Explosive Oil Filter Rejections

S

str alorman

New member
Hi All;
Short version (leaving out bits where towing companies refused to tow my car, or better yet, wanted me to start it and move it while it had no oil...);

-Start car this morning. 3k miles on the filter and oil (colder than normal, but nothing crazy this past night) Low oil light. Immediately shut it down. All the oil is now on the pavement and the filter is finger loose.

- Replace filter and refill with oil. Make sure filter is tight and gasket isn't doubled and new one is coated in oil. Start up, 30 seconds later, Boom. Not only is the oil on the ground but so is the filter. I watched and could see it blowing by the gasket at seemingly high pressure.

- Same deal a third time with the old filter.

All filter threads look good, the filter stem looks good, nothing odd about it.

After some reading, (83 22r rejecting oil filters - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum) it seems like the oil pressure relief valve might be stuck.

Thoughts?

Can it be changed without taking the pump apart?

Helpfully the first instruction in the service manual for "Remove Oil Pump" is "remove engine from vehicle..."

Anyone else have this?

Thanks!
 
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What oil did you use, what filter did you use, and what was the rough temperature and length of time that the vehicle sat for?

Would be the first time I've heard a 2UZ-FE doing that, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened before.
 
The oil is Mobil 1 full synth 5w-30. New oil was the same. I've run that for as long as ive owned it (2 years).
First filter was a Wix 51516 and replacement was a 51348 I had lying around (brand new, ever used). Both do have an internal bypass, yes.
The temp probably dropped to 30 and the car was outside parked for 8-9 hours. It's survived plenty of serious cold before though.

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
How tight do you normally tighten the oil filters?

By any chance did you try tightening the filter post? I've seen them get loose on 3.4's
 
Very interesting, this is the first time I've ever heard of a oil filter blowing completely off the engine. I'm not familiar with the V8's, is there a plug that can be removed to check actual oil pressure?
 
I normally put them in hand tight with a little bit of effort but nothing crazy. I've never ever had an issue before on any of my vehicles.

I haven't tried tightening the filter stem, interesting thought.
Perhaps worth just popping a new one in and torque to spec?

The service manual says to pop out the digital sender unit and put a gauge on. A manual gauge is one of the few tools I don't have. It would probably have some insight into weather the pressure is going crazy. Anyone happen to know off the top of their head what the port size for the sender is?

Thanks!
 
str alorman said:
I normally put them in hand tight with a little bit of effort but nothing crazy. I've never ever had an issue before on any of my vehicles.

I haven't tried tightening the filter stem, interesting thought.
Perhaps worth just popping a new one in and torque to spec?

The service manual says to pop out the digital sender unit and put a gauge on. A manual gauge is one of the few tools I don't have. It would probably have some insight into weather the pressure is going crazy. Anyone happen to know off the top of their head what the port size for the sender is?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

So I'm re-reading the first post and I am wondering; did the entire filter canister physically shot off of the vehicle? How did the threads on the oil filter post look? I'm trying to understand if the filters are blowing off the post (which makes me think either the post is worn, which I've never seen honestly, or if the filters are somehow badly made...).

Can you post pictures?
 
It does make me wonder if the threads in both filters were somehow wrong or damaged. My dad had always taught me to take the filter out of the box and examine the threads, o-ring, and overall condition of the filter before purchasing it, I still follow his advice today. Many years ago, I did run across a filter that looked like the factory had re-threaded it a few times. I brought it to the attention of the parts store manager and he said he had seen that before as well. The next one I grabbed looked fine. The only other issue I've had was I got a filter that had been cut by a box cutter. I didn't notice that one until I fired up the engine.
 
So, it seemed that the filters would spin off and hen be forcibly ejected by the jet of oil from the stem. I didn't see this happen (I did see a filter hit the ground but only from above), but since all the filters end up hand loose after Merely seconds I have no reason to believe otherwise.

The threads on every part look fine. I always check threads on filters before installation, these have all looked fine. Including the ones bounced onto the floor by the engine. No shredding, tearing or otherwise.

Photos of the stem are attached, which also looks suspiciously clean. (The drop of oil makes them look not so clean, but I looked at it and the threads are ok).
 

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this is odd.
I cant speak to this specific engine, but oil is typically PULLED into, and through the filter. not pushed. so suction, not pressure.
 
At this point, I'd suggest getting an OEM filter and trying that. If that one pops off, then we know there's definitely an issue.

Also, those with the V8, can you confirm that this is how the oil filter base looks. To me, it almost looks like the base of an old filter is still stuck on there.
 
gm350reratliff said:
At this point, I'd suggest getting an OEM filter and trying that. If that one pops off, then we know there's definitely an issue.

Also, those with the V8, can you confirm that this is how the oil filter base looks. To me, it almost looks like the base of an old filter is still stuck on there.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing on the filter base.
 
Yep that's the way they look. The oil filter actually screws on to an engine oil cooler. Notice the rubber hoses on both sides? That's where the coolant goes in and out of the cooler. Put a wrench around the fitting and it screws out to remove the cooler.
 
So a quick update on this:
(a few thousand miles later)

I replaced the stud, although I could find nothing wrong with ANYTHING on the old one.

I screwed a new oil filter on hand tight (with oil on the ring), refilled, and connected an oil pressure gauge via some rubber hose. Started it up and worked fine.

It's been fine ever since.

Makes no sense whatsoever
 
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