I did some searching here and did not see that anyone has developed a good replacement for the two piece turbo oil drain line (on 123's...I don't know about other models). I recently saw some posts where individuals have replaced the oil cooler lines (oil cooler to oil filter housing) with stainless steel braided line. I would LOVE to replace the two piece turbo drain poorly designed piece of crap, with a nice piece of ss braided line with threaded fittings on both ends...that would be sweet...to never have to deal with the oil drain grommet and o-rings again.

The top half of the hard turbo drain line with the gasket flange could easily be modified by brazing/welding on a threaded hose fitting. Where the bottom half of the turbo oil drain line goes into the oil pan would be tougher to modify...e.g. where the grommet fits in...seems a bit tougher.

I willneed to do more thinking on this...ss braided line, fittings and such has never been my area of expertise...so I am just not familiar with options/limitations, heat resistance of lines, etc.

If anyone has any thoughts on this, that would be great.

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

its sounds like a great idea if it is worth the time to you.

You will still need some sort of rubber interface at the upper pan though. A compression type with rubber washers on each side that get squeezed down by threads with a short nipple on top might be an idea. Talk to your local machine shop or furnace repair for leads on local suppliers of oil hoses and fittings.

I personally would not want to weld the upper pan.

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I tried cutting down the two halves and connecting them with hydraulic hose, but it was not any cheaper or easier than just repairing the stock setup.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

The oil returning from the turbo does not have a high pressure so there is no need for the braided SS hose. Regular Oil Cooler hose would work fine and be easier to clamp with a regular hose clamp.
However, it might be that the tubing helps to keep the crankcase end of the oil return tubing in place since it cannot pop up and out with the tubes there.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

After having recently done this job twice, I don't see where it would be all that beneficial to modify as it is so easy to fix.

The first time, I did it the hard way and tore up the grommet and had the wrong size o-rings. Some hints..........after unbolting from the turbo end, push down firmly on both pieces and with very slight prying pressure the top will come out easily. Then separate the two sections and wrap, in a spiral, some strapping, around the bottom tube and secure with a couple of worm gear clamps, top and bottom. Put a loop in the other end of the strap at sufficient height that you can insert a pry bar and lift. It'll pop right out. Make sure to clean all surfaces and polish any burrs, etc. that might cause problems. Then install the new grommet using KY and slide it up the bottom tube a bit. Install the o-rings, insert the bottom tube then insert the top tube. Then put it back in position to bolt at the turbo before you place the new gasket. Bolt in place and the last item is to lube, again with more KY, then push the grommet down and seat it. (KY works great as it is so easy to clean to no trace afterwards. This helps to make a good seal.)

I have seen several posts on this task and many have parts that make this more difficult than it should be. With these tips, I can now change o-rings and grommet in short order, without all the frustration.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Even though this repair can be a bit of a pain most of us only do it once in the whole time we own a car. Since tapping, welding, or whatever you would have to do to get new fittings in would make the job much more difficult than replacing with stock parts that have lasted 20 years why bother?

You don't really need to tap or weld, just saw off the ends of the two metal hoses, connect with a length of hose and clamp.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

BG, I think the OP wants to delete the grommet in the upper pan. Otherwise, that is the best solution for eliminating the terrible junction at the midway.

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Probably not worth the trouble to modify....but I did the grommet/o-ring replacement two years ago...the job went fairly smoothly....then just recently the thing started leaking like crazy, so I had to do it again. This time, what a royal PIA!!! That damn lower grommet would not give, and I could not get the lower tube out....I had to remove the oil pan, and I couldn't even bang out the tube with a drift from underneath (the car was on jack stands and I couldn't get a real full swing with the hammer, but c'mon!!)...so I had to blast it with a propane torch to fry the grommet...finally it gave in.

Then, clearance between the top tube and bottom tube was very minimal, and I needed to flare out the end of the top tube to give a little more clearance to fit over the installed lower tube.

This whole routine is such B.S., and the set up is so poorly designed....all this thing does is drain a little oil into the oil pan, under no pressure...give me a break!

I don't like that the lower grommet hardens so fast (couple of years?). I suppose I could just replace the o-ring between bottom and top tube, but once I take the top tube out, it seems crazy not to replace all seals. Once more, a real PIA!!!!

Other than that, I have no strong feelings about it!

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)