Leaking Elephant Racing Oil Line

[myflat6]

My ‘72 hotrod has had an oil leak for some time now. Admittedly I put off the repair longer than I would liked but have not had my car in a stable garage for almost 3 years (moving). Anyway, I finally got around to repairing the leak - which is good because it had gotten progressively worse over time and was becoming quite messy. I thought I knew where the leak was coming from but I was not even close. After cleaning up the areas and examine with an endoscope (could get into tight areas and behind things), I finally traced it to a failed solder joint on one of my Elephant Racing finned oil lines. I posted this on my Instagram account and was very surprised by the messages I received from folks sharing the same experience - and one in particular came from a very well respected shop. I’m not sharing this to bash Elephant in any way - I really like their products (in addition to oil lines, I used their suspension bushings), but to share my experience in case it could help someone else with an inconspicuous leak. The other thing that I am a bit concerned about was the alignment of my oil lines. The short rubber line it is connected to does not come straight down to the finned line - is bends to align. I am wondering if the finned line is too short and this is causing pressure on that joint - not sure how much misalignment is expected? The photo is not great, but it is hard to get my camera in there for a straight shot. The finned line is all of the way pressed against the front fender so there is no room to push that line further back.

I am in contact with Elephant and can share anything I learn from them.

[AlexHershey]

Those short hoses can definitely put a lot of pressure on the hard lines. When it is all sorted with Elephant, you might want to look into adding some thick rubber washers under the mounting clamps for the hard lines to help dampen any major vibration and movement. I also buy a sheet of rubber from amazon that I cut and line the inside of the clamps with so it has some additional wiggle room while still holding the lines well.

[StephenAcworth]

Great advice!

Those short hoses can definitely put a lot of pressure on the hard lines. When it is all sorted with Elephant, you might want to look into adding some thick rubber washers under the mounting clamps for the hard lines to help dampen any major vibration and movement. I also buy a sheet of rubber from amazon that I cut and line the inside of the clamps with so it has some additional wiggle room while still holding the lines well.

[myflat6]

Those short hoses can definitely put a lot of pressure on the hard lines. When it is all sorted with Elephant, you might want to look into adding some thick rubber washers under the mounting clamps for the hard lines to help dampen any major vibration and movement. I also buy a sheet of rubber from amazon that I cut and line the inside of the clamps with so it has some additional wiggle room while still holding the lines well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The Elephant kit comes with thick rubber sleeves that go around the lines and under the mounting brackets. You can actually see this when zooming into my photo.

[myflat6]

Not much back from Elephant. I decided to drain the oil, remove the lines and attempt a repair myself. I am nearly certain this line leaked from when I installed it, and it got progressively worse over time. I have now heard this is very common with these lines. It is my fault for not addressing the leak for so long, but I have been busy in my personal life since finishing this build - I didn’t have a stable garage for the past 2.5 years. Now settled in a new home I felt comfortable dealing with the leaks. I never thought the leak was from the line, though.

I removed the fitting with my torch and cleaned the line and fitting liberally. I sweat fitted/soldered the fitting back onto the line. While the line was removed, I had the mounting brackets sandblasted and powder coated. When I reinstalled the line, I used rubber washers under the mounting bolts to try to dampen vibrations a bit more (above post got me thinking). The brackets came with thick rubber sleeves for under the brackets.

I performed an oil change and so far no leaks.

[rgupta250]

Nice job, Bill! Where exactly did you place the rubber washers in the mounting bolts? On the outside of the mounting bracket?

[myflat6]

Nice job, Bill! Where exactly did you place the rubber washers in the mounting bolts? On the outside of the mounting bracket?

Hey Ravi, yes outside of the bracket under the bolt head. Figured it wouldn’t hurt.