1812 Oil line help

hanoverheel · #1 08-26-2011, 07:30 AM

I am trying to get my 1812 put back together and I am having some problems getting the oil lines correct. Does anyone have some pictures of the 2 oil lines going to/from the oil filter to the engine? Also if anyone could measure the length of the 2 lines, that would be great. It seems to me the hoses are too short. I am thinking about going and having 2 new lines made that are a few inches longer than the ones I have.

Thanks for the help.

R Bedell · #2 08-26-2011, 08:08 AM

Here is the Oil Flow Diagram for the M-18...

hanoverheel · #3 08-26-2011, 09:52 AM

Thanks for the diagram but I should have been a little more clear with my question. I would like to see actual photos of how the 2 oil lines are routed from the engine to the oil filter. It seems that my oil lines are too short and I can hardly get them to go over the firewall.

I am pretty new to the whole garden tractor thing so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help.

inspectorudy · #4 08-26-2011, 05:33 PM

Here is a picture of my 1811 oil lines which should be the same as yours. They are tight but the two lines coming out of the engine tin will rotate some. I added an oil pressure gage so that is the extra brass fitting you see in the photo.

hanoverheel · #5 08-29-2011, 03:06 PM

Thanks for the picture. The previous owner must have made some "modifications" to the oil lines and the engine tins. When I installed the oil lines, they were too short to go over the fire wall to the oil filter so I took them to NAPA and had longer hoses made. I got home and put the lines back on and they are now long enough but now I discovered one of the bent tubes that comes out of the engine is not right and the side panel will not go on. The one tube sticks out about 1" farther that the other one. I filled the engine with oil before I tried to put the side panels on

so I hate to drain it just to fix the oil line. I am thinking about just using it without the side panels for now until it is time to change the oil again and fix the tube then.

Is it going to hurt the tractor/engine to run it without the side panels on?

One other question, what should I use to clean the terminals on the back of the PTO switch, ignition switch etc.?

ol'George · #6 08-29-2011, 05:25 PM

I would think you are only going to loose a few onces of oil in the lines as the sump is lower than the lines/filter.
As far as the connections, depends whats on them.
If just crud, a little contact cleaner will work.
If you are talking rust/corrosion then wire brushing/scraping is in order.

aagitch · #7 08-29-2011, 09:04 PM

Just make sure you have the lines hooked correctly to the engine. I believe in Inspector's pic, the line that goes through the top hole in the tin, actually connects to the bottom fitting on the engine. Or, at least on my former 1811 and 1810 it did.

inspectorudy · #8 08-30-2011, 01:04 AM

It appears that my oil lines are reversed. This is the way they were when I bought the tractor and have had no reason to check them. This is a mistake that took years in aviation to prevent from happening over and over. In a modern jet engine the two lines would have been impossible to swap by design. I will swap them as soon as I can. It is strange but the pressue is good and it runs just fine. I guess it means that the oil is going the wrong way through the filter but still being filtered. Sometimes helping another does reap a reward! Thanks for the heads up.

Matt G. · #9 08-30-2011, 07:44 AM

Change the oil filter when you swap them so a bunch of crap doesn't get pumped through the engine.

Oak · #10 08-30-2011, 07:53 AM

I think you may be okay Rudy. The ports are marked A & B on the filter and the engine and it looks like mine are correct because they cross behind the tin work. The green line is on the B port of the filter and is on the top B fitting on the engine.