seeping oil filter

[Dizzy]

Well, I changed my oil the other day and I'm getting some seepage out of the new filter. It only seems to be seeping from the part of the seal that is closer to the rear of the car. So, if I park my car facing uphill, it drips.

I've changed my oil a number of times & this is the first time I've had this issue.

Any ideas what I could have missed? I'd rather not repeat this mistake.

[tan]

check its tightness....

but a long shot is...when you removed the old filter...was the gasket still stuck to the engine?

[GV27]

Well, assuming you checked to make sure it was tight:

1) You could just have a filter with a defective gasket.

2) Did you smear a little oil around the gasket before you installed it? This promotes a better seal and discourages the gasket from ripping while tightening (a rare occurrence).

3) Perhaps you over-tightened it? I have see gaskets blow out from too much twisting. 3/4 turn or so past when the gasket contacts the block is plenty. I've never seen one go without some serious twisting by somebody who didn't know better.

Beyond that, there's not much to it.

C

[neptune]

Same thing happened to me a couple of times. I found out that the trick is to make sure when you change your filter that the surface is completely clean. It takes a few more minutes to wait for all the oil to drip out and wipe clean, but after I've been doing this I haven't had a leak since. Another thing, make sure you put a good amound of new oil on the oil filter seal before you put it on.

Later,
Andrew

[Dizzy]

Thanks, guys. I did pour a bit of oil in the new filter & I coated the seal. I tightened it by hand at first. After I noticed it was seeping, I gave it a little twist with a wrench. I may just have to pull this one off & redo it, making sure everything is spotless clean. Damn. That Mobile 1 is $5 a quart.

[GV27]

The good news is that you'll lose less than a quart if you just do the filter.

[Dizzy]

I put on a new filter & everthing was cool. I had access to a lift this time, so I made sure everything was squeaky clean. That lift sure beats crawling around on my garage floor.

I only lost around half a quart. Cheers.