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Spin on filter replacement

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gjh2007

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Hello all:

Yesterday it reached 50 North of Boston, so I decided to change the oil on my recently purchased TR250. My wife has put the car off limits until I get some of our winter indoor project completed (can't blame her) Anyway She took my daughter & some friends skiing for the day; I stayed home with my 10yr old son who fractered his wrist Thurs snowboarding. I completed my task for the day (painted the bathroom) and by noon was out scrapping my knuckles on the TR. I have done nothing but poke around the car, check fluids, etc & do a 20 mile stint one clear Jan Sat.

Yesterday I decided to change the oil. I was please that the car made it up the ramps without hitting & proceded to drain the oil & then spent an hour futzing with that danm canister filter!

I remembered it being a bi%#@&h; but not this bad! Anyhow after finding no easy way to get the canister out of the car to clean it & replace the "O" ring I cleaned it in the car with a liberal does of carb cleaner & a rag.

Then for the bloddy "O" ring on the block. For the life of me I couldn't get it to stay in the groove all the way round. Even tried grease & then some silicone, so noticing they didn't have one on before I spread some silicone on the canister & out it back without the ring hoping for no leak. Left the drain pan underneath & to my surprise, no leak when I started it up.

Anyhow; I'm done with this mess, Would like some input on anyone who has replaced canister with the remote spin on.

Did you go for the oil cooler, or just the adapter with the fittings blocked off so you could add cooler later? I'm not planning on racing, so don't know if I can justify the extra $100 right now.

Sorry so long... any input would be appreciated.

p.s did a nice trip for lunch & up the coast with my son; got lots of thumbs up when we stopped in a local downtown for a snack. sure was nice!
 
Aloha Gary,

I have converted my MG and TR3A to a spin on oil filter. Neither have an oil cooler associated with it. The cannister oil filters some times develop deadly oil seal build up. You may have an old seal that was not removed at one point still in there, so your new one did seat correctly. I changed for two reasons: 1 the spin is easier to remove from the car because it is shorter and drops out easily between the engine and frame, and 2 the spin on filter with a back flow preventer keeps oil in the upper part of the engine and I have oil pressure immediately on start up. I realize your set up is different, but if you have an adapter designed to sent oil to a cooler and return to the filter, wouldn't you need a loop to get oil flow?

Safety Fast,
Dave
 
Hi gjh Real simple say goodbye to the cannister and hello to the spin on no oil cooler req'd. I wrestled with the cannister for 25 years not any longer it was a Christmas treat to spin on.
 
Gary,
I converted my TR6 to the spin-on filter long ago, recently changed it to the remote oil cooler variety. Best to use the Fram 3600 filter and change it often. The problem with any cooler is two fold: When changing oil, you can never get all the old oil out because the cooler won't drain (about 2/3 quart, depending on size) but you add the added capacity (I now hold about six quarts of oil total) and all coolers have a less than great mounting bracket that can cause the cooler to crack (happened to a friend, lost most of his oil on the road). I bought a bracket from Earl's somewhere on the web that was very close to the cooler radiator I use, modified it a bit and now you can lift the front of the car if you were to latch onto it. Very stable....

Good luck,

Bill
 
I'm a fan of the old cannister and paper filter myself....but economically speaking, the cost of putting in a spin on, with readily available filters is both a plus convenience wise, and cost wise over time.
I've not had any problems removing, then reinstalling the cannister, or removing, peeling out the old o-ring, and putting in a new one on my TR6. It just isn't that big of a deal, especially if you allow better access, by pulling off the front tire. One thing i don't like is the tiny drain plug...why didn't they make it bigger? It only takes an 11mm fitting...should be at least a 13mm...or better yet...17 or 19mm.
thirsty.gif
 
Well, I'm not sure what to do here. I tried the spin-on route and was never able to get a good seal and had a small oil leak. I went back to the canister and got it to seal nicely. Well... apparently, this is an LBC and needs to leak somewhere, so the bolt decided to back itself off slowly and just dumped about 2 qts on the floor of the smog test center (guess I'll have to find another one to take it to now
rolleyes.gif
). Has anyone had similar issues before? Is Loctite an option? Anyone?

Thanks guys...
 
Finally had it (after 20+ years) with the 'Captain Hazelwood' oil changes -- went with the spin-ons on both TRs. Some owners have had problems with leaks but both mine sealed up okay. I probably used Hylomar on the seals.

As noted in another reply... I dug out 2 old seals when I got into it. The 'extra seal' was never a problem with the canister but might not have allowed the adaptor to seal up properly.
 
Thanks for all the replys guys; I'm just about sold on the adapter, where did you all get yours?

Also, does anyone remember if the grove in the block is deep enough to allow the new "O" ring to sit flush, or recessed? I tried running my pocket knife inside the grove to see if an old seal was there, but it didn't seem like it.
 
Got both mine from Moss -- Mocal brand -- though other suppliers may have identical units.

My recollection in that the old o-ring was way down in there. I used a mirror to get a good look at it and a dental pick to get it out. Stuck the pick into the seal to avoid scratching the fairly soft metal of the filter head.
 
Great topic. I just read all the replys and it seems like the spin on is the way to go. I guess the biggest concern is to make sure all the old gasket material is cleaned away. I just bought a spin on and am looking forward to some warm weather in New England so I can get to work. I bought a TR6 back in Nov. and have not had a chance to go through the car due to bad weather. This, along with electronic ign. should be my first upgrades.
 
Spin on is the way to go, I just changed my spin on out for one with a oil cooler ........... thats even better than before ......... had to get the o ring out of the groove with a pick but the new one sealed up just fine like the first one did.
Good Luck.
David 7TTR6
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steven:
working on a TR6 with dental tools??????<hr></blockquote>

Dental picks, hemostats, rubber gloves -- the medical professions have made important contributions to the LBC hobby. Now if I just had one of little TV cameras to poke into tight places...
 
Dear all,
I am used to standing on my head and stacking BB's in my profession. Working upside down and backwards comes easy after 34 years. Ever tried changing the oil pressure line inside your dash without removing the gauge? Dentistry has been likened to working on the insides of a fine watch while someone is spitting on your fingers. At least LBC's don't bite....

Bill
 
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