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Transmission oil change solution?

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  bwindrope 
#1 ·
So I'm going to open myself up to ridicule and fun here, and say that I have been working on a way to install an oil drain hose on my transmission the same way I love one on my diesel. You know, so you can hook up your vacuum to the hose and get it all out and not bother with inserting the hose and hoping you are sucking off the bottom of the unit? Cutting to the punch line, you can't buy anything pre-made (at least for a Twin Disc, that I could find) and so I made my own. It is a bit rube goldberg, but the darn thing is solid, and should work great.

Here is the story and some pictures of the little bugger: Stories of Aeolus- Our Gulf 32 Pilothouse: Transmission oil change solution found?

Feel free to mock or disparage, or heaven forbid, copy!
 
#3 ·
No, like I say in my blog the final test will be when I install the new tranny later this spring and see how it fits. If it fits in the bilge, I am sure it will work great because it is a simple system. The bolt head is very securely held in place inside the brass fitting. Even dry fit, I couldn't rotate it inside, and once JB welded in place, I couldn't begin to get it to budge and I really put some force on it with my hands.

So it if fits in the bilge I'll pop a hose on it with a bolt or something in the top of it to seal it off until needed and I'll be changing my tranny fluid in style from here on out!
 
#6 · (Edited)
So if you are concerned about clearances in the bilge, what is going to happen when you clamp a hose onto that barb? you can't make a 90 deg bend or the hose will kink. If you use a thicker walled hose to prevent kinking you will have to make an even wider radius turn. Do you have the clearance to do that? is the hose going to be safe from chaffing? The hole you plan to drain through is pretty small, so it isn't going to drain in a hurry, and it might be prone to plugging.

If you have the clearance for all that length then you certainly have an ok solution, if not the most elegant.

If it were me I would have either tracked down a brass elbow with the correct thread, or failing that, had an oversized fitting machined down and re-threaded to fit.

perhaps something like this? It is available with an m10x1 thread. linky


I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything, I am just putting my thoughts out there!

Please feel free to disregard if all you were doing was looking for a pat on the back!:D
 
#7 ·
I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything, I am just putting my thoughts out there!

Please feel free to disregard if all you were doing was looking for a pat on the back!:D
I think a pat on the back, an a suggestion for and improvement or how to apply it to another boat are compatible together. ;) Nice addition to the original good idea, though instead of the compression to thread fitting, I think an NPT thread to 90deg hose barb would be easier to glue on and you'd already have the barb in place. Same idea, slightly different part.



MedSailor
 
#8 ·
Shoot, if I could have found a 90 elbow with M10 1.0 pitch I would have done that to begin with! I do believe I will have the space for the hose to turn at a reasonable angle, and I believe the hole in the bolt is large enough that no particles should clog it under the suction applied. IF there were metal shavings that large in the tranny, I would have bigger problems!

So MedSailor, do you have a link for a verified M10 hose barb with a 1.0 pitch? I've looked, at McMaster and the usual spots, and found nothing.

And for pete's sake, the greatest utility of sailnet is just the sort of hive-mind improvement to projects that we all need, so bring it on for all of us! If someone doesn't want that, they should stay away from posting ideas on a public forum, now shouldn't they?
 
#11 ·
So MedSailor, do you have a link for a verified M10 hose barb with a 1.0 pitch? I've looked, at McMaster and the usual spots, and found nothing.
Nope, and when you say you looked for one and couldn't find one, I believed you. I get the impression you researched this. Also when ShockT said:

"If it were me I would have either tracked down a brass elbow with the correct thread, or failing that, had an oversized fitting machined down and re-threaded to fit."

I thought, "nope, paying a machine shop to custom make a fitting doesn't fit with either my DIY frame of mind or my "cheapskate" ideals.

All I was saying with my post was that I liked ShockT's recommendation of using a 90deg fitting for boats with tighter access and I recommended using a fitting EXACTLY like the one you used but with the 90deg elbow in it (with the JB weld) for those who have a tight spot. Basically I liked SchockT's variation on your idea, but the picture of the fitting he posted looked like it would be harder to glue one. That's all.

Nice job, and definitely a candidate for the "low buck project" thread.

MedSailor
 
#9 ·
You could use a barb, but if I was doing it I would go either compression or flare so that I could use copper or steel pipe stubbed out to the point where I want to access it, Then I could put a compression ball valve on the end.

Of course it is hard to say exactly the best way to do it without seeing the tranny in place.
 
#10 ·
I don't have any experience with compression fittings, though I understand they are simple. So what you are saying is to put a copper pipe riser up to access. This would be tricky because it is not a straight rise from the drain up. Any pipe would need to execute a few bends... but that is surmountable I suppose. I think I prefer the flexibility of quality hose so I don't have a lever arm on the brass fitting.

What is this ball valve you are talking about and how would you attach your hose from your vacuum?

Interesting stuff...
 
#12 ·
No worry Med, that does seem like the best path forward. IF I lack space for the current build, then I would look for a 90 degree barb instead. As for cheap projects, the bolt was $.40 and the hose barb $2.49. I've got the hose already.

I'll resurrect this post, because it will probably now die a natural death, after I do the install and can report on whether I had any troubles. Thanks for the ideas and conversations fellow sailors!
 
#13 ·
An update and conclusion:

Turns out after making my own device as some of you had seen on my blog, that I was able to find an actual brass hose barb with the proper threads. Walbro fuel pumps use an M10 hose barb with a 1.0 pitch, and I found it at a performance auto parts store. The part number is Walbro# 128-3014. If you google this part number, you will pull up places to get it.

I've updated my blog with pictures of it installed, and you can see this at the same place as the previous link: Stories of Aeolus- Our Gulf 32 Pilothouse: Transmission oil change solution found-Updated

It was fun to make my own device, but this is a much shorter and more elegant solution. Anyone with a Twin Disc MG 360 can now install this barb to enable vacuuming the oil from their tranny bottom. Problem solved.
 
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