Purolator - how tight?

[svenedin]

Good. When I do an oil change and filter change I drive the car up on ramps. This makes it much easier and they are useful for many other jobs too so it may be worth investing in a pair. I remember you said your car is currently stuck in an awkward position though. I have a large plastic oil catch pan with a spout so I can pour the filthy old oil into a can to be taken to the recycling centre (save your empty oil cans). Once the sump has drained into the catch pan (have a cup of tea while it does) you can move your catch pan so it is still catching drips from the sump but it will also catch oil that will leak when you undo the through bolt on the oil filter. Then you tip any oil still in the filter canister into the catch pan and transfer the whole bottom filter assembly to a tray for disassembly and cleaning. I take it all apart on the tray (so as not to lose anything) and wipe all the parts clean with blue paper towel (as used in garages but kitchen paper is just as good if more expensive). Any muck remaining in the canister I flush out with carburettor cleaner. It is messy and many people advocate spin on filters instead but oil changes are a messy business anyway so I don't really see the point! I add a flushing additive before draining the oil and idle the engine for 20 minutes as per the instructions. It does help to dissolve more muck when changing the oil and it makes the oil thinner too so it drains better.

When re-fitting, wipe the new top seal in grease and carefully locate it in the channel. The grease will stop it dropping out. Make sure the top seal has gone into the channel all the way around. If you need to poke it with anything don't use anything sharp that might damage the seal. Hold the canister and the through bolt and carefully start the thread, you may need to push the canister up against the seal (this compresses the spring so there is some resistance). Do the bolt up hand tight and you are nearly there. Hold the canister so it doesn't spin and with a ring spanner tighten the bolt. It does not need to be that tight. Remember to put the sump plug back in and fill up with oil. Check for leaks before starting the engine. If no leaks start the engine. If there is a small leak tighten up a little bit more. When no leaks go for a run round the block and check again. Job done!

Stephen

[oliver90owner]

Hope that helps. Honestly, it becomes second nature. When fitting the through bolt does NOT need any significant force to make the whole assembly oil tight. If it leaks there's something wrong. Please don't over tighten it in those circumstances.

Stephen

I will add, from my experience re tightening similar oil filter arrangements (over a large number of years) is that on at least two occasions the poor sealing - which obviously may have required excessive tightening - was due to two sealing rings having been installed in the seal groove. Just a thought for those with no experience.

One leaky problem was down to me - I changed the fitted sealing ring but did not realise that another sealing ring had been installed as an ‘extra’ by the previous owner. On fresh service changes I always checked that the groove was clear. This may not be applicable to the minor filter housing, but definitely possible on larger installations.

[Chief]

I drive the car up on ramps.

I actually sold mine after I reversed my other car up them, over them, and put some nice new holes in my sills which then required the local garage to do some welding.

When re-fitting, wipe the new top seal in grease and carefully locate it in the channel.

That's one positive about the new filter head, no grease required - it's gripping the new (put in today) seal very tightly - to the point I don't look forward to the next time it needs to be replaced.

I have to admit I'm feeling more positive overall about getting the filter housing working this time, when hand tightening you could see the filter and housing correctly meshing together and the bolt felt snugly in place which I'd say is how others in this thread were describing how it should have been for me.

Currently the oil in there (which is about a year old now, but is basically unused) was what I was considering as sacrifical oil (the same goes for the current filter) as the consensus was that as the car hadn't had an oil change in many years (2011, the diff oil will be the same) it should be changed (I could only do a cold change) and then once it was able to get properly running fresh oil and filter could then be done.

Since the housing leak lost me over 1L of oil, this did mean I had to buy a new 4.5L bottle recently so I'm debating whether to keep what's left for once I can run the car properly again and change the oil, or do a cold oil change on the gearbox oil (which was last changed around 2013) and replace it at the same time as the engine, whenever that is as there's still no drivers seat re-fitted.

[svenedin]

You need a set of picks to easily get the old seal out. Very cheap, about £3 for a set. Use carefully because the filter head is alloy and can be scratched or gouged with a steel pick. Or you could use a pair of fine point tweezers.

Your oil is ancient at 13 years old and it may have chemically degraded and changed even if not used in a running engine. I’d get rid of it.

Stephen

[myoldjalopy]

Make sure the canister is not turning with the bolt as you tighten it up and the canister starts connecting with the top sealing ring or the ring can be damaged. Also, the canister should be roughly 3/4 full of oil before fitting, so you will need to keep finger pressure on the bolt head as you offer it up to avoid oil leaking out at the bottom.

[olonas]

"You need a set of picks to easily get the old seal out."

I used to use a sewing needle with a bent pointy end with this type of filter.

[Chief]

I reckon a mobile phone repair kit which has both a hooked pry bar and a cam shaped flat pry tool would probably do the job without damage (provided it was the light blue plastic variant).

Well, I went out and fitted the housing (pre-filled with oil) and pressed it up as best I could while hand tightening the bolt until I could then tighten it a bit more with my socket and it seemed to become quite snug, I couldn't push the cannister up any further and the bolt stopped turning.

Since it did seem so snug I foolishly decided not to get a pan to put underneath and subsequently flooded the mat I was lying on with a pool of oil which poured out from the top where the housing meets the head.

I tried tightening it again, and there was a *sproinnggg* sound from the cannister and the bolt was suddenly turning more freely (I'm sure I wasn't cross threading etc. while hand tightening as it didn't require any effort to turn the bolt).

After tightening it until it seemed tight again, I ran the car on the starter again for 2-3 minutes (not continously) and didn't have any oil come out.

I presume the cannister wasn't completely empty since the oil was overflowing from the top, but if it was - would the 2-3 minutes be enough to fill an empty cannister and can I take it that (until I try starting the engine once I get fuel) it's probably now leak free?

Thanks

[svenedin]

I think the canister fills in seconds with the engine spinning on the starter. You were being careful which is sensible. Go ahead and start up.

Stephen

[Chief]

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