25 replies to this topic

[breskit]

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Please give your topic a title that quickly describes your problem. Just putting 'Help my Mini doesn't work' is useless to anyone trying to help.
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998cc
Year:1979
Oil pressure hose appears to be getting repeatedly pierced

Hi folks,

Below is a picture of my engine bay and where the bright red dot is, I appear to be getting a small pin prick of a hole appearing at this place. This happened once before so I replaced the hose. It now appears to have happened again, and is pretty much in exactly the same location.

There doesn't appear to be anything fouling the hose and so I'm wondering if I have the correct hose (to withstand the pressure) or I have a gremlin that keeps sabotaging the car!! I am truly lost as to why this would happen.

Last time I noticed this I was running the engine for a while and where the oil spits out, onto the hot exhaust, I had a small fire in the engine bay which fortunately I was able to extinguish. Obviously I don't want this reoccuring as I get the car onto the road.

Any ideas?

Here's the pic. Thanks.
Tony B

[sonikk4]

Providing there is nothing fouling at all then i would suggest checking the specification of the hose as it may not be oil tolerant.

Also try using a Ty wrap or a P clip to secure the pipe to the brake line or to somewhere else that is convenient.

[Wuldo]

if its happening when the engine is running but only after a while id say its vibrating against something causing it to wear of subsequently burst make sure the pipe is secure give a wiggle about and check that when oil is pressuring inside the pipe it will not be able to move as much as for it to virate against anything

i remember watching something on the TV about a fuel pipe fibrating against the fusilage of a plain and bringing the 727 down after the pipe burst and leaked all the fuel out you would think that a pipe vibrating against something would do that but just shows you vibrations are very abrasive

[Gulfclubby]

~~~~~Please delete this text before posting the topic~~~~~~
Please give your topic a title that quickly describes your problem. Just putting 'Help my Mini doesn't work' is useless to anyone trying to help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

998cc
Year:1979
Oil pressure hose appears to be getting repeatedly pierced

Hi folks,

Below is a picture of my engine bay and where the bright red dot is, I appear to be getting a small pin prick of a hole appearing at this place. This happened once before so I replaced the hose. It now appears to have happened again, and is pretty much in exactly the same location.

There doesn't appear to be anything fouling the hose and so I'm wondering if I have the correct hose (to withstand the pressure) or I have a gremlin that keeps sabotaging the car!! I am truly lost as to why this would happen.

Last time I noticed this I was running the engine for a while and where the oil spits out, onto the hot exhaust, I had a small fire in the engine bay which fortunately I was able to extinguish. Obviously I don't want this reoccuring as I get the car onto the road.

Any ideas?

Here's the pic. Thanks.
Tony B

Oil pressure hose? Maybe I'm dumb, but isn't that a brake line? What kind of oil pressure would that be for anyways? A gauge?

[breskit]

I was referring to the black hose, not the copper brake lines!

And yes, it's for the oil pressure gauge.

[Gulfclubby]

I was referring to the black hose, not the copper brake lines!

And yes, it's for the oil pressure gauge.

Aha! Then I'd suspect the rubber does not like the heat from the exhaust manifold, becomes brittle and eventually porous. Route the house through somewhere else or get one that is specifically made for the job. Mine is just a rugged semi transparent plastic hose that came with the gauge, others have steel braided hoses installed, I guess it doesn't really matter as long as you don't pass them next to the hottest spot in the car:)

[Dan]

The photo makes it look like a section has indeed become damaged by the heat, there is a very shiny hard looking section adjacent to the manifold. Either that or the entire hose is solid and shiny whereas oil rated hose is generally quite matte and soft. I'd suggest it's a porosity problem too, from one of these causes. Try heat wrapping it.

[nicksuth]

Replace it with the steel braided version (C-AHT9) and route away from manifold.

Got a bran new one in the garage that I can do you for £15 delivered

[Ethel]

I'd go with porous too. A stream of hot oil at 50+ psi through even the tiniest of holes makes a much bigger mess than you seem to have there.

[breskit]

Replace it with the steel braided version (C-AHT9) and route away from manifold.

Got a bran new one in the garage that I can do you for £15 delivered

Nick,

I've looked at the picture for that hose and have a question. How does that fit onto the small thin (3mm?) pipes that run between the engine block and the bulkhead? This pipe appears to have some sort of screw-type end connectors, whereas what I'm using is a push fit, secured with jubilee clips.

Can you advise how this fits?

thanks,
Tony B

[Big_Adam]

I'd chop part of the solid line then replace it with longer higher pressure hose AWAY from the exhaust etc. Up the side of the wing. Sure be a long ol' bit of pipe but it would be out of the way.

The steel braided hose screws into the back of the gauge and onto a fitting (most people have an adaptor by the oil pressure sensor), but I just go for pipe, simpler and cheaper. Fuel pipe should do it. Fairly sure mine goes up to a silly PSI, you'd have to check local supplies.

[Ethel]

The braided hose replaces everything and screws directly on to the engine & gauge.

[breskit]

Thanks folks. I've fitted a length of fuel pipe and it seems to be holding out for now.

Out of interest, what sort of readings should I be getting from the oil pressure gauge? Mine is reading around 75 mark. Is that high/low/normal?

Thanks,
Tony B

[ibrooks]

Just as an aside. The bracket appears to be missing on the bottom of the engine steady (seems to be ever-so-neatly cut off at the bulkhead) leaving it only connected to the plate that the master cylinders bolt through. Not good for keeping the engine still. This also means that the clutch pipe appears to be floating in fresh air - again not good as the copper section of the pipe will be flexing and that makes it work harden and fracture. That bulkhead fitting where the copper meets the rubber should be fixed to the missing bracket.

Here's where it might get relevant - there should also be an earth strap attached to the bolts at either end of that steady. If it's not there or the connections get corroded you get a very high current looking for a path to earth and it tends to take any path it can find whether it's up to handling it or not. Quite a common one is to see the choke cable start to glow. Is there a metal or otherwise conductive element to that pipe that might be taking some or all of the current and melting under the heat? Do you have an earth strap somewhere else to do the job of the missing one?

Iain

[breskit]

Iain,

Could you post me a pic of what this should look like? I inherited this mini from a friend and she wouldn't know the first thing about engines. The car had been stood for some 7 years or so until I got my grubby mits on it.

I got it "as is" and am not certain if there are bits missing or not.

Does this missing braket simply give support for the clutch pipe? I'm sure I could fabricate one for it to sit in. As for the earth strap, I'm not certain where you are referring to. Could you please elaborate? (again, a pic would help!)

Thanks,
Tony B