Oil filter leak

[dltrial]

I just bought a 1997 Mazda B4000 truck. I was going through changing fluids and could not get the oil filter off. I had to buy a cap style filter wrench to remove it. It didn't turn freely the entire way although once broken free it could be removed by hand.

I put on another filter but it turned on with such difficulty that I could not tell when the filter o ring contacted the sealing surface. When the engine was started it leaked oil everywhere, no matter how tight I made it. I removed it and the o ring was distorted so I may have tightened it too tight. I checked the threads on the filter and the nipple and could see no evidence of cross threading. The o ring sealing surface is pitted slightly but no worse than I have seen in other vehicles.

I bought another filter ( I bought the first replacement before I knew that I would have trouble and it did not fit the cap wrench). I alternated turning it on and off and was able to turn it on all the way by hand (checking for contact with a feeler gauge at intervals). Then I tightened it another quarter turn (all I could do by hand). That seemed to solve the problem. I had oil pressure and no obvious leaks.

But the next day, I removed the pan I had under the oil filter and there was about 10 mL of oil in it and a visible drip down the side of the filter. Using the cap wrench I tightened it another quarter turn then I drove it one time and at every stop it left a little spot of oil on the pavement.

So how do I stop this leak?

I can't see anything above the filter o ring contact surface that could be leaking. I don't think there is a way (at least that I could do with the engine in) to remove the nipple and replace it.

Two approaches occur to me. One is to fix some kind of large circular shim or washer to the filter sealing surface of the block with sealant or a gasket and see if the filter will seal against that.

The other is to use a filter relocation device, then I wouldn't have to worry about spinning on or removing the filter, and it would be easier to get to. The problem is that all of the relocation devices that I have seen seal with an o ring in the same way as the oil filter so I would still have to use a shim or maybe replace the o ring with a gasket or sealant.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Derek

 

[Dirtman]

Before you go nuts... I gotta ask the dumb question. Are you sure the o ring from the old oil filter came off and is not still suck to the block?

 

[Ranger850]

Before you go nuts... I gotta ask the dumb question. Are you sure the o ring from the old oil filter came off and is not still suck to the block?

i thought about this too.

 

[dltrial]

This is absolutely not the problem. As I wrote, I checked the surface that the filter o ring seals to, and there is some pitting but no worse than I have seen in other cases where the filter does not leak. There is no remnant of the old o ring.

 

[Grumpaw]

Now I have to ask...
What brand of filter were you using in both instances? There is a difference between brands, their construction, and the materials used, even the simple gasket.
Grumpaw

 

[dltrial]

I don't know what the old one was that I pulled off. The first one that I put on was a Motorcraft. The second one was the one that O'Reilly sells - can't remember the name.

 

[Dirtman]

There is also 2 different size filters for the 4.0, they have different diameter sealing surfaces but the same internal thread. What part number is the filter you are trying to use?

 

[Grumpaw]

That was a question I was also going to ask. Make sure your using the exact filter that is called for. Different filters, even tho they may fit, have different spring rates for the oil bypass valve. Using the wrong"size" filter can cause leaks as the pressure in the engine may not be high enough to activate the bypass spring. Oil remains in the filter and has no where to go...ie, a leak starts.
Grumpaw

 

[dltrial]

The motorcraft was an FL-1 and the O'reilly was something like 51515.

 

[Grumpaw]

If your engine is the 4.0, I googled it up, for Mazda and Ford. Both state a Motorcraft FL820S is the proper filter.
Grumpaw

 

[Dirtman]

FL1A should be the correct filter. No idea how to cross reference it to what you have so I would just go get a motorcraft FL1A again to rule out the filter being the issue.

 

[Dirtman]

If your engine is the 4.0, I googled it up, for Mazda and Ford. Both state a Motorcraft FL820S is the proper filter.
Grumpaw

Fl820s is for the 4.0 sohc motors. His is the 4.0 ohv. Rangers didn't get the sohc until 2001.

 

[Grumpaw]

It's funny, but depending which auto store you check, some say the FL1A, and some say the FL820S.
Grumpaw

 

[Dirtman]

Yeah this is why I mentioned the 2 filters... the oriellys one he has may be the equivalent of a fl820s. The explorers had the 4.0 sohc in 97 and they used the fl820s but the Rangers still had the ohv that use the fl1a. I think there was a thread about this a few days ago, this is not the first time there's been confusion on the filter size on the 4.0 trucks.

 

[Grumpaw]

But I did enter a B4000 into the veh info and it came up FL820S.
Don't know if this followed over into the Mazda line, and I am by no means an expert on this particular engine. Just playing with google.
Now my widdle bwain hurts!!! At my age that translates into a massive "Brain Fart"
Grumpaw


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