Oil Drainback Kit Install - TE 310R

You are going to replace that fitting with the smaller red anodized one in the kit. The hose is connected to the frame as the top tube works as a catch tank. Any oil there coming from the valve cover vent hose makes it's way back down that tube, so the tube gets cut and routed to the filler plug. It just simplifies things under the engine. That hose was always a PIA to have to remove and replace (just getting a screwdriver on the damn hose clamp) and a potential place to lose your oil. Just bend those holders under the frame and move the hose.

You can see the two hoses here... The one coming up hits the frame behind the wiring and the one buried in the wires goes from the valve cover to a little further up the frame.

Thanks

Thanks again! Now it all makes sense... Now to remove that stupid rounded out bolt that was connected to hose. Vice Grips and PB blaster here I come.

PB-blaster is not gonna help you. You're teetering at the edge of the precipice here, so go slow; be smart.

The drain bolt/oil return fitting is a very soft steel; your motor is cast aluminum (but pb blaster will not hurt... so go ahead and spray- but don't turn anything yet).

First, make sure you have the ZTR replacement bolt or a new nipple bolt on hand.

gather all the tools and supplies you're gonna need: propane torch, dust-off, chisel, drill hammer... more? Now lay the bike on it's right side.

(fire extinguisher??)

heat the area around the bolt to about 200-250°. maybe do this a couple of times (we're trying to break the galling or electrolysis with the heat-cycling). Now, with the cases hot, apply a refrigerant (Dust-off held upside down so liquid comes out- is half the price of specialty refrigerants) to the bolt only. After making a small indent with a chisel, use it tangential to the rotation of the bolt- after a moment to let the cold soak and heat soak take effect, in the CCW direction to turn it out.

forget the Vise Grips. This thing is on there at 70lbs... at least on my '14.

Thanks to BillF (BMP Salem OR) for this technique.

good luck.

Thanks for the tips!

I am not worthy... messed around with the vice grips and overnight PB with no luck. Did not want to risk messing around and lose many a hours cursing or putting out a fire with extinguisher so took to a local dirt bike shop where they had to use chisel and hammer to get that sucker out! I don't think at 900 miles this has ever been removed since I bought used at 500 miles.

Now my bike is all set with this new drain kit!

Remember to remove, clean, replace the mesh filter accessible once the sump plug is removed. Its a pain to get out. I normally have success with a tiny zip ty. Using the big end to drag it out with. Spray carb cleaner seems to work well.

I never had anything in the lower screen on either of my x-lites.

Me neither- but it's been over 5000 miles/2+ years since I've even pulled it out... I'm kinda overdue. Been waiting for the weather on this most recent oil change (snow on the ground now- so no riding anyways).

I think I'm gonna block off the crankcase ventilation liquid return and just let it run back to the head- like the majority of engines since the '50s. I'm thinking about brazing or, more likely, epoxying the nipple on the bolt closed. The TC bolt isn't that expensive, but it uses a different screen ($25 IIRC) so no thanks.

closing in on 7000smiles 3 years 2 months. est 350hrs: 310hrs single track, 20hrs 2-track, 25hrs asphalt (these are very rough hour estimates)

ive had good success with the ZTR DB kits but i use aluminum crush washers and never had a leak and you dont have to anneal them like copper to get them to conform/seal at low torque.

for the hose i double braid some stainless lock wire before i install it on the hose then loop same around the hose/fitting and gently twist-cinch it down i do that in two places works a treat way better than plastic zip-ties.

gettin stuck stuff/loc-tited fasteners out: first i'll try just using the engines heat to soften locking agents and loosen corroded stuff up and that works 99% of the time. if not i get the super-fine pencil torch and heat the fastener in question them some PB Blaster then a couple taps with a small ballpeen and she comes right out. i dont like doing the "shock" (heat/quench) method to aluminum stuff esp. castings. i do a lot of no-drill extractions here at the shop when shade-trees round off or strip out drain plugs etc.

I felt redundancy effective in this case.



This is why I went to copper crush washers. The initial run of the kits used these steel washers with identical manufacturing burrs. The first kits had an aluminum crush washer for the rear plug and 2 SS for the banjo. I found a good resource for the 3 sizes in copper and they work well.



1 aluminum and 2 steel.



Hard to imagine 2 washers with identical blems but I assume they all did.

well, this technique isn't shocking the metal, it's microscopically shrinking the steel and expanding the aluminum; I'm guessing you get that since that's what you're doing with the pencil torch. IMO in this situation it's just about ideal, and works great. [IOW: mildly heat the aluminum case ONLY; mildly cool the steel drain bolt ONLY- this is not quenching or shocking or whatever]

but it sounds like the OP's shop got it out anyhow.

