Leaky oil filter - why?

3383 Views 18 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Tongie, Nov 30, 2010

davway

Discussion Starter · Nov 29, 2010 (Edited)

Have an annoying oil leak which i have tracked down to be the oil filter.
There was oil and crap all through the engine bay (pretty thick too) when i got the GQ and assumed that the sump needed tensioning.
Anyway, did an oil and filter change and cleaned it all up only to find that it is the oil filter that is leaking and not the sump.
Going by the massive amount of oil in the bay previous, im going to assume the old filter was leaking as well as the new one.
Now, the filter is on properly and tight - ive done filters many times before and this one was no different - so why is it leaking?
Is there something missing from the block like a filter extension or something?
The seal on the filter is good so i can only assume that there is something missing.
You can see a bolt hole for something under the filter, however, im not sure if there is or isnt one above it.
The engine is a TB42 carby/auto.
Any ideas?

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davway

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 29, 2010

Neesmo31 said:
Rip it off, make sure you wipe the mounting surface on the engine shmick clean. Then a light smear of oil on the new filter gasket and remount a new filter. Also spin till it seats and then just a half turn and your done.

Over time gaskets, orings etc get hard and perish, which in turn leads to leaking in some cases.

Like i said, i know how to install an oil filter - done it plenty of times before.
Gave it as best a clean as i could (kinda hard to reach in there), oiled the o ring and did the filter up properly.
The car has since done a whopping 35kms so i seriously doubt things have dried out and hardened in that time.
In that short amount of time, the leak has been enough to cover the sump again.

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davway

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 29, 2010

ReefMagnet said:
Could the sump be getting pressurised?

Good question.
How would i test that and why would it do it?

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davway

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 29, 2010

I reckon you might be right about the filter touching the raised bolt hole section.
Hard to tell but i enlarged a picture and it does appear to be touching.
Why would it be doing this?
Is there something missing or even the wrong filter - the book said the filter was correct.
What could i do to fix it?

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davway

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 29, 2010

Couldnt say if its leaked the last few changes - all i know is that it must have been leaking when i got it and it leaks now.
I doubt the thread is crossed as it would be noticeable.
Guess ill just haev to remove it and have a look - might be a crack there somewhere.

Tongie, what do you mean when you say that you thought i had the later engine with the oil cooler?
Were the EFI filters different somehow - maybe this one is an EFI block and it needs the Z9?
The engine does look rebuilt (or possibly exchange) so maybe its a later block?

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davway

Discussion Starter · #18 · Nov 30, 2010

OK - pic time:
Seems that there was a bit of orange silicon hanging down from above the filter which has caught the gasket.
This was the piece of silicon:

This is the dent in the gasket it has made - turned the gasket over so hopefully it should seal:

This is before a wipe with a rag - you can see the orange silicon which has been used on the plate above - must have been hanging down from there.

This is after a wipe down.

So, while i did clean the area up properly before i installed a new filter, i didnt see the piece of silicon hanging down from above.
Considering this is a PITA area to get to, let alone see, and a wipe down with a rag wouldnt have got the piece of silicon anyway as it was just hanging from above, im lucky that that is all the trouble was.
Thankfully there are no cracks or damage to anything on the block.
Thanks for all the assistance and suggestions - appreciate it.

BTW, my 92 GQ TB42E uses the Z9 filter where as the TB42s uses the Z170 which was around $25 or so.
The Z9 is bigger so should offer more filtration surface at the very least.

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