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Oil filters

richardcatdaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
61
Location
Versailles,Ky
Occupation
heavy equipment hauler,local
Anyone have any ideas why oil filters back off on a detroit?And how to keep them from doing it.The truck I drive,92KW T800 has a detroit and we cant seem to keep the oil filters tight.They back off and we have to tighten them up weekly almost.:usa
 

Truckie

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
289
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
I don’t know how to stop it,:beatsme or why it dose it,:beatsme but we got the same exact problem on our Link Belts with the Isuzu diesel.:Banghead
 

Truckie

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
289
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
We have tried NAPA, and WIX and they are the worse as far as coming loose. The factory Isuzu filters come loose but not as fast.
 

richardcatdaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
61
Location
Versailles,Ky
Occupation
heavy equipment hauler,local
subject

We use WIX filters now,wish that Kenworth had a cat under the hood.But since nothing much can be done except keep on tightening em up every week.Thanks for reply.:pointhead
 

Orchard Ex

Super Moderator
Joined
Jul 6, 2005
Messages
1,051
Location
Southern MD
Why not safety wire it?
If the filter is not drilled for the wire put a hose clamp around it as an attach point, then run safety wire to a spot on the engine. Just remember to run the wire in the direction that will "pull" the filter tight.:thumbsup
 

surfer-joe

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
1,403
Location
Arizona
Double check to be sure you are using the correct filter for your application. I've never had a problem with spin-on filters coming loose on any Detroit. An incorrect filter would be about the only explanation I can think of, unless the threads are extremely worn or damaged. That would be highly unusual.

There is an outside possibility that you bought a box of defective filters too, again, an outside possibility. Other than these thoughts, it may be that whomever is installing the filters originally is not tightening them properly. Filters can be over-tightened, and under-tightened. Under-tightening is about the only other way a spin-on would come loose, other than what I've mentioned above.

Good Luck!
 

Catpower

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
52
Location
Prince George BC
Occupation
Electrician, equipment operator
I am sure that these have been covered but? The o-ring oiled before installing,Can you see that there aren't two o-rings there ? Engine vibration internal problem starting ?a frequency that the engineers hadn't figured on correct filter, check the thread pitch of several of the oil filters/ bad batch, the stem( is the stem a bolt thread or pipe thread?) that the filter threads on to is it in good condition? could the oil pressure be too high? I do like the idea of using a hose clamp to lockwire the filter if all else fails. Touch wood I have never had this problem will check it out from time to time to see what was the fix for it.
 

mascas

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Messages
54
Location
missouri
Occupation
Mechanic
Have heard of this problem on different machines,but we have never had it happen unless someone doubled up the seal on accident or something. I have a buddy who swears against baldwin filters because they come loose. I tried to explain to him that baldwin makes alot of filters for alot of different companies.............but stuborn he is.
Our linkbelt 600 doesnt have this problem,but our rock filter kept getting clogged up so we added another filter to it(fuel)..something to look out for truckie...
 

bkdlays

Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
7
Location
Springfield, MA
We have to tighten our filters on Internationals more than average or they seep.

Could you not use a drop of locktite if it was that bad?
 

Johnsoils

Site Sponsor
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
72
Location
Iowa
I've experienced this problem and contacted the filter manufacture. They asked if I was tightening the filter by hand, or with a wrench to the exact specs on the filter; gasket contact, then one full turn. They said that overtighting is as bad as undertighting, and that once a filter has been through a heat cycle, if it is leaking to remove the filter and install a new gasket and retighten to the proper specs. They said that most of the time retightning a filter with an old gasket that has been through heat cycles will leak worse.

Man I hate to tighten filters so tight that I break tools getting them off, but since following the procedure on the filter, life has been good on the road, but tougher in the shop with removal.
 

Durette

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2008
Messages
13
Location
Hudson, FL
Teflon tape?

By the way, NAPA filters are WIX filters. Buy a NAPA brand filter and a WIX brand filter and you'll see they even have the same imperfections.
 

Johnsoils

Site Sponsor
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
72
Location
Iowa
AMSOIL bypass filter installation on 1,100-hp turbine

Attached is a bypass filter set up I installed on a 1,100-hp Solar Saturn natural gas fired turbine. The turbine is driving a natural gas compressor on a pipeline. They are looking to clean up the oil as the particle counts are higher than normal with the OEM 10-micron filter. The AMSOIL bypass system will filter down to 1-micron or less. This is a new larger filter designed for OTR trucks, off-road equipment and stationary engines. It is a spin-on design and holds approximately 1-gallon of oil.
 

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sea_goin_dude

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
20
Location
EAST CENT. ALABAMA, USA
TEFLON TAPE NOT.....BUT YOU CAN USE liquid teflon thread sealer. Maybe if the problem is serious use a bit of locktite.....be sure it is one of the easily loosened kind NOT THE REALLY LOCK UP STUFF. Even a small of teflon tape in the wrong place can shut down a hydraulic system, transmission etc. The liquid teflon, if it does get in the system will pass on through and/or be caught by the oil filter.
 

Lee-online

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Messages
1,023
Location
In a van, down by the river
Here is how we do it on our motorcycles.

IMG_0180.JPG

We safety wire anything with a fluid behind it and all brakes and axles. This is approved by all racing bodies so should be good enough and do the job on equipment.
 

jeff112

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
97
Location
michigan
Lee-online, I see some safety wire and you mentioned,you use it on your bikes do you race for fun/pro ama, or just safety wire for safety?
 

jeff112

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
97
Location
michigan
I would take a look at the threads on the filter mount for wear and make sure the filter thread pitch matches it ,you can use a pitch gauge to check them. also check the mount ,it could be loose or have isolation mounts that are worn out,causing excessive vibration.
 

RobVG

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
1,028
Location
Seattle WA
Occupation
17 excavators and a stewpot of other stuff
I wonder what would happen if didn't put any oil on the oring?
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
29,379
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
I wonder what would happen if didn't put any oil on the oring?
It would probably come loose even quicker ...... see below.

I've seen plenty of problems with filters coming loose when correct tightening procedures weren't followed. For a spin-on filter as far as I'm aware the procedure is to liberally oil the O-Ring with new oil, install the filter until the you feel the resistance increase as the seal touches the filter base, then tighten 1 FULL turn after that.

Maybe the problem could be differences in respect of the O-Ring seal on some "will-fit" filters as opposed to OEM. I had a case recently where we were using 2 different Cat filter part numbers in 2 different applications but we discovered that physically (as far as we could see) they were identical to one another. When we looked into the issue we found that one Part # was designed for use with an aluminium filter base, the other one for use with a steel/cast iron base. Cat confirmed that the 2 filters used a rubber O-Ring of different Shore hardness. That was the only difference between the filters and we were advised never to to try to get away with using just one part # in both applications.

I can honestly say that in my maintenance operation we've never had a spin-on engine oil filter come loose, but then again we make sure we tighten 'em good.
 
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