| Author | Message | ||
     Buellrobot |
I seem to be making a bad habit of having all my oil dump out all over my bike. I recently changed my oil/filter and that same day, on the BQE, I was riding and felt something slick on my left peg -- I look down and the bike is covered in oil. I coasted to a median and checked the bike out -- the gasket on the oil filter had literally burst out. I was close to home at this point, so the roadside assistance that I've (unfortunately) come to know and love towed me back to my garage, free of charge. I put a bunch of cardboard down and parked the bike, but now I need to figure out what went wrong. When I put the filter on, I prepped the filter gasket with some oil. I turned the filter down to where the gasket made contact, and then proceeded to hand tighten it an additional 1/3rd of a revolution. I had put a little too much oil in, so I drained it, but it was still a ways above the bottom line on the dipstick, but well below the top line. I'm really hoping that it was just me overfilling or over-tightening the filter, but am afraid there could be something else that blew inside and allowed the oil pressure to go crazy. There's oil all over the edges of the rear tire and the rear brake. I'll use brake cleaner on the brake parts, but will that work on the brake pad, or do I just need to put a new one on? And I'm thinking simple green for the tire... just washing the hell out of it and then being careful about lean angle until it's clearly scrubbed all the way off. Just want to make sure I'm not doing anything totally stupid in this department though. Thx in advance. | ||
| Thejosh |
What type of filter did you use? I don't think it could've been overpressure because the oil bypass is supposed to keep your filter from being overpressured. I'm not sure if overfilling could do this but it's possible. My concern would lie in the filter. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Make sure there is only ONE gasket in there. I've had the old gasket stick to the engine on filter removal, and I've had filters come out of the box with 2 gaskets attached because they didn't fully 'separate' during manufacturing. | ||
| Harleyelf |
Sounds like you may have under-torqued the filter. Another possibility; if the surface that the gasket mates to is still flat and the filter was not defective, you may have trapped a chunk of foreign matter in the groove with the gasket. Always rub the gasket mating surface with a rag. Soaking the brake pad in a solvent might work, as might running it through the toaster oven for a few minutes. If you have a sandblaster handy that's the best way to take a layer off of the pads. I'd change them. Brake pads are cheaper than hospital visits. The rear brake is an important safety feature which should not be neglected. | ||
| Thejosh |
Ditto what Rat said, had that happen on my wifes Cherokee, I didn't notice the gasket stuck to the adapter so when I started it up to check for leaks, it started squirting out. | ||
| Preybird1 |
It was way under torqued.....It happened to me. I was stupid and didn't tighten it properly and i almost crashed drag racing a huyabusa. The rubber gasket on my filter "blew" out also but it was because it was loose enough that it pushed out of the seating area. I also had the adapter part that the filter is connected to back out and and the whole deal dropped onto the ground and i almost ate it then also. I just used red loc-tite on the the adapter threads. So now i use safety wire on the filter. 1. put a large hose clamp on the filter towards the bottom the of the filter where it screws onto the adapter and tighten it down. 2. wire the safety wire around the hose clamp where the nut that tightens the clamp down is and run the wire up to the front engine tie bar. | ||
| Xl1200r |
1/3 turn is not enough. You should be at 3/4 turn minimum, I usually go more and just deal with having to use some extra nut to get it off for the next change. | ||
| Preybird1 |
On my ZX10R ninja the filter has to be torqued on. It has a warning on the motor right next to it that says hand tightening is not to be done at all. | ||
| Harleyelf |
I use a strap wrench and a 1/2" breaker bar to meet the book recommendation of 3/4 turn past gasket touch. Removal sometimes involves piercing the filter with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Fram PH3600 filters fit quite nicely, the high mileage ones are not full of sawdust. The nipple that the filter screws on to should be checked by hand to see that it is fully seated. I've had them come off with the oil filter. Loctite is of limited use in an oil-bath environment. Permatex #1 is better at keeping the nipple fully threaded. If you only turned it 1/3 turn past gasket touch as your post indicated, that was the issue. Now focus on that brake pad. | ||
| Buellrobot |
Whew, you guys were right... It was a KN 171 filter. Many memories of step-dad cautioning me about the horrors of over-torquing oil filters finally came back to bite me. Just glad that this wasn't a serious issue... that said, I've still got a pretty big cleanup job ahead of me. I really appreciate the help. | ||
| Buellrobot |
Upon closer inspection, it was the male <--> male adapter that threads into the oil filter platform that came loose. I had a lot of trouble getting the filter off, before I changed it, and that must've loosened the adapter. So for anyone doing their own oil changes, keep an eye on that thing or end up cleaning oil off your bike for 4 hours. | ||
| Harleyelf |
What did you do to the brake pads? Solvent like starting fluid and a severe rubbing with a rag is better than nothing. Sand blasting or replacement is best. You don't want it glazing and going to half effectiveness at an embarrassing moment. | ||
| Buellrobot |
I had replaced both front and rear pads before I went on that NY > CA trip. The front pads I took out were totally spent, while the rear pads were only 1/2 gone, so I just put the old 1/2 worn pads back on. I ordered new rear pads from Al, so I'll have them on hand whenever these ones wear out. | ||
| Harleyelf |
Good plan. If you store the dirty ones in direct sunlight, it will help break down the oil and make them work better when you need them. Rub them clean with a solvent every time they get shiny. |
