially on those cold Michigan mornings...oil turbo drains need to be straight down the whole way and shorter the better.

[Rabbit on Roids]

i would *NOT* do an oil drain like that. does it flow down hill ALL THE WAY from the turbo? and if it is down hill, its still a REALLY long ways for the oil to travel. i would have took and poked a hole in the oil pan and put a bung in it. but thats just me. i always thought you wanted as short and straight of an oil drain as you could get off a turbo.my drain for my VNT is about 5" long. just a straight shot out the snail and down back into the pan.

Oil pans are not as hard to modify as people think. and i know you can weld, cause that's not a VW downpipe or flange

yeah I'm with you on this one....looping the drain up over the trans to the front of the engine is gonna cause some issues....specially on those cold Michigan mornings...oil turbo drains need to be straight down the whole way and shorter the better.

thats kinda what i thought, but im not exactly a turbo expert. ive only been working on these VW's for about 3 years now.

[regcheeseman]

oh and go steady with the orange gloop or you'll block an oilway

[lord_verminaard]

Ok, anymore?  Now that the forums are back up and all. 

I heard someone using 5/16ths brake line for the feed....  Would this work if I drilled and tapped the filter flange?  I would think there would be sealing problems since a brake line is flared.  Or am I making it too difficult?

For a drain, I see you can get Aeroquip or similar bulkhead fittings in a -10AN, but damn, figure the cost of the hose, fitting, bulkhead nuts, and a fitting on the turbo-end and you've got over $35 in a drain hose.  Surely there has to be an easier way....


Brendan

[arb]

Ok, anymore?  Now that the forums are back up and all. 

I heard someone using 5/16ths brake line for the feed....  Would this work if I drilled and tapped the filter flange?  I would think there would be sealing problems since a brake line is flared.  Or am I making it too difficult?

For a drain, I see you can get Aeroquip or similar bulkhead fittings in a -10AN, but damn, figure the cost of the hose, fitting, bulkhead nuts, and a fitting on the turbo-end and you've got over $35 in a drain hose.  Surely there has to be an easier way....


Brendan

Brake lines are double flared so they can remain sealed with several thousand PSI of hydro pressure during a panic stop. It will not leak the 80 psi of oil pressure.

Fixing my over-heat / blown head gasket, I'm planning on going to the drain into the rear of the oil pan ;-)

[lord_verminaard]

Brake lines are double flared so they can remain sealed with several thousand PSI of hydro pressure during a panic stop. It will not leak the 80 psi of oil pressure.

Fixing my over-heat / blown head gasket, I'm planning on going to the drain into the rear of the oil pan ;-)

Yeah I knew that about the brake lines but in order for the flares to seal properly, don't they need to be seated properly in a hole with the same angle as the flare?

Brendan

[Rabbit on Roids]

yea, and they make fittings that have flares built into them. my adaptors go from 5/16ths brake line to 1/8th inch pipe thread. 8th inch pipe fittings, and whatever the metric size is thats really close, they are close enough to the same thread to seal. cause my low pressure turbo has metric threads, but theres SAE fittings in all the holes. oh yea, chevy header bolts are about the best turbo flange bolts i have yet to lay my hands on. maybe its just because they are made for exhaust? and that they are grade 8...

[flapjack]

I asked a local shop if they could take the end off of the stock k14 oil return line and weld it to a 1/2" braided hose for my T3 oil return.
This way I keep the existing oil pan without having to modify it
ID at the weld is 3/8" and the wall thickness about 1/16"

[Baxter]

Vw oil feed pipes are 8mm of tube.
Anyone goong to add that the feed and return want to be as close to vertic as possible!

[Zulfiqar]

best use the oil drain posted above - and the oil feed should be 8mm like the original

[Baxter]

Until I replace my NA oil pan with the turbo pan I recently got, I'm running a hose arond to the front to "T" in with the vac pump return line.

Here's the "T"

That is not a pretty set up in my eyes.

[Rabbit on Roids]

i wonder if that drain setup works? im really not trying to rip on the owner of that setup, but that is nothing i would ever put on my car. i would have just poked a hole in the n/a oil pan and welded a bung on there. it would have been so easy, and probably cost about the same as all the heater hose and brass fittings. plus, probably would have taken about the same time to make it.