fuel and oil lines

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panhead

New member
So, my chaincase is off and the whole jackshaft is removed and now that I have clear access I'm looking into the fuel/oil lines. They are somewhat hardened and should probably be replaced while I'm here. Now, what have you guys done ? Did you just buy the universal line from the dealers and use that or did you buy the correct part numbered stuff from Yamaha ? I'm looking at the oil delivery tube, and it's very thick walled compared to the universal stuff. Just figuring while I'm here it might make sense to do these things, so any comments/insight would be appreciated.

-Pan-
 

I would replace everything, as long as it's already apart. Might save you a problem later. I'm sure the Yamaha parts would work fine, but I would be more inclined to take the old lines to an auto parts store or farm machinery supply and tell them what you're going to do with them. Might save you enough money to fill it up a couple of times and test it out.

Shark
 
Hey, as always, thanks for the comments shark ! I've looked into the universal fuel line stuff they sell, usually the blue polyurethane stuff. It's good, but for the oil feed line to the fuel pumps it's very thin walled compared to the factory stuff. Just a little concerned, that's all. But yeah, I plan on replacing it all while i'm here, pulse lines and everything. I haven't had much time to wrench on her so far, but i want to ride her very bad, the lake is now finally frozen ! Plus, instead of working on her one day, I hooked up an old oil fired hot air furnace in my garage, so I'll be working in comfort at least....

Any of you replace the lines thru the dealer part #s? They actually don't appear to be (too) pricey....
 
Just a thought....when you replace your oil lines, you could also replace your fuel pump pulser lines....when I bought my vmax4, one pulser line was split wide open, and the other so loose, it practically fewll off when I touched it...
and....oddley enough....number one, and number three pistons were burnt down....(the very cylinders, that the pulser lines connect to/under..)

also, Be carefull about your routing, so as not to have a line rubbing on the shaft, and/or, like my left pulser line, be rubbing up against the motor mount weari g a slice/slash in it...
 
Yup, excellent thought, I plan on replacing the pulser lines as well. it's nice cause i have really good access to them right now. I want to just throw it together with what I got and go ripping across the lake, but I don't want to have to do this all over again ! I just want to make sure whatever I use will hold up. I'm not impressed with the thin walled crap the dealers sell, so I want to see what other people have used for replacements. What did you use ? Pulser lines I guess could be just about anything, but still, what did you end up using ?
 
On the newer sleds they use a thicker line for the pulser lines. It looks more like automotive vacuum hose. You might want to look into automotived vacuum hose for the pulser lines. I think the thin blue stuff would breath with every pulse, so your fuel pumps may not work as well as they could. I used the blue stuff everywhere else. Dennis Kirk sells it pretty cheap. Do not buy the clear vinyl from the hardware store, it will get stiff in a year.

Best of luck,
Mike
 
I just did both my sleds, I got the oil and pulser lines from the dealer. The Yamaha oil lines have quite a thick wall (I could not find heavywall aftermarket oil line). I think its better to be safe than sorry.
 
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It don't matter much what you use for fuel line as long as it is tight on the fittings as you are pushing fuel and the I.D. of the line will be constant. I would use thick walled and/or line that will not collapse under vaccuum pulse. I have seen thin walled automotive windshield washer line used in the past. The problem is it does not have integrety and it will collapse when it sucks, resulting in no fuel being pushed to the carbs.

my $0.02

/Dan
 
fastmax said:
I just did both my sleds, I got the oil and pulser lines from the dealer. The Yamaha oil lines have quite a thick wall (I could not find heavywall aftermarket oil line). I think its better to be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...

I did the same.
 
I went on ebay and found 20'-50' lenths of what ever color & size you want....I did all the fuel lines in blue and oil in red....Just cuz I could...think it looks nice.
 
All right, well I went thru it and decided to use the blue stuff everywhere. I am confident it will be fine. I think the 'best' way to do it would be what was said here before tho, buy at least the oil injection lines from yamaha, and maybe the pulser lines, but lots of comparable stuff can be found for these. The oil lines are pretty unique. The blue stuff fits very well and isn't crimping or rubbing the way it's routed, so I am sure it will be fine. I just wanna get this tank running !
Thanks for all the input...
 
I've seen line issues many, many times and most of the problems are with cheap line that doesn't last. Yamaha line is metric in both ID and OD and the quality is second to none. Most aftermarket line is not metric and may have quality issues. You will run into problems with a lot of the aftermarket stuff not fitting the nipples properly, OEM clamps not working because of thickness differences and routing issues because of lack of flexibility.

You should be able to replace every line on your sled for around $60 with genuine Yamaha line made to fit the nipples and clamps and designed for the purpose. Oil, fuel and pulse line are different and shouldn't be interchanged with eachother. A broken or leaking line (fuel, oil or pulse) could cause a major engine castastrophy and to me isn't worth the chance just to save a few bucks. I've been down this road many times and won't use anything but OEM on my Yamaha's. When it's done it's done right and I don't have to worry about leaks for many years.


You guys can do as you like but I hope it doesn't come back to haunt you.
Good Luck,
Phil (opsled)
 
Yeah, the thickness of the oil lines was what originally got my attention, as well as the pulser lines. I'm perfectly comfortable using the blue poly stuff everywhere else, but the routing of the oil injection line makes it susceptible to crimping, and the pulser lines "might" suck shut under pulse using the blue stuff (tho i kinda doubt it). I'm second guessing my use of it for oil/pulser lines, and i haven't a chance to put the sled together yet, so I ordered the pulser/oil lines today. I really want to put this thing together and now I have to wait for parts, but that's better than ordering parts for a new top end or crank i suppose. Damn I wanna ride this tank, my neighbor has a couple of polaris sleds I need to drag !
 
When you replace fuel and oil lines ,be sure to check the big lines coming out of tank.Both mine were badly choked off where they are tie strapped to the steering gate,close to the hoop for the pull cord.These were original from factory.And I do mean badly choked off.Check them.I get all my lines from Canadian Tire.The pulser line I use is black,counter guy said it is for a distributor's vacuum advance off an older Dodge half ton,hahahaha.It has same I.D. but a bit thicker,works great.
 
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