Mr Gadgets

Ok. so what way does the check valve in the helmet allow oil to flow, into the drive or out? A standard Merc helmet has a check valve that shut off flow when the drive is removed. But when it is installed it will flow in each direction.
With a bravo, if you fill to vent hole then replace plug it does keep and air space above the vent hole, no place for the air to go. Just gets compressed and pushes the lube up into the bottle untill the psi is equalized. But air space stays.
With a check valve it would seem to flow in one direction and not return to the drive. Or the other way the fluid in the bottle will flow into the drive when it is needed, but the air space should stay put..
So Racinfever, do you run with the bottle empty? I am looking in the manual and all it says is to fill to top vent hole.. nothing about reservoir. If you do, how do you know that the drive has not lost lube??
The added Warning Sheet with the manual recommends Imco 01-7135 reservoir and that is what I am using. It has a check valve on top to keep the bottle presurized and allow oil to flow back into the drive when needed.
So I am confused about the function of this setup.. I want to make sure I fully understand it before I cause any problems.
Please tell me how the check valve in the helmet operates. I am open to learning.. been learning something new everyday for a lot of years.

Thanks!
Dick

SkiDoc

I think there is just a large air space that gets burped for the lack of a better term after running a significant amount of time. My reservoir dropped about one third of a quart I refilled some oil in the reservoir and it has not lost volume since. By the way it does not seem like I ever get any expansion in the tank. Must be running cool.

racinfever

I know what you mean about learning something new everyday. When I first installed the drive, I filled it like you did and had problems with pushing oil out of the front pinion seal. After talking to Dave @ Imco he said to only fill it to the vent hole and put 1" of oil in the reservoir. After running for a few minutes the 1" of oil will disappear so to answer your question, Yes I am running the bottle empty. So with this being the case, there is no real way to know if the drive is losing oil. This method is similiar to the old 4, 5, & 6 Speedmasters. As far as the check valve, it's the same one used in the Bravo helmet which allows oil to move in both directions until the drive is removed and probably acts as a restrictor for expansion and contraction. I'm sure a lot of guys assumed you fill them like a Bravo but the manual clearly states not to. Other than this, I am very happy with my SCX/SC combo.

goebel1

I have been running my drive hard with high HP 1000 with no issues. I fill my drive up 5 Qt even it puts the level about half way in the reserve tank. After running a few min after an oil change it drop down about to about a 1/4 It raises up about to about 3/4 on hard runs but returns to the 1/4. But I do not have a check valve in my reserve tank to let it flow freely. No leaks here.

Mr Gadgets

Racin,
when did you get yours? My manual does not clearly state this info. I bought mine in Aug of 2010. You may have an updated manual, and I dont. I will check into it..

When you run hard do you see any fluid in the bottle?

Thanks!
Dick

goebel1

My 03/11 manual says.

goebel1

....

racinfever

Here's where I see the confusion may be. It does say to have a 1-1/2 qt. capacity reservoir but it doesn't say to fill it up. It also says it must have a check valve. And to answer your question, yes mine does expand into the reservoir when I run hard.

JMPH

That's what I'm hoping

Mr Gadgets

Just talked to Fred at Imco, he said to fill it to the vent plug. Then add to the reservoir to the Max line. That will leave the air space intact..
Next spring I will keep an eye on it.. and see what happens.