Oil Filter Blues

[Doug]

I'm wondering what's going on here!!
I set out to change the oil and oil filter at the weekend on my 1984 R65. I discovered that the oil filter had become quite distorted with the central perforated metal tube colapsed on itself and the filter element and the end flanges distorted. I checke dthe seating of the new filter after positioning it and then put it all back tightening the bolts on the cover plate... Then stripped it all back again to check that I had mounted the filter correctly. That seemd to be OK... Then I discovered the old filter that I replaced about 12 months ago and found that it had also distorted in the same way!
Makes me wonder whether there is a fundemental problem with the oil circulation that is causing this... Any clues anyone?..

Doug

[jagarra]

I have to admit I have not torn apart a boxer yet. But if these engines have a pressure relief valve associated with the oil pump I would check that. If there is a way to place an manual oil pressure guage on the motor I would also do that, just to determine what the pressure going up to. Then there is also the approach of crankcase vents, are they clear and functioning correctly?

[moosehead]

Check this thread out....looks like what you're experiencing

http://boxerworks.com/forum2/viewtopic. ... ure#p21195

Lots probable causes.

Is your oil bypasss "ball" located at back of canister functioning? Believe if its working then excessive oil pressure should bypass the filter prevnting collapse? See if its still opening/closing by pushing on ball with bbq skewer or whatever.

What weight of oil you running in this cooler weather? At start up in cold weather the oil pressure is quite high and if running too heavy oil viscosity then just adds to the pressure. If the pressure relief ball isn't opening then I would suspect filter would have to withstand all the excessive pressure and maybe collapse.

Just a thought on my part...I'm no guru but I'm sure they will be chiming in anytime soon

PS: I have a oil pressure guage on my RS and on start up it goes well beyond 70psi, especially in cooler weather, even running 20w50. Takes a while for warm up of oil to get pressure back to 70psi level. Gotta take it easy warming them up in these cooler climes....no over revving...just gentle first 3-4 kms.

[Kurt in S.A.]

Using the correct filter? Is it possible that there's still something left on the locating tube inside the canister...like an old o-ring?

Kurt in S.A.

[Duane Ausherman]

Brand new out of the crate it was common for the oil pressure to be so high that it colapsed the filters. I remember being told that it wasn't harmful, so we just got used to it, but never really liked finding it.

We learned to cut each filter open and sometimes, but rarely, we would find nasty stuff in it.

[barryh]

I had no symptoms at all when my filter core came out looking like it had been crushed in a vice. The oil light was off at tickover even as low as 700-800 rpm . The assumption is that the bypass valve allows oil to continue to circulate past a blocked filter in fact this happens all the time at start up even with a good filter.

I believe too high revs at temperatures below freezing to be the main cause. I did a lot of research on this when it happened to me and found documented reports of this happening with OEM filters back in the early 1980's even a couple of tales of bendy two part filters collapsing but the problem is much more prevalent with non OEM straight filters.

Never happened to me again. I won't use 20W/50 oil at below freezing temperatures, make sure to prime a new oil filter before starting up and keep the revs down below 3500 RPM when cold.

One thing I learn't from the experience is that you can inspect an installed filter without draining the oil. With a couple of 1" planks under the wheels and the bike on the side stand it leans over a little more than usual. It's then possible to remove the filter cover, inspect the filter and replace the cover for the loss of only a few cc's of oil and nothing much disturbed as the metal shim stays put and the 2000$ O ring remains in place on the cover. No need to remove the filter just shine a small torch down the centre tube to check all is well.

I suffered no major engine damage from the crushed filter as far as I know and this was several years back now.

[ME 109]

This topic has come up from time to time and never really gets nailed.
Lots of possible causes, lots of far out ideas (mainly mine)

[ontic]

lets get some mud in this water!

from a thread on adv



kinda have to read a bit
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=777637

[Doug]

Thanks blokes for all your ideas. At least it's good to know that the mystery has been hanging around for ever. I kind of assumed that it must be due to a pressure ddifferential across the filter for whatever reason. I'm running on 20-50 oil in a moderate climate ( frosty morning maybe down to -2degC but that's usually too cold for me to ride!)

I'll continue to explore the various threads that have been cited and keep an eye on what hapens. I 'm going to have a go at Barry's idea for checking the filter without spilling a whole sump of oil.... all in due course!

btw, I tried to load some pics of the crumpled thing but kept getting a messgae saying the board's attachment capacity was full!...dunno what that means

[ME 109]

btw, I tried to load some pics of the crumpled thing but kept getting a messgae saying the board's attachment capacity was full!...dunno what that means

Yeah, Tim owned up to causing this problem the other day.
Thought he would have had it sorted by now tho'