Arthur England 5 #1 Posted January 25, 2018 Hello all. As a new Wheel Horse owner I am in at the deep end. I have a nice clean looking 520H and hastvarted to discover a few things. One is that part are a bit more dicult to come by in England and another is that I have a fairly large oil leak. At first I looked at the forums and concluded that it was probably the filter adapter gasket (so have managed to order one) but today have found that it is possibly only a very loose niple in the oil pan. I was wondering if any one has simply put another bung in the oil drain hole which would solve any vibration issues in the future and then use a vacuum oil removal down the dip stick tube come oil change time. Also on a previous thread someone (lynnmor) said that they used high strength thread locker. What make and spec might that be? Enough of my ramble. I look forward to any replies. Arthur Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WVHillbilly520H 10,373 #2 Posted January 25, 2018 Welcome to RedSquare, If you can unthread the extension pipe from the elbow (bung) in the oil pan then you can remove it clean the threads and use a pipe thread sealant re-installing it tighten up to where it would be level to slightly below level reattach the extension tube again with sealant and you should be could to go for several more years, but be careful not to overtighten the elbow and cracking or stripping the threads in the aluminum oil pan, Jeff. (You can see the extension pipe on mine just under the flywheel tin as I was in the midst of changing oil.) 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,072 #3 Posted January 25, 2018 Hello Arthur and Your predicament is not unusual and hopefully easily fixed. Assuming you are talking about the oil drain/nipple coming out the back of the motor. First thing you must do is drain the oil. then loosen & remove the four bolts holding down the motor to the mounting plate. This will enable you to raise the motor up in the rear about a half inch or so. Wedge something suitable under it to hold it up there. This will enable you to remove both the drain pipe and then the elbow and the pipe that threads into the block. Check all threads for imperfections. If it looks suspicious replace it. They will be 3/8 NPT thread easily found, well maybe not on your side of the pond?, at any hardware store. Clean the female threads in the block very carefully and inspect. You might have to get in there with a cotton swab and some solvent as the threads must be clean and grease/oil free. I would suggest the product below but any quality thread locker would work. Get advice from the hardware store or auto store to see what's available in your neck of the woods. Reassemble the way it came apart, do take Jeff's advise on tightening. Refill with oil. and your done! Might be a good time to change the filter like above while your at it. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 54,383 #4 Posted January 25, 2018 The 520-H is a great machine though the Onan engine parts are getting scarce here too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Digger 66 3,478 #5 Posted January 26, 2018 Welcome Aboard ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,285 #6 Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) Sounds like some of the guys have set you up with advise. As far as the vacuum removal of the oil, there is nothing wrong with doing that. Not much more that I can add but, Edited January 26, 2018 by Achto 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC9KAS 4,741 #7 Posted January 26, 2018 @Arthur England Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daddy Don 905 #8 Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) Edited January 26, 2018 by Daddy Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,408 #9 Posted January 26, 2018 Well everyone has an opinion , so I'm going to say I'm not a fan of vacuum oil removal. When I drain oil I like to run the engine to warm the oil up then drain it and let every bit of dirty oil drip out the drain. I just don't feel you can vacuum out as much oil as will drip out. I also think you would be more prone to leave a touch more sludge in the bottom It fairly common to use ia vacuum on inboard boat engines that are hard to get to the bottom of. I've tried oil vacuums several times and just never felt I got the large majority of the old oil out. In my boats I always buy a hose that permanently screws into the drain plug hole and lays in the bottom of the cost capped off. I just push the hose out the bilge plug hole, uncap it and drain away 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arthur England 5 #11 Posted January 26, 2018 Thank you all for your repies. I will get some of the loctite mentioned and give it a try. If that fails I migjht try one of the quick drain taps as there would be less lenght to resist vibration and if all else fails it might come down to a drain plug. I guess that its not that onerous to unbolt the motor once a year if the drain threads are not up to keeping the remote drain tube secure. I take the point of the never being sure of getting all the old oil with the vac tube, even if you reverse up a slope with one back wheel to tip the oil forward and towards the dip stick corner. I have bought a new filter and will next have to decide what the best oil is. My other mowers etc all get Groundforce SAE30 Use above 0 centigrade colder than that and they hide in the shed! The oil meets the API SF in the manual but I have seen discussions regarding synthetic oil. Cheers Arthur. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1995 520H+96+97 937 #12 Posted January 26, 2018 Oil drain hose kit are available. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
onanparts.com 181 #13 Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/25/2018 at 2:35 PM, 953 nut said: The 520-H is a great machine though the Onan engine parts are getting scarce here too. Agree the 520-H is a great machine! Disagree that Onan engine parts are getting scarce. We are not having any problems getting them. Cummins/Onan is still manufacturing all the common replacement parts. Pistons, rings, con rods, carbs, gaskets, seals, stators, voltage regulators etc. Millions of parts in stock at the Onan warehouse in Mephis. Also a vast amount of NOS, New Old Stock parts available. On the oil drain pipe nipple, as others have already stated, Loctite or any good thread sealant at the pan will eliminate leaks etc. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boomers_influence 106 #14 Posted January 27, 2018 tj what is the deal with the 110-3479 P intake valve being discontinued, according to your site? thank you. boomer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,072 #15 Posted January 28, 2018 Good to hear that @onanparts.com as a new to me 20hp smokes & has issues so I fear a teardown is in order. I also fear that it might cost more than the tractor is worth. On the other hand there is nothing sweeter or more powerful than a fine running Onan so it's a tough decision to make. Will be in touch and start a spearate thread for the good advice always found here when I get to that project. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites