Oil coiler banjo bolt question

[GVR-4]

I want to use the banjo bolt to drain the oil cooler when I change my oil. I am going to drill & tap one of the banjo bolts for a plug or see if there is a M10(?)-1.25 banjo bolt like the one for the fuel filter pressure gage (with a hole already in it). Here's a pic to make it easier to understand:



Has anyone seen a banjo bolt on the market like this? I can make it myself, but I suspect these bolts are case hardened.

 

[JNR]

Maybe you can put a petcock-type drain there (like a radiator)...The banjo bolt threads should be pretty typical, where you could use a bushing (if needed) to match the thread of the valve (drain).

Edit, yeah maybe there is enough meat to thread a small 1/8 NPT or something for the valve...Lot of options, anyhow. Just be sure to do something really good in the sense of don't want to have this big old leak when you're driving!

 

[turbowop]

I'm not sure why you wanna drain the oil cooler? There isn't much oil in there. When you drain the oil from the pan, the oil in the pump and throughout the engine stays in as well, so any new oil put in just mixes with the old oil that's left. You wouldn't really be gaining anything, unless you have some other reason. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

This reminds me of people that let their cars drain the oil over night in hopes to get every last drop of old oil out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif Not that you do that... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[GVR-4]

There's also the oil in the pan that doesn't drain out of the plug hole, & more than you think. I recognize getting all the old oil out is impossible or difficult at the least, but since I'm having to make new lines, I thought I would go the extra step & make it possible to drain the cooler too.

Maybe I'll buy me one o' them oil suckers you stick down in the dipstick tube to suck the oil out that way! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SleepinGVR4]

Quoting GVR-4:
Maybe I'll buy me one o' them oil suckers you stick down in the dipstick tube to suck the oil out that way!



Yeah OK Walmart. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

But in all seriousness, I was thinking the same thing you are. But I figured if the cooler was higher than the OFH is would drain back in the pan? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[GVR-4]

In my case the bottom of the cooler is lower than the OFH. But as far as I can remember, the line going to the cooler comes from the pump, then the filter. And the line going from the cooler supplies the engine with oil. So I don't think it can drain back into the pan.

 

[14u2nV]

Just run the engine a min or two after as much has drained out of the pan plug. The oil pump/pressure will push the rest out of the cooler. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[turbowop]

I wouldn't condone running the car without oil in the pan. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/uhh.gif Any benefit of getting all the old oil out do not outweigh the chance of srsly screwing something else up by doing that. Cars go hundreds of thousands of miles on regular oil changes that leave some old oil in the motor. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[14u2nV]

it won't hurt it. Still I agree, it's pretty much a waste of time. If you want to do it though, go for it. It is afterall your car. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[1990ggsxnj]

You regularly run your engine for a minute or two with oil drained out of the pan??

 

[toybreaker]

Quoting 14u2nV:
Just run the engine a min or two after as much has drained out of the pan plug. The oil pump/pressure will push the rest out of the cooler. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif





DO NOT EVEN THINK OF DOING THIS !!!!

... for reasons that should be obvious ...

 

[curtis]

Quoting 14u2nV:
it won't hurt it.



What have you been drinking and painting transmissions in the garage with Driggys this weekend.

People do not do this. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

 

[turboflanagan]

Quoting 14u2nV:
Just run the engine a min or two after as much has drained out of the pan plug. The oil pump/pressure will push the rest out of the cooler. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif



Wow. I thought this was a joke until I saw your reply saying that it would not hurt it.

Not that this is a good idea either, but you could just pour in some Cascade (liquid type mind you) and fill the bitch up with the garden hose and run it through a heat cycle and really get everything in the engine clean and sparklie.

Only professionals should try this and even so, not at home!

Ok, I'm done being sarcastic.

But really, running an engine with no oil is just stupid. Plain and simple. Yeah, it might have enough oil in it to not lock up, and with modern oils, that would probably be the case. But really, why would you EVER do that?!

If I saw zero oil pressure, there would be no way I could get the engine shut down quick enough! It is counting on oil pressure to live. It is like Russian Roulette. It might go click or it might go bang, who is going to clean up the mess though?

 

[14u2nV]

It was a joke. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Guess I should have put a after it so some of you wouldn't have coronaries. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif

 

[89Mirageman]

Back on topic, you would need a tiny plug in order to tap a banjo bolt. If you remove the bolt you will see that the hole in the middle of the threads is tiny, probably 3/16" or less. You would have to drill directly in the center of the bolt head. If you were to use say a 1/2" drill bit in order to tap the bolt head with some sort of NPT plug the head would come off of the threaded part of the bolt once you drilled through. I hope that makes sense. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I agree with some of the others. Just drive the car and get it good and hot before you drain the oil. No need to drain the cooler. If its that big of a deal I would upgrade the cooler and have a drain plug port tigged on or just see if anybody makes one with a drain already.

 

[grocery_getter]

Instead of drilling and tapping the banjo bolt, I would drill it through from the threaded side so the hole line up with the existing hole and weld a fitting with threaded cap on top of the banjo bolt. Drilling it through on the lathe from the head side of the bolt is also a good idea except the passage in the banjo bolt is not exactly dead center on the bolt itself.

The reason to weld a fitting on it instead of drilling it big enough to where you can tap the hole is to retain wall strength on the banjo bolt itself. If you ever see an over-torqued banjo bolt you'd understand, the banjo bolt itself is already very weak shear-wise from the hollow center and the 2 holes on the wall.

I would drill it on the vise, from the threaded side. Then chamfer the hole on the bolt head with a chamfer bit (you can do all this with a hand held drill), then I would take a -6AN steel nipple fitting (you can run the -6AN fitting on the lathe to round out the hex on it), tig weld that to the banjo head with a drill bit placed in the center for tacking to get it center to center as close as possible. Then just seal it with a -6AN aluminum cap. Through repeated draining, the aluminum cap would wear its sealing surface at which it is easily replaced with another aluminum cap while the -6AN steel nipple sealing surface would stay perfect for a long time. The whole thing would be smaller in diameter than the hex size on the banjo bolt and still be short enough so you can still use your favorite 1/2" deep socket to torque the banjo bolt in place (with the aluminum seal cap in place to protect the AN fitting surface off course).

Off course this is only if you care enough to drain the oil in the cooler. I am not suggesting that one way or another is the right way. It is your car, it is all about what you want to do.

I have to add: Anybody with a drill, a drill bit set, a chamfer bit and a tig welder can do this. I can fab this but so can a lot of other people.

 

[turbowop]

Quoting 14u2nV:
It was a joke. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif




Suuuuure. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif

 

[GVR-4]

Thanks to everyone who posted. I appreciate all the input & suggestions. I'll probably drill the banjo bolt from the threaded side and find a suitable valve/petcock and weld it in place to preserve the integrity of the banjo bolt. I'll post pics of what I end up with.

Below are some pics of what I have done so far to shorten the oil cooler lines.