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I'm facing a stupid dilemma. Don't laugh.
I need to change the oil on my 80Hp 912UL (my first experience with Rotax). "Drain via drain plug at the bottom of tank" says the manual. There is no plug on the bottom of my oil tank. Well there is a plug, but it looks pretty permanent and does not have any head, torx or hex hole. How do I drain the oil?
Thanks for any help. :confused:
That's interesting. Someone replaced the standard hex head plug (with drilled head for safety wire) with something else. You will need to disconnect the oil in & out lines (tie them up so oil does not drain out of these hoses) and then remove the tank lid and take out the internal screen, etc. This is all very easy to do; in fact I do it nearly every oil change. Use a suction gun to suck all the old oil out of the tank. Wipe down the inside of the tank and all the internal pieces. Then you will be able to see what is going on with that bottom drain plug. Maybe it has a head on the inside that can be wrenched and removed so you can replace it with a standard drain plug. If its welded in, you may have to go thru this drill at every oil change.
Just in time. I just did my oil change in my 912uls. Now keep in mind. I have owned my kitfox since about 2004. I have over 2000hrs on this kitfox. I wore out the old 912ul and now have the new 912uls.
What I do is this. I remove the cover off the oil canister. I take a suck gun. one of those you get at the part store that has the handle in the back that you pull back with a hose in the front, real cheap to buy. It holds about a pint of oil. I take a bucket, old anti freeze gal jug. I remove the bottom plate and the screen, I suck out the oil until it's a empty as possible. Push the old oil into the jug for waste. I take a blue rag, you can buy them at Costco or any parts store. blue on a roll. wipe out the tank. at the same time inspect for materials. then I put everything back together after cleaning good with the blue rags. I never replace the oring.
Then I take off the oil filter, grab the new one, poor new oil into the new one. then put the new filter on. DO NOT REMOVE ANY HOSES. or you will be sorry. I end up putting in about 2.5 quarts of new oil. I put in oil until the stick has oil on it about half way between the marks. I then pull the airplane out of the hanger. I keep the mags OFF and turn over the engine until the pressure comes up. I only crank for about 15 seconds at a time, usually two times of this and I have good pressure. then I turn the mags on and start the engine. let it run for a couple minutes. turn it off and put back in hangar. recheck fluid level. fill to the middle area of marks on the stick and then I AM DONE.
been doing it this way for years. If you do not have separate start button from mags, or separate switches for the mags from the ignition switch, I suggest you make that mod. :D
For the last 10 years of model IV Kitfox-ing this is what I use for oil changes:
Link
http://www.tooltopia.com/_img/LIN/LING150.jpg
I got mine from NAPA for about $15.
yup, that's what I use.Quote:
Originally Posted by Av8r3400
Thank you so very much guys. Really appreciate these advices.
I do have separate mags and starter switches :)
On my model 4 there is no practical way to get to the bottom tank drain plug. Never had mine out in 900 hours. Pretty much do what the others do as far as an oil changes.
I also have the seperate switches for the ignition modules and a push to start button.
I realize the OP isn't in the US, but I purchased a 12 volt oil suction gadget from Harbor Freight or someplace similar. It has a small hose that you can put in the reservoir and another hose to go into a catch container. Couple of alligator clips to the battery and flip the switch to suck the reservoir empty. I don't think it was much more than $20.00
I actually bought it to change oil in an Argo 8-wheeler I had. The hose was small enough that it fit down the dip stick tube. That machine was a bugger the change oil in without making a big mess. The engine was an 18 HP Briggs V-twin.
The Pela 6000. Best thing since sliced bread. I've used mine for the past seven years. Pull the dip stick out, put the thin hose through the dip stick hole. Pump it a few times, wait a few minutes, and tank is almost empty. The hose on the Pela doesn't require you to remove the top of the oil reservoir. Don't forget after a few oil changes to pull the tank apart and scoop out the lead deposits at the bottom of the tank. I go about 150 hours, which is six oil changes.......of course if you are running unleaded fuel, you won't have to clean tank or change your oil every 25 hours. Hopefully, in 2-3 years we'll be done with the leaded stuff.:)