Morris Minor Owners Club

I’m hoping one of you guys can help. I have installed a spin on oil filter head but I’m having a struggle sealing the joint with the copper feed pipe coming off the crankcase. Has anyone got a magic solution please? I’ve used blue hylomer on the pipe joints but that’s not worked and tried plumbers ptfe tape too but still I get oil leaking.

I fitted one of these kits last month. The feed pipe was a struggle as it did not directly line up. I used the wooden handle of an old hammer to ease it into position. Once the thread was started it screwed on ok and I had no further issues. PTFE tape should help seal any indiscretions in the thread. I can only suggest that you could have cross threaded the screw in part if you had difficulty in starting the thread.

I have not fitted a spin on oil filter and I have the original but I know that the union of the oil pipe to the filter head is a taper thread. It should seal without any need for PTFE tape. My experience of similar microbore plumbing fittings at home tells me that if there is any stress on the pipe the joint will tend to leak and be at great risk of cross threading. Perhaps you inadvertently cross threaded it and now the threads are damaged. The filter head is aluminium alloy and the threads are easily damaged. If the threads are OK try to get the oil pipe to align so that there is no stress on the union.

Stephen

svenedin wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 10:36 am I have not fitted a spin on oil filter and I have the original but I know that the union of the oil pipe to the filter head is a taper thread. It should seal without any need for PTFE tape. My experience of similar microbore plumbing fittings at home tells me that if there is any stress on the pipe the joint will tend to leak and be at great risk of cross threading. Perhaps you inadvertently cross threaded it and now the threads are damaged. The filter head is aluminium alloy and the threads are easily damaged. If the threads are OK try to get the oil pipe to align so that there is no stress on the union.

Stephen

I have had the union off the aluminium casting twice or three times now so I used blue hylomer on that thread and it seems that is the joint that is leaking. It screws in easily so I’m fairly confident it’s not cross threaded. I have tightened it up pretty tight with a spanner and it might nip up some more but as it’s aluminium casting I could end up stripping the threads in the casting so reluctant to go too far on torquing it up. The copper pipe joint onto this union is sealed after I nipped it up again today.

You must make sure that there is absolutely no strain on the pipe and unions from the block to the filter head otherwise the pipe/union will leak.
There are taper threads which seal by tightening the union adapter and there are parallel threads which seal with either a copper washer or my preference a Dowty washer. Both types of adapter and filter head (taper & parallel threads) were used by BMC/BL for the screw on/off filter head.
You could well have mix and match which will never seal.
It is rare for the Minor oil transfer pipe to readily fit. In the main it needs to be fettled to suit as the orientation of the screw on/off filter head is different to the filter head of the Minor with the filter insert.