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Oil filter question...

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Tabcon

Tabcon

Jedi Warrior
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I finally received my TR4 last Friday, and this car is very, very well done. So far I have only found one small problem.

There is a small oil leak where the oil tub is supposed to connect to the filter assembly on the side of the block. I tried to tighten the bolt where the tube is supposed to connect, but it just keeps spinning. The last owner apparantly stripped the threads in the block and has removed the oil tube where the oil pressure line is supposed to connect and run to the oil pressure gauge. Instead, there is a clear acylic type tube running to the pressure gauge from the area the oil tube is supposed to connect at the rear of the block.

The oil leak is small, but the only way I can see repairing it is to helicoil the block where the threads must have been stripped, or actually sealing the passage some way and removing the bolt.

Does the oil tube serve any other purpose other than to feed the OP gauge and do you guys think it should be fixed or should I just tolerate the small drip?

Tab
 
Tab-

Is the oil tube a banjo bolt arrangement, or is something else being used now? I'd think you'd want to fix it, but I'm surprised the bolt is stripped. Don't have a picture, but the original oil takeoff point is right on the filter assembly, and it that is loose I think you potentially could get a worse leak over time.

Randy
 
I wouldn't feel too confident driving if the threads are in fact stripped. How strong is the current connection? Could the tube pop out at cold start or under heavy acceleration? That could become a very costly leak.
 
I got rid of that banjo bolt thingy a long time ago, and just plumbed the oil pressure guage into one of the plugs in the oil galley. It works fine.
 
:iagree: with all the above. Not a terribly expensive thing to fix, and it will buy a great deal of peace of mind.

You going to the show at Delgado on the 20th? We're headed that way with the TR8, along with Tony Barnhill, and I believe Stuart (Ecurie Ecosse) will be there, along with TR6Bill. Hopefully some others from the Forum, as well.

Mickey
 
Tabcon said:
I tried to tighten the bolt where the tube is supposed to connect, but it just keeps spinning. The last owner apparantly stripped the threads in the block
Click to expand...

Could a PO have used the wrong bolt?

One that's too short and won't engage the threads in the block?
 
Mickey Richaud said:
:iagree: with all the above. Not a terribly expensive thing to fix, and it will buy a great deal of peace of mind.

You going to the show at Delgado on the 20th? We're headed that way with the TR8, along with Tony Barnhill, and I believe Stuart (Ecurie Ecosse) will be there, along with TR6Bill. Hopefully some others from the Forum, as well.

Mickey
Click to expand...
Safari and I will be there. Hopefully Emmett1010, Vettedog and Plaidman as well.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

I'm fairly certain that the previous owner stripped the banjo bolt and not the threads in the block. The banjo bolt attaches to a channeled stud that is fitted to the main gallery of the block. The oil then goes through the channel in the stud to the banjo bolt, and then through the oil tube to the oil pressure gauge. My fix, hopefully, will be a new banjo bolt and oil tube fitted to the oil filter assembly. Then, I plan on installing an oil cooler with a thermostat and spin on filter adapter from Racetorations. It gets so darn hot down here in the summer that an oil cooler is really a necessity.

"DANB" be careful, this is how my car is setup now. Darryl at Racetorations told me the problem with connecting the oil presssure gauge directly to the main gallery is that there is too much oil pressure at this point. This is the reason Triumph originally fitted an oil pipe at the filter and then to the gauge. If this high pressure connection to your oil pressure gauge ever comes loose it could be...well, not to good.

Tab
 
The original setup was a stud and special capped nut. The stud was not grooved, the oil flowed through a notch in the filter head and the space between the stud & head. Apparently that has been replaced with a bolt on your car.

Since it also helps hold the filter head to the cylinder block, and full oil pressure is trying to force the head away from the block; I would want to find and fix the problem with that stud/bolt.

But breaking an oil pressure line is kind of a serious event anyway, I wouldn't worry about having it tapped from the gallery plug instead of the oil filter head. The pressure is actually slightly less there, because it's logically after the filter instead of before it; and IMO it would be nice to see what the engine is actually getting.

What I would worry about is having a plastic line that can potentially rupture and dump scalding hot oil in your lap. BTDT
 
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