Oil filter sizes- oil pressure- TR3a

[Hamish]

I have finally got round to changing my oil in my 3a.

 

I went with valvoline Racing VR1 (ACEA:A3/B4) following some previous advice on here.

 

What I have found though was a big difference in the (recommended and equivalent) oil filters.

 

I have the original filter housing (with oil cooler take off)

I had with the car a boxed filter RGFE104. (That is identical to the one fitted to the car.) (63mm dia) That I thought I'd keep for reference. And bought from a well known supplier a 3 pack acdelco AC6000E (72mm dia)

And found the diameter much bigger than original with not much space around the filter holder and the "o" ring wouldn't fit.

I went to my local motor factor and they provided me with a WIX WL7058 (69mm dia)

Bigger dia than original and smaller than rte acdelco. All 3 cross referenced in their books to fit.

 

I fitted the WIX version enough space around the housing and "o" ring fitted.

 

Has anyone else seen this? And was I wrong to worry about the space around filter to housing ?

 

As an aside I drained the oil hot and turned the engine over (not starting it) to try and empty oil cooler.

New oil filter and oil all to right levels etc

I found an increase of driving oil pressure on the gauge. Always was around 70 but after oil change hot pressures were 90/90+.

I have adjusted the valve so now I have start up pressure of 50 and hot pressures of 70/80.

 

I have seen the other posts about this adjustment and gauge accuracy etc but feel nothing but the oil change has been tampered with so must be oil change related and not the gauge.

Would this be a fair assumption.?

 

Thoughts welcome.

[Don H.]

What oil viscosity grades were you using, and what grade's the VR-1?

 

Are you saying the square-section o-ring won't fit in the channel in the filter head because of the filter diameter? I'm not able to visualize that...

 

I'd have been very slow to adjust my relief valve settings -- trying to assign root cause to the higher oil pressure would have come before any modification to hardware.

[Hamish]

Hi Don

Both oils 20/50

 

The sq section o ring that came with the filter didn't fit in the flter head channel it didn't interfere with the filter itself.

 

What other things are there to check ? Only changed the oil and filter.

I slightly adjusted no.21 in pic.

Advice welcome

H

Edited July 6, 2017 by Hamish

[Don H.]

I'd make sure there wasn't another o-ring in the channel -- that's happened a lot over the years. And the filter kits normally come with two different o-ring sizes, one for AC filter head and the other for Tecalemit, if my memory's not wrong. One of them almost certainly has to fit, if it's the right kit.

 

Different filters can have very different flow rates, of course. The change in filter media and resulting backpressure development is another possible factor in your observed pressure difference.

[Hamish]

Made very sure only one o ring.

Acdelco ones certainly didn't fit.

 

I thought that the filter could raise the pressure ?but thought a new filter better than an old one.

[Alec Pringle]

A cartridge filter needs to be correct in all three dimensions - length, or height if you prefer; outer diameter; inner diameter.

 

In the case of the TR filter those dimensions are around 137, 70, 33mm respectively.

 

I wouldn't wish to vary by more than 1 or 2mm at most from those dimensions.

 

The actual filter construction is also relevant - just because two filters are of similar dimension does not necessarily imply identical performance - they can look similar on the surface but nevertheless be for two quite different applications.

 

Then there's the problem of counterfeit filters - if it's cheap and from somewhere obscure, caveat emptor.

 

Just because a supplier is well known doesn't mean a lot, not when it comes down to fine detail like filters. The bigger the supplier, the more likely the average counterhand to talk complete bollocks with absolute confidence. If you want a filter, and you don't know exactly what you need, then stick with a supplier who builds engines and therefore knows damn well what works and what doesn't.

 

Cross referencing is all very well, as long as it is a direct cross reference . . . . the problem comes when it's an indirect cross reference. Filter B2 may well be an acceptable cross to A1, and B2 may also acceptably cross to C3. But A1 may be a size smaller, and C3 a size larger, than B2 . . . . . so A1 and C3 are not adequate substitutes for each other. The average counterhand will assume erroneously that A1 and C3 are compatible, which is where it's advisable to check actual physical dimensions . . . . which would illustrate the incompatibility.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[JohnG]

I have finally got round to changing my oil in my 3a.

I went with valvoline Racing VR1 (ACEA:A3/B4) following some previous advice on here.

What I have found though was a big difference in the (recommended and equivalent) oil filters.

I have the original filter housing (with oil cooler take off)

I had with the car a boxed filter RGFE104. (That is identical to the one fitted to the car.) (63mm dia) That I thought I'd keep for reference. And bought from a well known supplier a 3 pack acdelco AC6000E (72mm dia)

And found the diameter much bigger than original with not much space around the filter holder and the "o" ring wouldn't fit.

I went to my local motor factor and they provided me with a WIX WL7058 (69mm dia)

Bigger dia than original and smaller than rte acdelco. All 3 cross referenced in their books to fit.

I fitted the WIX version enough space around the housing and "o" ring fitted.

Has anyone else seen this? And was I wrong to worry about the space around filter to housing ?

As an aside I drained the oil hot and turned the engine over (not starting it) to try and empty oil cooler.

New oil filter and oil all to right levels etc

I found an increase of driving oil pressure on the gauge. Always was around 70 but after oil change hot pressures were 90/90+.

I have adjusted the valve so now I have start up pressure of 50 and hot pressures of 70/80.

I have seen the other posts about this adjustment and gauge accuracy etc but feel nothing but the oil change has been tampered with so must be oil change related and not the gauge.

Would this be a fair assumption.?

Thoughts welcome.

As has been said in earlier posts, the dimensions are important.

Assuming the flow direction is from out to in;

 

Height (length) needs to be within a mm or so

I/D again, within a mm

O/D you need a good clearance around the element, to allow the oil to flow freely, however, addition pleat depth, which means addition media area and reduced differential pressure, will help with the operation of the element.

 

In short . . . If the element O/D is a comfortable fit in the bowl, you should not have a problem.

Just be sure you are happy that the element fits.