Oil Return Line- Hot Air/IC Conversion

[turbojustin]

For those of you who have converted your car to the 87 setup...where exactly did you run the turbo oil return line? I have heard of it being ran to the oil pan. But, exactly how did you do this? And, where did you tap into the pan? What fittings are used on the pan, etc?

My engine was a factory reman deal. The "factory" decided to tap the 85 block on the driver's side of the engine as opposed to the passenger's side like a 109 block should be. I have been running the oil return to this tapped hole with some creative rigging. Now, I'm trying to clean up the engine a little so I plan to move the return line to the pan.

 

[49-blues]

You can drill and tap a hole for 1/2" npt in the front of the lifter valley-put some kind of grease on the drill bit to catch any drill filings and the stock 87 adapter will bolt right up or use the newer braided oil return line that johns performance sells.

 

[turbojustin]

You can drill and tap a hole for 1/2" npt in the front of the lifter valley-put some kind of grease on the drill bit to catch any drill filings and the stock 87 adapter will bolt right up or use the newer braided oil return line that johns performance sells.

Thanks for the reply, but I don't think grease is going to catch all of the filings. If I pull the intake off I will give it a try though.

 

[49-blues]

Heavy grease will catch most of it ,you could also use a flexible magnet. if you dont want to take the intake off.

 

[Squid4life]

I suggest the return to the pan. That is what I did, anyway. Crawl under there, mark the pan where you can get a straight, or 90 degree bend in there and clear the frame/cradle. I used a steel 1/2" NPT pipe joint, (cut in half) as the "bung" on the pan. I drilled a hole in the pan, welded it from both sides. Now I used a 90 degree 1/2" NPT to AN -10 fitting, ran AN -10 from turbo to pan. Let me know if you need pics an dI will try to dig some out. Well, hell, here is one of the entire setup, with homemade turbo saver...

 

[Jerryl]

........ Well, hell, here is one of the entire setup, with homemade turbo saver...

Looks like a nice and clean conversion!
Sorry to pirate.

 

[49-blues]

Nice! so its either take off the intake or take off the oil pan.

 

[turbojustin]

What kind of connection holds the line at the turbo? Any pics of the line going into the pan?

 

[Squid4life]

Jerryl, thank for the comment. It has been slow progress, but a few more hours left of work and it'll be ready to fire.

49- Yep, one or the other. Mine was apart so I chose the pan. Wanted to put it in the pan instead of having the hot oil dump onto the cam/bearings. Although I have heard it go both ways and may not matter, pan or drill and tap a return.

Justin- the return at the turbo is a flange I bought off of Ebay. Very nice piece too! I found a lot of flanges that were female, so you had to use an adapter before you could hook up the return line. This way just looked cleaner, cutting dow on fittings. And if you have priced AN fittings... they are not cheap! Here is a link to the seller I bought the flange from:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Func...ryZ33742QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here are a few pics. First one is the welded bung on the pan, with the AN 90 degree 1/2"NPT to AN -10. Then the flange and fitting on the turbo. If you need any other pics, or have any other questions, just let me know!

 

[turbojustin]

That is a nice flange for the oil return. I wish I would have seen it yesterday. Yeserday, I took a trip down to Jegs and they actually had what I needed in stock! I got the flange you were speaking of...It is a Turbonetics unit with a female end ($17). I got all the adapters and 10AN hose for about $60-$70 dollars. It's a bit pricey, but it will definately clean up the engine bay. For the pan, I got a 10AN adapter that is intended for fuel cell use. It goes on with a nut and plastic washers...no welding. I then got a 90 bend for that end of the hose. I'll let you know how everything goes.

 

[Squid4life]

Sounds awesome! Wish I had Jegs close by! I intended to use the same bulkhead fitting, but was told they might loosesn up and seep/leak. Just keep an eye on it and you should be fine. A word of caution, get under the car with everything still there and figure out where you are going to put the hole in the pan, make sure it clears the cradle, etc. I had to do mine twice.

Take care, and keep us posted. Pics would be cool too, for anyone who follows in your footsteps, they'd just be a search away!

Squid