Turbo oil drain without removing engine or pan.

General information about the first-generation Nissan Maxima in the US. What was the Datsun 810 became the luxury leader Maxima in the US in 1981.

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HowlerMonkey
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Joined: 18 years ago
Location: West Palm Beach Florida

Turbo oil drain without removing engine or pan.

#1

Post by HowlerMonkey »

Here's how you solve the oil return problem without taking out the oil pan or removing the engine.

I've used this many times over the years on 280zx and when fitting turbos to a few rear drive maximas that have front sump.

So.......19 years later, I finally do a quick write up with pics.

It doesn't work on all engine configurations but I will see if I can do it on my M30 soon enough.

You start with an oil pickup tube.........or two.

Image

Then you use a grinder to take off the lip which will allow you to remove the screen and have a sweet surface in which to mate to the side of the oil pan.

Image

Notice the fact that the tube will protrude into the pan which keeps as much oil as possible away from where it meets the pan.

Image


Now you use the smallest drill you can find and fit a cut off bit for the starter hole that will allow a unibit (stepped drill bit) to gain bite and then drill to the proper diameter. Unibits have come a long way and their being short is a big plus in this case as I was able to use a pretty sizeable drill and still be able to do this on the car.

Use a rotary gasket grinder to smooth out the pan where you will be placing the flat side of your new flange as high as possible in the pan so thit it is not submerged when the pan is full and cut a relief if necessary but you want as much real estate in which your sealant will lie. Some obsessive compulsive types could fit a large diameter O' ring since it looks like you could fit one easily. I did not use one this time.

Test fit it to the pan and drill however many holes you want to hold it to the pan and then use the fact that you now have two holes in your pan to remove any metal particles by spraying brake cleaner with the wand to get them out of the pan. Maybe some worriers could use a magnet to confirm everything is good before finishing the install.

Then use some self tappers in stainless steel to tighten your flange to the pan with sealant.

I used the rest of the tubing from this one to weld onto the end of the stock turbo drain tube so it would allow me to use the stock nissan oil return hose (silver).

And here is the finished turbo drain tube and all parts used were genuine nissan save for the self tapping screws.

Image

Still going 30k miles and 1.5 years later with no leakage.

Notice that there are no sharp 90 degree corners like the stock offerings which allow coked oil baked from heat soak in the beariing housing to accumulate and eventually clog it.............all smooth curves.

Feel free to post it anywhere but it's name is "HowlerMonkey flange".

Here's a song I wrote about it and performed it with only one finger in true talentless nu-metal fashion to warn any who claim this fabrication as their own.

http://princemakaha.homestead.com/files ... onkeys.wav
Last edited by HowlerMonkey 16 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
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asavage
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#2

Post by asavage »

Great idea, and I appreciate the visuals too. Thanks for sharing.
Now you use the smallest drill you can find and fit a cut off bit for the starter hole that will allow a unibit (stepped drill bit) to gain bite and then drill to the proper diameter.
I'm not gettting this part -- could you expand on this? I guess I can't get "cut-off bit" to work in my head.
Last edited by asavage 16 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
HowlerMonkey
Posts: 130
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: West Palm Beach Florida

#3

Post by HowlerMonkey »

Because the engine is still in the car, there will be a frame rail in the way if you use a long bit.

I just cut one off to make the pilot hole and used the unibit at a slight angle until it bore deep enough for the drill to be straight or near straight.

The pics are of a first generation gasser.
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asavage
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#4

Post by asavage »

HowlerMonkey wrote:The pics are of a first generation gasser.
Looks like a Mustang to me ;)
Last edited by asavage 16 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
HowlerMonkey
Posts: 130
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: West Palm Beach Florida

#5

Post by HowlerMonkey »

feel free to remove it if considered offensive.
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asavage
Site Admin
Posts: 5431
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Oak Harbor, Wash.
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#6

Post by asavage »

HowlerMonkey wrote:feel free to remove it if considered offensive.
The signal-to-noise ratio is so low that I don't even register content: it's only noise. So it's not offensive to me -- it just has no sense :cry:

Anyway, good tip on adding a turbo drain.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
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