Question about oil & rolling your sled?

[theletup]

So this may be a completely retarded question but oh well... you don't know my real name anyway so here it goes! ha ha

If your sled mysteriously ends up upside down somehow while it's running, and you have 1/2 of oil or less in the oil tank do you run the risk of the the oil line getting an air bubble in it? I rolled my sled up on it's left side in the shop yesterday to check to see if my oil cap was leaking and realized that when it's all the way over on it's left side the oil line is up at the top of the tank where there is no oil.

Like I said it may be a stupid question but it would make sense to me that there is a possibility of creating an air bubble in the oil line whether the sled is running or not. Anyone else ever think about this before? Not that it's a problem but I'm just curious and finished reading all the 2013 posts so now I'm bored

 

[xc6rider]

Not a stupid question at all, and definitly can happen...

Just something to keep in mind and check. The length of time it spends in a position where air is at the fitting instead of oil wouldbe biggest factor. With some time running and or sitting, the bubble may either work its way up the tank, or down the line.

 

[theletup]

I'm sure keeping your oil tank full would be a good way to lessen the possibility of exposing the fitting to air. I had a 1/2 tank or less of oil when I realized this could happen.

 

[skibreeze]

If it is completely upside down, it doesn't matter if it's full or not, it will be exposed to air. As long as it's not running wot for minutes, it won't get air all the way to the oil pump.

 

[theultrarider]

In theory I suppose it is possible. My sleds and those that ride with me spend way too much time totally upside down and we've never had an issue with that. I worry more about the cap leaking and getting some oil on a hot pipe and having a fire. Thankfully we've never had that one happen, but it has happened to others.

 

[Pro-8250]

That is a good question. Never even crossed my mind.

 

[theletup]

Yeah the guy that I bought my 2011 RMK from cross threaded the oil cap onto the bottle so rather than buying a new one for $100 I tried heating the neck up with a heat gun and gently screwing a new cap on, straight. I think it's going to work for now. I was rolling sled over all the way to the left to submerge the cap in oil and realized the oil line was now exposed to air. I bet if you let your oil get low enough and take a nice long hard side hill to the left, you could get a pretty good size air bubble in there. That's probably why the light comes on when you still have 1/2 tank of oil. I think I'll do a better job of leaving it topped off from now on.