Oil Feed to Head: Nylon or Steel?

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swooshdave said:
rvich said:
I am using VW fuel injection line. It is rubber with a woven cloth cover.

Oil Feed to Head: Nylon or Steel?


I seized the end with fine monel wire to keep it in place and covered it with shrink tube to clean up the look. It is on its third season.

Russ
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Scary. What is that rated at? Both pressure and heat? Chances of me running a rubber anything for that oil line is nil.
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The specs say the test pressure is 430 LBS with a burst pressure of 820.. As for temp? I don't have that rating at hand, but I am a little skeptical that the lines are subjected to 350 degree oil! No wonder the nylon lines get brittle with age. I have run it for 3000 miles (granted it isn't in Oz but Alaska) without a problem. It is funny to me that people would trust a plastic line and then be worried about using a reinforced rubber one that is rated for fuels and oils, but to each his own. I'd recommend springing for the braided steel lines. We all know steel has a much higher resistance to heat and pressure. I just wonder how they get them to be flexible? That is a puzzle...
 
rvich said:
swooshdave said:
rvich said:
I am using VW fuel injection line. It is rubber with a woven cloth cover.

Oil Feed to Head: Nylon or Steel?


I seized the end with fine monel wire to keep it in place and covered it with shrink tube to clean up the look. It is on its third season.

Russ
Click to expand...

Scary. What is that rated at? Both pressure and heat? Chances of me running a rubber anything for that oil line is nil.
Click to expand...

The specs say the test pressure is 430 LBS with a burst pressure of 820.. As for temp? I don't have that rating at hand, but I am a little skeptical that the lines are subjected to 350 degree oil! No wonder the nylon lines get brittle with age. I have run it for 3000 miles (granted it isn't in Oz but Alaska) without a problem. It is funny to me that people would trust a plastic line and then be worried about using a reinforced rubber one that is rated for fuels and oils, but to each his own. I'd recommend springing for the braided steel lines. We all know steel has a much higher resistance to heat and pressure. I just wonder how they get them to be flexible? That is a puzzle...
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SS lines aren't actually steel lines.

Oil Feed to Head: Nylon or Steel?


It's a plastic line, covered in a SS braid. If you get it from Old Britts is comes in a plastic sheath.
 
my thinking is why replace when not broken.
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Mmmm..... dont agree!

Being a farmer and an operator of numerous types of machines, I work on the theory of "PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE"!
A stitch in time saves nine philosophy, lubrication is the life blood of most things mechanical.
I recently veiwed MK111,s beautiful Commando and noticed clear nylon line used and when started observed the oil flow after about 30 seconds of running. I found this intriguing, bit like a visual oil gauge! Thinking I might source the same for a temporary line on my build for that initial start up!?
foxy
 
Got the one from Old Brits. Clear plastic coating. Wont be grinding away at anything in the forseeable future.
 
shrugger said:
Got the one from Old Brits. Clear plastic coating. Wont be grinding away at anything in the forseeable future.
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Yep. My plastic line broke years ago. I replaced it with a SS line i bought from someone (can't recall). It wore into the carb manifold and anything else it touched.

Just bought one for a different commando from Old Britts. The plastic covering is a nice little feature.
 
jsouthard said:
shrugger said:
Got the one from Old Brits. Clear plastic coating. Wont be grinding away at anything in the forseeable future.
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Yep. My plastic line broke years ago. I replaced it with a SS line i bought from someone (can't recall). It wore into the carb manifold and anything else it touched.

Just bought one for a different commando from Old Britts. The plastic covering is a nice little feature.
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There are little rubber lugs that fit over the plastic line to keep it from rubbing on motor or any part of the bike ,,mine doesnt touch the bike anywhere but where its supposed to ,,like foxy said watching that black gold flow through the lines gives you a little peace of mind..
 
I put a brand new plastic one on and it only lasted 4 or 5 years before it split. Luckily it was on the driveway while I was warming it up. No more plastic for me. Braided stainless.
 
FWIW: I still have the origonal nylon one to which I fitted a tee piece for an oil gauge. I cut the part that crosses the head in the middle and fitted a simple 6mm pneumatic push-in tee, and ran a 6mm nylon line from there to the gauge. Never leaked. Not even after pulling the line out of the tee and refitting. That was in the eighties.
 
swooshdave said:
xbacksideslider said:
Fuel injection hose is tough stuff, built to take 100+ psi and the heat above an automotive intake or even exhaust manifold . . . . sitting in the breeze above a Norton head, running what? 30 - 80 psi max? piece of cake.

Braided stainless will abraid anything it touches, especially wiring, cover it with shrink wrap or something else before assembly.
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Heat from the outside is not the same as 300˚ oil inside. Fuel does not get hot so the rubber may not be rated for oil temps.
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Point taken, Dave.
 
xbacksideslider said:
swooshdave said:
xbacksideslider said:
Fuel injection hose is tough stuff, built to take 100+ psi and the heat above an automotive intake or even exhaust manifold . . . . sitting in the breeze above a Norton head, running what? 30 - 80 psi max? piece of cake.

Braided stainless will abraid anything it touches, especially wiring, cover it with shrink wrap or something else before assembly.
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Heat from the outside is not the same as 300˚ oil inside. Fuel does not get hot so the rubber may not be rated for oil temps.
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Point taken, Dave.
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OK, I give, the temp rating on the fuel injection hose is around 230 degrees, it is Nitrile (Buna-N, NBR). So your 300 degree oil is NOT compatible. I would urge you to take a good ride and then measure the temp of the oil in your tank. If it is truly 300 degrees then I would urge you to read up on the oil cooler threads. I just came back from a ride and stuck my digital meat thermometer into my tank. Both the oil in the tank and the oil returning to it were at just below 140 degrees. This sounds a litle more normal to me for an operating temp, but then I am hardly the expert here.

Russ
 
The oil in the head feed is not much more than the temp it left the oil tank at, so likely not even up boiling water hot. Outside surface of head can get over 350'F pretty easy on hwy. Batches of the tube material must vary for some to last forever like mine or come apart way too soon. Very glad to hear the tee in the cross over for guage worked so easy and long tested.
 
Torontonian said:
Russ you best clean up that DMT of oil real good before the wife notices.
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That thermometer lives with the BBQ mostly for testing steaks or ribs...a few extra carcinogens are hardly worth noticing!
 
I stuck ours in the oil tank today after a ride. Came up to 167F = 75C. No one saw me, so it didn't happen. That's acceptable, but I don't know what it is in the engine.

Dave
69S
 
Now an old string, but for what its worth, my 1970 S must have been like dogT's ---originally had a solid steel line. ( I think I still have it somewhere.) It leaked frequently at the solder joints, first at about 7k miles. I was a teenager back then and first tried regular solder -- which lasted about 50 miles. Good silver solder would last a few thousand until i got tired of the fuss. I replaced it with nylon in 1974 which worked fine for 10 years before mothballing. Now plan to replace with braided SS.

Ted
 
I had an original nylon line break a couple of years ago , just below a banjo. I only noticed because I had converted the charge light indicator to oil pressure and the red light came on . Stopped the bike immediately and looked down to see oil all over the bike and my leg. I rode it back home (only a few hundred yards) and replaced it with braided hose. I was 3 mins from getting on the motorway and might not have noticed the red light then, so a lucky escape . Braided for me, no contest.
sam
 
I was leaning towards gettng the SS lined from Fred & Ella over at Oldbritts, but now sort of like the idea of using clear line. I remember using some tygon tubing / hose years ago for fuel line, must be in this day and age there is an improved nylon or silicone one that would work. SS does have the bling factor working for it though, perhaps a combination of the SS and a bit of clear spliced in......Hmmmm????? Cj
 
cjandme said:
I was leaning towards gettng the SS lined from Fred & Ella over at Oldbritts, but now sort of like the idea of using clear line. I remember using some tygon tubing / hose years ago for fuel line, must be in this day and age there is an improved nylon or silicone one that would work. SS does have the bling factor working for it though, perhaps a combination of the SS and a bit of clear spliced in......Hmmmm????? Cj
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FWIW, the weaknesses of the nylon line and the like are the ends at where the attach to the banjos. Once they get hot a few time they start to get hard and the bumping or flexing will cause a crack usually at the barb, rarely visible and often thought of as a head leak. Only when they get really bad do you feel your pant leg on fire from the hot oil. I then cut it off at the split, shove it back on and cripple my way home.

I have never had to do that again with the blingy stuff.
 
I've never had a problem with the Nylon 11 stuff. But then I don't ride like the devil's heatwave. You could replace it every year for probably 100 years to come up to the SS price. If you like the SS and can afford it, go for it, it certainly won't hurt. I just like the look of the black line.

Dave
69S
 
I've used nylon 'truck brake line' for many years. The clear line will show the oil moving up to the head on start-up and draining back into the timing cover on shut-down.

From a tip learned here: use a tubing flaring tool clamp to firmly hold the tubing then hammer the fitting in. Solid seal.

Oil Feed to Head: Nylon or Steel?
 
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