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MG TD TF 1500 - Oil filters and turkey basters....

Ok... after draining the oil (not too dark) and getting the plug back in, i got 4 litres of oil in before noticing the oil filter box on my bench... oops... cleaned my pan and re-drained the oil and pulled the filter housing.... (good thing i wasn't directly under it at the time eh?). Anyway, the chap who sold me the filter mentioned that i had to get the old rubber ring gasket out even if i had to use a dental pick... I spent over an hour with razor blades, pocket knives and tiny screw drivers and couldn't get anything to come out... can feel it in there, but nothing seems to work... this is a horizontal oil filter housing....
Am really frustrated..... aarrrgghhhh
How come there were two rubber rings with the filter?????
g.b.lawson '53TD

Gordon - There used to be three rings with the filters, or maybe that is just with some brands. The answer to that is that the filters are used on a variety of cars and different cars use different sealing rings. The ring that you want to use is the one that measures 0.088" in width.

That said, the best bet with these sealing rings is that if it is not showing any signs of leaking and hasn't been in place for 20 years, leave it alone. The one that was in our TD when we got it was never changed in the 7 years we drove the car before I restored it and it never leaked a drop. Of course, now that you have dug at the ring, you will have to continue working at it until it is out and you can replace it. It is a real bi*** to get out. One thing that may help is to remove the spring plate that the filter fits against. Put a rod through the radial hole in the fitting for the housing bolt and see if you can get it to turn out to remove the plate. This will give you a bit more wiggle room to work on the sealing ring. The best tool that I have for removing sealing rings is a dental tool with a point that forms a half circle at the end and is quite stout (I hope the dentist never has to use such a tool in my mouth). It has to be a fairly sturdy tool so that the end doesn't break off while you are pulling on it. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Thanks David... i wondered about removing that rod, but didn't know if it unscrewed or not... will go back out in about an hour and try again... I seem to have hit metal along the bottom but can't get anything underneath it to pull out... have invented a really neat tool in my mind that i could make out of an old filter cover if i had an old filter cover...!!!!
(oh, by the way... the turkey baster worked well for shooting oil up through the side banjo bolt...think that lubricates the rockers.....) Didn't happen to have a "sprayer" handy.
g.b.lawson '53TD

Ahhhh.... good old woodworking tools... my little carving tools worked like a charm...small and sharp enough to cut through and raise a corner...then i just peeled it around and off (just like i imagined i should have been able to do this morning).... However... getting the damn thing off wasn't exactly the hardest part... lets see... the slightly smaller rubber ring then the channel???The smooth chrome oil filter holder covered with oil and slippery????The spring inside the canister that you can't depress because your hands slip...or, once you use a cloth, you can't turn the bolt for the slippery oil???The space between the firewall/radiator brace and the frame allows 1/4 turn of a wrench, then turn it over and use the box end for the next turn, then over again??? The ability of the canister to seat itself off set so when you tighten it down, there is still a drip..drip..drip of oil.... Going through the whole process again this time with even more oil on the canister... man, oh man, oh man... and they actually had an Empire on which the sun didn't set??????

gordon (only had one mouthful of oil...thank goodness it was Castrol).

g.b.lawson '53TD

Gordon,
Castroil 20/50 WILL keep you "regular"!
Saw this too late....but for referance next time...I have a old set of hemostats
that I ground down that works well to snag the ring.
A "funny" ...couple of years ago (can was stored in "spare-space" unit with no lights) I waited too long for my winter oil change and had a coupon from a car show door prize for "free oil change" so I took her up to Jiffy-Lube (better than laying in gravel driveway @ 10 below)...the kids up there couldn't even find the oil filter, ("dude, I thought that was the starter"..."how long is that bolt?")....should have seen the look on their faces when they saw their 1st felt filter! I took my own replacement and finsihed the job in their warm garage.
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

My local Moss dealer has a spin on for $50.00 CAD (about $1.98 U.S.) that i think i will have to go for....like the chrome stock (?) canister/cover on mine, but be darned if i will do that again.
Funny... took a minute or two to remove the canister from under the car...working it around stuff... but boy, let it slip out of your hands and it found the floor in about a second by itself.
g.b.lawson '53TD

This thread was discussed between 02/08/2004 and 03/08/2004

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