What type of hose for a turbo drain

In looking for a type of hose that can take the abuse of an oil cooled turbocharger. I pulled off the old piece of hose and it had all by ruptured. The hose is about 12" long with a 90 degree bend near the middle.

I'm considering other options such as making a rigid right angle and then just two straight pieces of hose, but I don't like adding additional points of failure.

The main problem is all the mixed info I find online for what works vs. does not... anyone have experience... maybe turbo diesel experience?

Thanks for the help.

We just call NAPA and say we need 5/8 or 3/4 hose that is oil rated. Never an issue yet.

The only thing ive had that held up to the oil and the heat is hydraulic hose, get it a size big cause the id is smaller than normal hose because of the woven steel. I hacked off the fittings and hose clamped it. Otherwise I found it hard to even find a hose rated 300+ degrees and oil rated.

In reply to chiodos:

The ID isn't smaller on hydraulic hose but it won't expand as much when you push it over the fitting.

Hmm I guess im wrong. I just recall getting 1/2in and it was too small to fit over a 1/2 metal hose so I had to get 5/8in

Some of the -8 hydraulic hose may lead you to believe it is half inch but it might be smaller. You have to check. Look for Aeroquip AQP as it is rated to 300dgF - not all hydraulic is in the 300dgF world.

Shouldn't the drain side of the hose be at crankcase pressure at most?

I think any oil resistant hose will work in this application.

I'm using transmission cooler hose on the turbo bike and its not given a single issue. So long as it has reinforcing strands in it, you're fine. For a 90° bend, get some AN elbows.

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

Its not the pressure, as you said theres basically none, its the high heat combined with oil rated that makes for slim pickings. For more clarification the stuff I got was from tractor supply or hydraulic shop, not an hose. That was my next stop but this works great.

chiodos wrote: In reply to wvumtnbkr: Its not the pressure, as you said theres basically none, its the high heat combined with oil rated that makes for slim pickings. For more clarification the stuff I got was from tractor supply or hydraulic shop, not an hose. That was my next stop but this works great.

the hydraulic hose you are talking about, will it turn 90 degrees over a 4" radius?

High heat can be dealt with by putting some heat sleeve over the hose.

Well, it will help radiant heat from the turbo. You'll still want temperature resistance because the non cooled turbo really throws heat in the oil (which you're aware of, I know)

Turbo oil drains need to be large (because they're gravity drains, not pressurized), high-temperature rated, and oriented so that they always slope downwards (again, gravity drain). You don't want to put two pieces of straight pipe with a 90 between them, because that means one of them is vertical and the other horizontal, and it won't flow through the horizontal pipe very well.

I use -10 braided stainless AN hose, because it meets the necessary criteria, I can get fittings to mount it at the right angle, and when I can take it off without destroying it. It's not the cheapest, but it's simple and works well.

In reply to codrus:

point taken. The last drain did have a slight flat spot. The interesting thing is the hose failed on the low end of the drain rather than on the high where radiant heat would be an issue. I can rework the fitting to the pan to allow the drain to be more similar to 45 degree downward angle. This would mean the hose would only need to turn 45 degrees. I suspect most any hose would be up to that task.

According to Hugh MacInnes, the oil comes out of the turbo like whipped cream. Which is why you need such a huge drain when it's being fed by such a tiny passage.

Turbo seals don't really "seal", they just prevent oil from coming out, part of how they do that is they let gases in.

I use a 5/8" ID silicone hose but I like the AN setup in Codrus' pic.

Jay_W wrote: I use a 5/8" ID silicone hose but I like the AN setup in Codrus' pic.

I've seen mixed reviews regarding silicone. Many sites and forums claim silicone hose will deteriorate with constant exposure to hot oil.

In reply to NordicSaab:

This is true

We have the right high temp oil safe hose on the shelf at Flyin' Miata in 5/8" size. Just give us a call.

Silicone in whatever size you need.

-AN like Codrus. If not that, then the blue Gates "LOL" hose.

Silicone hoses will "sweat" oil. Don't do it, even for a valve cover vent.

Odd, the factory return on my car is silicone.

Datsun310Guy wrote: Some of the -8 hydraulic hose may lead you to believe it is half inch but it might be smaller. You have to check. Look for Aeroquip AQP as it is rated to 300dgF - not all hydraulic is in the 300dgF world.

With most DOT truck hose a -8 is 13/32 and -10 is 1/2 for some reason. These are also the ones that are usually higher temp.

bgkast wrote: Odd, the factory return on my car is silicone.

I'll bet it's got a liner. Most factory returns are steel.

I had to go out and look at the rallykar again. Thought I had silicone on the turbo drain but strongly suspect whatever's in there was bought from FlyinMiata. Been too long, I really should try and finish putting that car back together...