So I decided to change the oil myself on my 03S. When I took the oil filter canister off, I noticed that the threads very near the end that goes up against the engine block "looked a little jagged."

I was trying to put on the new filter and new o ring. I did the trick to "prep" the filter. With a new o ring I had problems getting it to start and etc...

I went back to the old canister o ring, oiled it up and tried again. Somewhere I heard some people have to stay with the old o ring if its in good shape.

I got the filter to start, turn and go flush up against the engine. I torqued per specifications of the Haynes shop manual.

I still have a slight oil leak near the base of the filter canister. When I wipe the canister with a papertowel I get a light tint of oil on it and I can see a drip area under the car.


Well I am thinking of 2 options:

1. See if BMW carries replacement canisters
2. Take the canister off, replace the used o ring, & try with the new oring again. Hopefully I can just let the car sit and pull the filter off with little spillage.(Nice new clean oil).

Let me know any thoughts-thanks Kelly

 

The o ring is not the reason it is difficult to start the canister. Press down, while keeping it square, then start the threads. Try rotating counter clockwise to get a feel for how square you have it. The oil leaks may just be what spilled out when removing the filter, especially if you had the front jacked up when doing it. Don't be afraid to remove the exhaust heat sheild (two 13mm bolts) to give you a better view/access.

 

Never thought about removing the heat shield. Took a look and what a difference that will make on the next oil change. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Why would you re-use the o-ring? It has been compressed from the first use. O-rings are single use parts. That is why the factory calls for replacement of the o-ring each time the filter is changed.

 

Many threads on this, but if you push the bare filter down over the tube inside the cannister, then pull it back out, and fit it to the cover, slime up the inside of the cannister and the o-ring and the threads, and be careful, it will go down easily enough to start the threads and you should be able to hand tighten it almost all the way down... wrench it down until it feels tight and stop. It is the O-ring that is making the seal, not the threads or how tight you crank it.

YD

 

Are you sure it is from the oil canister or is it the oil cooler. Have seen oil coolers leak.

 

Mr. D; Pay attention to Yo'sDad. What he explains in his post is fact.




06MCS/DS/B/Bbonnetstripes/Whalen8ballshiftmachine

 

first try this time (not the first time I've done this) .... but everything together and start er up

dump oil all over the floor as it leaks like crazy - turns out the o-ring broke. No signs of a pinch - there's just a clean break ?@?#&%$. Of course spilled more oil getting the can back off to find this.

Tried re-using old o-ring. Bad idea - that leaked too spilling more oil, and getting the can off AGAIN spills more....

Fortunately I always keep two filters in the bin so open another to get an o-ring and FINALLY everything is sealed up .....

3 hour oil change.... the classic and the Miata average 30 minutes....

Did replace the plug with a Fumoto valve to eliminate the over tighting issue tho....

 

thanks to all for the suggestions. I was able to fix it after getting an idea from a person at Kennsington Motors of las vegas.

I worked on the threads that were "chewed" up from the previous owner. I was able to file and sand the threads till it was smooth. I torqued down to specifications and none tighter. Viola no leaks even after a round trip to Phoenix.

Laters Kelly

 

Another good little trick for getting threads started is to actually turn the item that you are trying to start slowly backwards (counter clockwise) until you feel it "pop". This is the two starting portions meeting up. Once you get the little "pop" start to turn in the normal directions. This will also help to keep you from cross threading the item.