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TR2/3/3A Oil filter head

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CJD

CJD

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Couple more oil filter head questions for the Guru's!

From what I can tell, the early oil filter heads, with 1/2" thick flanges, used bypass filtration...meaning only the oil that was bypassed from the pressure valve went through the filter element, and then straight back to the block sump. So, filtered oil NEVER went to the engine bearings.

The newer, 9/16" flange heads appear to work just the opposite...in that all the oil going to the engine went through the filter element, with the exception of the bypassed oil from the regulator.

So, my questions are:

1) Did I get these differences right?

2) Are the engine blocks interchangable, so that either head can be used on any block?

3) Has anyone developed a method of setting the oil pressure regulator adjustment to get it close before installing the head?
 
John
Only question I can answer is the heads will interchange. You may have to change intakes as well depending on what head you are using. TR2 has the low port head. TR3's thru TR4's are all the same. The TR4a late head is a little different with bigger valves but will still interchange.

Marv
 
Thanks, Marv, but I'm afraid I confused you a bit. Right now I'm working on the oil filter assembly. I found the answer to a couple of my questions in the service manual. It was back in the TR3 supplement section. It seems I always forget to reference that part!

So, I learned that for sure the newer oil filter assembly will work on earlier blocks, and the change was made around TS 12,600. Out of a stack of 6 oil filter assemblies, I am rebuilding 3 decent ones in my holiday quest to clean up. Out of 5 distributors, I was only able to get one decent one...with some leftover spare parts.

I still wonder if anyone has a tip for setting the oil pressure spring on the oil filter assembly? I am planning to use regulated air pressure to set the relief to about 65...hoping that this will give about 70psi when installed and relieving oil, but I have no way of knowing if setting the pressure this way will get it close or if it's a wast of time. Would it be best to jsut leave the setting screw loose till the filter is installed?
 
That will likely be my best choice. Each adjuster has a definite mark where the corrosion over 50 years shows where it was set, even after bead blasting. I'll take your advice and then double check the settings with the air pressure...to see if there is a corrolation. I'll let you know...
 
John I get a lot of good information from you and I am sure you know this, but anyway over the years I have gathered half of dozen or so oil gauges and have found that they are all over the map. I have one that works good cold, but when the engine warms up after --say a ½ hour, it drops to almost zero at an idle, unsettling. I also have one that when cold the oil goes up to 90+ psi. I suspect it is that little foil glad inside either wears out or perhaps becomes partially clogged.
 
That's interesting...makes you wonder what pressure we really have in the engines. Hold onto those gages, as they are already worth more than their weight in gold! After I finish converting 7 old rocker shafts into 2 or three decent ones, I'll be rebuilding the gages. They always scare me, since they are so rare.
 
Just a quick update...

I set the regulators using air pressure. It seemed to work fine. When you get enough to pop the pressure valve the ball makes a buzz to tell you. I set them to be just closed at 65 psi, figuring that oil is thicker so the pressure will be a bit higher. It will be months...or years...before I can try the theory.

Of interest, one turn of the set screw is about a 20psi difference in the release pressure. These are very sensitive units.

The solder for the sealing washer seems to also work well. I pulled the first regulator back apart, and the solder had worked its way fully against the set screw, so it should seal fine.

One issue I ran into that I did not forsee...

Although the filters, filter canister, and canister seals, as well as all the canister internals are identical between the old and new heads...the bolts are different lengths. The newer bolts are shorter. The TR2 bolt I had was buggared, so I wound up buying a long 3/8-16 bolt and cutting the bottom of it off and welding the top of the original bolt onto it. I then tried to run a tap through the TR2 filter head, and the tap broke off. Bummer! Of course the old style filter head and unique center bolt are NLA. Luckily I got it all cleared out with the home made bolt and got the broken tap out without any damage to the head. In the end, Murphy turned my 5 minute assembly time into a day...but it's done.

Moving on.
 
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