When I first installed my turbo I made a grave error. Instead of installing a -AN fitting on the oil pan I used a 5/8" barb fitting. My problem now is finding the right 5/8" hose for this use. Obviously EPDM heater hose is a poor choice. I've tried silicone but it wept oil and almost tore threw at the hose clamps just from normal movement and vibration. The clamps weren't too tight. I'm currently using nitrile rubber hose with a heavy blue outer sleeve and nylon reinforcement. This works okay but after a year both hose clamps were loose from the hose hardening and shrinking.

I know that there is a type of silicone hose that is oil resistant but are there better clamps for it than typical ss hose clamps? What other hoses are available that can handle oil, high temp and barb fittings? I'm trying to avoid converting to AN fittings because I'd have to drop my oil pan again. I know the right hose is out there, the problem is finding it. TIA.

 

We highly recommend using braided lines with welded-on AN bung on the oil pan. But to answer your question, you can use a textile braided hydraulic hose such as the aeroquip aqp socketless hoses. They should be used with push-on style AN fittings but you can use it with a barb fitting is you get the correct hose size and use a crimp-style clamp to secure it.

MrC

 

^^ Thanks! What do you think about fixed bolt clamps instead of crimp style?

 

we've never tried those clamps on such a small diameter hose. you can proably get away with just using a worm clamp. Why not just drop the pan and weld on an AN bung and redo the whole oil return line setup. This way you don't have to worry about loosing oil and starving your motor. Spend a little now and save the headache down the road.

MrC

 

Eventually I may convert to -AN fittings but without a garage, lift or welder the job is a PITA. The fittings I'm using have a raised bead on them so the hose can't come off when clamped. In 2 years I've only lost a few tablespoons of oil from the return line but I want to avoid the mess.

For now I think I'll go with textile braided hose with a AN fitting on the turbo and 2 clamps on the oil pan fitting. Sometime in the future I'll convert the pan to AN. Thanks again.

 

You will always have a problem with it unless you do it the right way.

 

Yeah, now I understand why OEMs use spring clamps instead of fixed tension worm clamps. Pretty soon we'll probably be using polymeric band clamps instead of metal clamps.

Edit: I just found out that polymeric band clamps aren't that new. Gates has been making them for years and they're widely used on heavy trucks. Since -10AN hose is .560 ID and my fittings are for 5/8" (.625") ID hose I'm going to stick with 300F push-lock hose and use Gates Power Grip heat-shrink clamps to seal the connections and a thermal sleeve to protect the hose from radiant heat off the down-pipe. I'll probably use them on my non-oem radiator hose as well since worm clamps can barely seal the silicone hose. I'll post how it works out.

 

I ended up going with SS constant tension worm clamps instead of the heat shrink clamps. Although I fully believe that polymeric band clamps are the ultimate, I didn't like the fact that they are single use, require a heat gun (that I don't currently own) and must be cut off. The clamps I went with cost about the same but can be re-used over and over and are available locally from NAPA. They're basically just a high quality, fully lined worm clamp with belleville spring washers incorporated to provide the spring effect to provide for constant tension.

I installed a new 350F rated Parker 5/8" ID turbo drain hose today using these clamps. I also installed a heat sleeve since my DP runs pretty close to the hose. I also replaced the crappy worm clamps on my silicone radiator hose with these clamps since the normal SS worm clamps never provided a leak-free seal and cut into the soft silicone hose. No leaks now.

Unfortunately like any worm type hose clamps these do not provide fully uniform tension like the polymeric bands do and do not conform as well to out of round fittings but they're a lot better than standard worm clamps. AN fittings are definitely best but when you can't use them, I'd say that polymeric bands are the next best followed by wide band spring steel clamps (oem) and constant tension work clamps. Standard worm gear hose clamps suck.