problem w/ subaru oil filters

[afterbang]

hey everyone. ive always used subaru oil filters on my 98 legacy outback and with the blue ones, every single one of them has been leaking oil around the seal. i turn them the 7/8th of a turn like instructed and the filter actually is bottoming out to the metal on the filter on some of them. i was searching the threads and people talk about this by-pass valve thing that the oem ones only have. is there any other brand that someone can recommend so i dont have to deal with having to add more oil between changes?

 

thanks

[Fuzpile]

I'm not really The person but have read thru older posts. There were recommendations and you should search that post. There was nothing said Bad about Pure 1 perolator which often goes on sale with oil at Adv A. I've had no leaks with any but am still subie newbie. After I fixed a few things last year I have to Look for things to worry about.

[idosubaru]

i'd check the mating surface or something, it shouldn't be leaking. of 100 folks on here using subaru oil filters i'd think 99 or 100 aren't leaking.

[Fuzpile]

Just look down to Minitransam's post in 2006 about "who makes Subaru filters".

[bheinen74]

Wix makes good ones that are top notch and i recommend them, using them in my SVX, Legacy Turbo, and CRX Si.

 

My brother's 99 outback came to him from the auction with a Fram on it. He ran it for a while, like 3000 miles and when the oil change was due, he found the cartridge inside had become unglued from the base and was allowing lots of air etc in and not filtering right, so that is a good brand not to use, as others tell FRAM is garbage...and I have proof.

[GeneralDisorder]

Clean the mating surface and lube the seal with oil prior to installation. You could also use something like Dow Corning valve lubricant (111):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dow-Corning-Valve-Lubricant-Sealant/dp/B000LDLGEU

 

That will seal the o-ring better than oil alone and is oil compatible (will not clog passages, etc). I've used that stuff on anything imaginable in the industrial world and it works great for lubricating o-rings and filter seals, etc.

 

As for filters I generally stick with OEM but for applications or situations where OEM is not availible I will only buy WIX/NAPA/Carquest - which are all WIX products. For filters in general Mann makes excelent quality and may be the OEM for Bosch since they are both German... but I would look into it first.

 

GD

Edited August 10, 2010 by GeneralDisorder
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[SuBrat84]

It sounds like you are getting them too tight. Get the seal wet with oil or vaseline. Tight as you possibly can by hand and then not more than 1/2 turn beyond that. I almost never tighten oil filters more than I can by hand.. but I have a pretty strong grip. Wix makes a really good oil filter. (Carquest Premium = Wix w/ anti-backflow valve thingy that you are talking about.)

 

(I used to work for a lube shop, if that counts for anything.)

[johnceggleston]

It sounds like you are getting them too tight. Get the seal wet with oil or vaseline. Tight as you possibly can by hand and then not more than 1/2 turn beyond that.

 

+1, i strip the threads on a VW block bolt helping a friend in college swap an engine. he announced he'd rather have it fall off or leak than stripped. i have always remembered that when ever doing any bolts without a T-wrench.

 

thread it on finger tight, if it leaks, give it a 1/4 turn, if it still leaks give it another 1/4 turn. i have never heard of a 7/8 turn tighter. is that spec??

[idosubaru]

not to sound like a dork quibbling over 40 degrees but 7/8 sounds tight - the ones i use say 3/4.

[markjw]

Shucks/OReilly is selling WIX oil filters now (and other WIX filters). Cheaper than NAPA by a couple bucks,too.

[Fairtax4me]

7/8th of a turn? I think it's more like half a turn past initial contact.

 

I use Purolator and Hastings filters (depends on which store I go to for the oil (who's got it on sale this month ))

 

I'd carefully check and clean the sealing surface of the block for nicks/gouges and old seal material. If there is any varnish or crud on the mating surface it has to be cleaned off. NO razor blades on aluminum. Use a rag with brake cleaner to scrub it off.

 

A common leak on these is the oil pump O ring, which is very close to the filter, and can leak down and get pushed over towards the filter by wind moving through the engine bay.

Clean all of the engine very well and let it idle for ten or fifteen minutes then check for leaks. If none are present drive it for a few miles and check again. Drive a few miles at a time and check after each drive until you find the source of the leak.

[markjw]

not to sound like a dork quibbling over 40 degrees but 7/8 sounds tight - the ones i use say 3/4.

 

Yeah,I agree.7/8ths sounds really tight. I bet I barely go half a turn.

[nipper]

not to sound like a dork quibbling over 40 degrees but 7/8 sounds tight - the ones i use say 3/4.

 

I've always done it 1/4 turn past hand tight and never had a leak. I agree on the over-tightening

[Fuzpile]

It wasn't sealing due to actual Sub filters not sealing and then there is a paralell thread about filters becoming smaller. One may question why. There is a link and redesign.

[GeneralDisorder]

I've always done it 1/4 turn past hand tight and never had a leak.

 

+1. My filters never leak, and always come off by hand.

 

GD

[Fuzpile]

I think Fairtax Nailed it. He was posting while i was pickin. Definitely good info all around.

[afterbang]

Thanks everyone for your input. I am going to also look into what Fairtax posted. The blue can has arrows from 1 to 8 and it says to turn 7/8th of a turn after you make contact with the engine. I am sure hoping I am not leaking oil from my oil pump since I paid to have every seal replaced on my engine around 30,000 miles ago when the headgaskets were replaced....

[afterbang]

ugh... i think the oil pump is slightly leaking. i ducked under the car and was looking straight up and there is was a drip starting from the bottom of the timing belt cover. i can add that and resealing my power steering pump to my to-do list now.

 

thanks so much for your help guys, can anyone recommend any other services to be done if im going to have the oil pump resealed?

[GeneralDisorder]

thanks so much for your help guys, can anyone recommend any other services to be done if im going to have the oil pump resealed?

 

Oil pump reseal is basically a timing belt job. If the belt hasn't been done recently then it might be a good idea to just do a complete belt/idler/water pump/front seal replacement and oil pump RTV/O-ring at the same time.

 

If you want it done right and for a real cheap price - bring it to me . I'm in West Linn. I've done a LOT of EJ belts and reseals. Should be a simple thing to fix and only takes a few hours. It typically runs 3 hours labor ($35/Hr my rate) plus the timing belt/water pump/seal kit and fluids, etc. The belt kits from ebay with everthing run about $125 to $150.

 

GD

[afterbang]

Thanks for the offer and the advice. I will be taking you up on your offer in the very near future. I just replaced the timing belt and water pump fairly recently but as soon as I get some extra money I will definitely send you a message. I'm guessing it may be worth it just to replace the belt again if you're already going to have it apart.

 

Going through a divorce right now and as of late most of my paychecks have been going to attorney fees but I'm getting close to light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, she's getting the other Subaru that I've spent many hours and dollars making it pretty much new again. Should have just put all that money into mine!

 

Any chance you also do clutch jobs as well??

[GeneralDisorder]

Any chance you also do clutch jobs as well??

 

Absolutely! Makes doing the reseal easier having the engine out. . You should drop by sometime - I always have a bunch of projects going - you would enjoy seeing them I'm sure. I'm just down in West Linn.

 

Right now we have a frankenmotor (EJ25D block w/EJ22E heads, delta cams, 11.3:1 compression, etc) going into an EJ swapped Brat. Going to be pretty interesting. And I'm doing a valve job on a '97 Legacy..... I have 4 EJ engines in various states of dissasembly in the garage right now

 

Clutch and reseal is no problem. It's about 3 hours to pull the engine and put it back. Another 2 to do the clutch and reseal. Figure about 5 hours total plus parts.

 

GD