Small hard oil line a mystery to me

[cmoran23]

Hey everyone:

So I have solved the starter problem on my 74 ironhead chopper however when removing the battery tray, I came across a hard oil line which runs into a small rectangular steel box that ran through a hole in the battery tray. It was not looked up to anything and seems as though someone just didnt hook it up or it was put out of use for some reason. I am looking into finding a shop manual to see if I can find out what this oil line is and why it is there, and if its necessary to hook it back up for proper lubrication.

also, I am curious to know how these bikes run on gas that has 10% ethanol in it as most of the stations around here do.

TIA
Corey

[vlade]

Yea most likely a vent tube that got unused some how. Some body gotta have more info than that though.
Far as I know they tolerate the 10% maybe some tuning would improve it as ethanol dont burn as good as Dino juice

[Badassbrutus]

Pics will help.

[SCHMIDTYS]

Probably the old battery vent tube , newer style batteries don't use vents so the tube doesn't get plugged into anything . If it's a plastic hose then it's the old vent tube .

[Rockerbox1]

Originally Posted by SCHMIDTYS

Probably the old battery vent tube , newer style batteries don't use vents so the tube doesn't get plugged into anything . If it's a plastic hose then it's the old vent tube .

Twas my thoughts exactly

the only "oil lines" you should have would be the oil return lines from the rocker boxes down to the crank case, feed and return lines from the oil bag to the motor, and a vent tube that goes from the crank case to open air below the engine

[wndchsr2]

I have been told that 10% ethanol is bad on anything carbed but anything fuel injected will be ok with the 10% ethanol. This is only information I have been given by a small engine mechanic I know. Maybe someone has better information than I do on this subject.

[SCHMIDTYS]

It doesn't matter , we're getting 10% ethanol like it or not . So ... when the oil and fuel lines start getting hard and brittle or cracking it's time to replace them .

[cmoran23]

the oil line im talking about is a bent steel line run through the battery mount. if anyone knows what the hell im talking about, drop me a line.

ill try to get photos up soon.

Corey

[Tennjack]

i could be wrong but it sounds like a rear chain oiler they quit using them in 1976 . a pic would help .

[cmoran23]

actually it would make sense if this is what that hard line is. i really have to get myself a shop manual. I appreciate the input and the knowledge everyone has.

i actually ran into this problem because i took off the starter and its housing and found that one of the long starter mounting bolts was broken so I ordered some new ones. The bolts that came ended up being slightly too large and I was wondering if I should drill out the holes in the starter where the bolts go through and then drill out and tap new threads into the housing so I wont have to worry about a bolt being broken again.

The stock bolts seem slightly too small to handle the full weight of that starter and may be better at keeping it tight and aligned.


Corey