OIL FILTER SEAL POPPING / SPEWING OIL

[classicman]

HI

My 74tii is fresh fom a complete rebuild. When I first started the motor, the seal on the oil filter (new Fram PH4875) popped on the one side and the car spewed fresh oil all over my garage floor. I took it off and it all looked fine. I thought the seal maybe wasn't seated correctly the first time. so I carefully replaced the seal and filter.

All has been well until this morning when it popped the seal again, this time just up the road, so luckily I could freewheel the car back home. I took the filter off again, and everything looked fine. I have put it back on again to see how it seats, and it looks as though the filter fits slightly skew. The side facing the front of the car seats nice and flush, but the side facing the firewall looks as though it is about 1mm higher than the front side. This is where the seal is popping.

Faulty filter, wrong filter or something else to look for??

[c.d.iesel]

this question usually arises at the first frost,

not warming spring season

that filter's "burst rating" is not high enough

for the peak cold pressures in a M10 motor

you have a stuck oil pressure relief valve in the oil

pump

you need to attach a oil pressure test gauge to

read the cold, hot, 4500rpm hot pressures to know

you reving a cold motor doesn't help either way

with a poor quality filter and the normally high

cold oil pressure 90 - 130 PSI!

get oil pressure readings

get a 'bmw' MANN type filter

[classicman]

Thanks c.d.iesel.

What should the pressures be? I'm looking to fabricate and install an Alpina style instrument pod on the dash using VDO gauges from a mk1 VW Rabbit GTi. Just want make sure that the increments on these gauges would be similar to the 02's.

[schwartzerritter]

NEW PUMP?

improperly installed? been there done that . Drop pan w/engine in car fix pressure relief (in upside down ) D.H. Drop / remove the pump

[roadhog0]

Ya shouldnt be dropping that seal on a Fram, I've run one for darn near 3500 miles and never had an issue. It's not the best filter out their either but thats not the case at hand. Check your oil pressure release. like mentioned above

[Preyupy]

If like you said this is a fresh engine and it popped the filter seal first time you started it the oil pressure relief valve was assembled incorrectly. You will have to remove the pan to correct it. I am sure the vent tube was installed upside down. For some reason there has been a lot of that reciently.

[TobyB]

^^this^^

Byron's right- if it did it from day 1, it's a relief problem. If it starts

after 5-10 years, it's a binding problem.

A gauge is a good idea- if it's stuck, it'll shoot through the roof when your

oil temperatures are low. It's not a problem with your filter, it's the pump relief valve.

t

[1453aalapapa]

If like you said this is a fresh engine and it popped the filter seal first time you started it the oil pressure relief valve was assembled incorrectly. You will have to remove the pan to correct it. I am sure the vent tube was installed upside down. For some reason there has been a lot of that reciently.

back in the day, i worked at a company in dallas, dallas european parts distributors. we sold a lot of febi oil pumps. the only difference from the febi and genuine was the genuine had the extra oil pressure relief spring in the pickup. the febi oil pumps came in a plastic bag, and since there is nothing to hold the oil pressure relief valve piston and spring in the pump, they would always fall out, and be loose in the bag. we had dozens of these exact complaints, and every one was because the relief valve piston was installed upside down. i am also sure the piston is in there upside down

[c.d.iesel]

classicman -

you'll need a oil 0-150 oil pressure gauge

and correct sender to match

cold idle - 60+psi

cold 3,000 rpm - in excess of 90psi

hot idle - 18 .... 30 psi

hot 4,000 rpm - 48-60...75 psi depending on condition of motor

and if your building a 'Alpina' 3 ,4, or 5 gauge pod,

think about an outside temp gauge.

Warns you of black ice and freezing temps.

Keeps you out of the hedge rows on cold morning romps.

BMW instrument clusters have been chimming for decades now

on cold start-ups warning drivers that the road is frozen and tires are

hard!

[Cyclone101]

Classicman resides on the Eastern coast of South Africa. And it doesn't get close to freezing temps there(think south Florida). It rarely gets below 50'F. Gotta love our weather...

I also second the relief valve problem. It is easy to get wrong if you are in a hurry.

Regards

Jacques

[c.d.iesel]

port elizabeth south africa, port elizabeth new jersey usa

sorry - guess i had a 50/50 chance of his location

[Cyclone101]

port elizabeth south africa, port elizabeth new jersey usa

sorry - guess i had a 50/50 chance of his location

Lol, I see your what you mean. Never knew there was a Port Elizabeth in Jersey. Every day I lean more... But I would say since this is the FAQ, the odds would be in Jersey's favor. 60/40 ?

Regards

Jacques

[classicman]

lol, I didn't know there was a Port Elizabeth in the USA - weird!

Jacques, you following me around, I'm starting to get nervous :-)

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm thinking (hoping) that the problem is high oil pressure and cold oil. It has happened to me twice, but I have run the car quite a bit inbetween. Both times it happened at startup when the car was cold.

I'm going to try a better quality filter to start with and fit the guages so I can see where I'm going before I drop the sump etc.

[Preyupy]

IF you are very carefull on start up and keep the revs below 1500 or so and wait until it warms up you can get away with the relief valve being stuck closed but you are putting a HUGE load on the oil pump and chain. This pump is capable of making 300+ psi when it is cold. Just having the oil filter NOT blow is not fixing the problem ( kind of like taking enough asprin so your broken leg does not hurt any more and thinking you have fixed it) Sooner or later you will strip the splines off the oil pump and it just won't turn any more, fix it now and correctly and all it will cost you is a few hours and a oil pan gasket.

[c.d.iesel]

..."Never knew there was a Port Elizabeth in Jersey.

Every day I lean more... But I would say since

this is the FAQ, the odds would

be in Jersey's favor. 60/40 ? "

BMW'S have always been 50 / 50 weight balanced