I use PB blaster, but it doesn't seem to be super-effective on aluminum. do they still advertise their cheesy styrofoam cup test? like somehow the ability to chemically melt polystyrene is relevant to metal galling and corrosion. My can is 15 years old- I'm not spraying this stuff everywhere I guess.

I didn't even know you could even anneal aluminum. [the implication here is that I know how to anneal copper (heat cherry red; rapid quench cooling) but I did not know aluminum responded to this treatment. aluminum can be softer OR harder than copper]

quench: heating the alum casting along with the ferrous fastener then shocking it with cold can induce cracks in alum castings. sorry if that was confusing. just saying. YMMV

annealing: that's what one is doing when heating/processing copper washers. it softens them. i just use alum crush washers on alum (and most steel) fasteners, softer the better for more conformity with less torque. the crush washer should be way lower brinell than the fastener so it crushes/conforms into the shoulder/base/hole. steel washers wont do that w/ alum fasterns it will force the alum fastener to deform first and/or gall and leak. copper ones can be a pretty high bh as well in some cases. in any case to each his own. YMMV.

Pine: 5600' here at my shop. i live at 6200'. we get hammered really hard sometimes being just below the Mogollon Rim last year we got 22" in 8 hours. most times it's pretty mild. today is sunny but with frozen solid snow and ice is all over with some wind not too pleasant and slippery service drive is an ice rink now waiting for the sand truck brrr.

Where do you get the replacement washers? I have a few from Zip Ty, but after the next change........I'm out.

Pine: I'm there fairly often for pizza! A buddy has a house remodel underway in Payson so we are exploring and riding there as much as possible. Hosting a big ride out of Payson in October so I need to get in gear.....

Pure Motorsports http://www.purems.com/search/

I ended up buying 10 oil changes worth of washers and a box of rubber gloves to save shipping. In any case here are the sizes needed... 14 x 18 for the rear sump plug, 13 x 18 for the banjo and 16 x 22 for the bottom sump drain plug.

I bought the copper but they have same sizes in aluminum as well.

stop by the shop n say hi to Trigger n me. im on Hardscrabble, the main drag in town, across from Timeless Antiques next to the fire station jsut look for the flag. me too i need to get back in shape after a year off im seriously soft hahha.

I just installed an oil drain back kit - I like it. I had read in a thread some comments from zip ty folks that the 2013 and 2014 310s had larger oil lines than the 2011/2012. It is pretty easy to switch the 2012 line with -3an size to a -4 size with some new fittings and hose. Is it worth doing?

Thanks

Ok, new 310r owner here, I keep coming across this mod in my googlings, and this is the 1st time I have seen actual pics (thank you!)
So,, would I be correct in saying that you are removing the oil return line from the rear drain plug that hoses the stainless steel screen, and simply plumbing it into the oil filler cap? What is the advantage of this - to facilitate easier access to the screen at the expense of access to the filler?

I just put mine on and I'll give you my read on it. It's easier access to the drainplug and the screen and less hassle trying to remove the oil lines to allow draining it out. Also the threads on the barbed fitting are really easy to strip and the aluminum drain plug is much better with a long hex for a 6 pt wrench (or flare nut wrench or whatever you use). To put oil in requires removing one bolt instead of the stock handtight plastic fitting - not much of an issue although the inlet diameter is smaller so a smaller funnel is needed.

^ mine has a larger secondary drain plug that makes the one with the hose redundant ( unless accessing the screen). Although it is slightly bothersome to remove and re-attach the hose on every 2nd oil change, (and i can't see the end of the hose suffering the abuse of being pulled and re-attached for ever), I am having trouble seeing how having a banjo on the filler being a big improvement. I'm thinking if i were to do anything I would swap out the straight barb on the rear drain for a banjo to eliminate the need to pull the hose off every 2nd oil change and job's done.?

I guess another way to look at it is why run a hose further down and collect oil in it as part of a flexible sump? It seems like a quick production band-aid to me based on the extra ccs and air/oil movement of the 310 over the 250 that was developed first. By draining the oil into the fill plug hole you get it all the oil into the rigid sump at the bottom instead of some of the hose being part of the sump. I'd prefer it if Husky would have created a separate port for drainback in the cylinder head cover and will probably TIG weld one in it one of these days...Many folks don't use the kit and have no issues (except the common stripping of the barbed fitting) so if you don't like the concept of it yourself I would not put it on and do something else or keep it stock. Unfortunately the development of these bikes ended when BMW sold them off so we got what we got except for what we create ourselves or what folks like Zip Ty already did and still sell for these orphan machines.