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Oil gushing from around top of oil filter after oil change


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Decided I would start changing my oil oil this year to be thrifty. First time doing this in a boat... I go buy a fake a lake, the big West Marine oil suction pump, a new Napa Gold 1069 filter and six quarts of Rotella T 15w40. Warm the engine up on the fake a lake getting good water flow out of the exhaust ports and finally figure out how to remove oil (suction tube not long enough to reach into the oil pan) and go ahead and remove the old filter. Took me an hour and a half to completely destroy the old fiter trying to remove it. The mechanic that changed the oil last must have used a serious wrench to tighten this thing up. So tight that I thought something was wrong. Put the new filter on firm hand tight and fill the thing back up with oil. Fire it up on the fake a lake and let it circulate before checking the oil level. After a couple minutes of idling I peek over at the oil filter which is absolutely gushing oil into the bilge. Maybe I didn't get the filter tight enough? I shut down and turned it as hand tight as I can possible get it but still gushing oil. I go buy some fancy filter wrenches and get another quarter turn out of it but still absolutely gushing oil.

This is going on six hours and twice the dealer cost to change my oil at this point so I'm heated. I give it a night to think about it. Maybe I damaged the filter somehow overtightening? Maybe I have a double seal issue? I decide to remove the oil again and remove the filter to inspect. Turns out there was no rubber seal on the oil filter I installed! Looked in the original box and all around the driveway but I didn't see one laying around. I wonder if its possible that this filter really made it to me without a seal from the factory? I guess it could have been lost in the NAPA store if someone else pulled the filter out of the box to look at it. I learned about changing oil in my boat yesterday but could have gone without completely filling my bilge with oil on the first experiment. I still love NAPA for some reason.

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Man I feel your pain, If it makes you feel any better some professional machanics left the O rings off the Jet engine fuel filters and cost me an added inspection every 300 hours of operation on the company jet. Seems they left the factory without the O rings installed.

Thanks for posting, you may have just saved someone else the same issues.

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That's a good lesson for newby's, make sure the old gasket comes off and a new gasket (smeared with a little oil) goes on. I've never had a problem with missing gaskets but I suppose it's not uncommon since they're just press fitted. I have a pretty decent grip so I only hand tighten all my filters, never had a leak so far.

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Ooo man that's brutal. Yeah always make sure that seal is inside the oil filter or you're screwed. Do you find it better using the suction pump instead of just putting the drain hose through the hull and draining that way?

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The first thing I do after taking the new filter out of the box is to put oil on the gasket. It is almost second nature so I'd see no gasket right away, but I can definitely see how it can be overlooked.

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Had the engine removed last year to replace the oil pan and for some reason they decided to remove the oil drain tube during the process. I would love to have that thing back but I heard it drains quite a bit slower that way. I don't feel like I get all of the oil out using the suction pump but don't any other options at this point!

Ooo man that's brutal. Yeah always make sure that seal is inside the oil filter or you're screwed. Do you find it better using the suction pump instead of just putting the drain hose through the hull and draining that way?

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For some reason my brain didn't register that I was putting oil on bare metal when I was prepping the filter. Guess not changing my own oil in my truck for the past 10 years made me a little rusty.

The first thing I do after taking the new filter out of the box is to put oil on the gasket. It is almost second nature so I'd see no gasket right away, but I can definitely see how it can be overlooked.

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The first thing I do after taking the new filter out of the box is to put oil on the gasket. It is almost second nature so I'd see no gasket right away, but I can definitely see how it can be overlooked.

I have always done the same thing... Little film of fresh oil on the new rubber seal to insure it spins on easily and seals.

This may not be necessary but it gives one more inspection prior to install.

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From my past mistakes, (and it only happened once) it is possible that the rubber gasket from the new filter is stuck to the engine or to the old gasket which is stuck to the engine. When the two gaskets stick together oil squirts out as you described. Use a flashlight and look at the surface where the new filter and gasket are to mate with the engine. Also, I was under the impression that one never uses a wrench to tighten an oil filter. Snug plus being enough

Edited by Bozboat
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The only reason I was trying filter wrenches was to try to stop the oil from leaking. I have a high pressure oil pump in my engine which made me think the higher pressure might have been pushing out out even when the filter was just hand tight. Crazy how they don't leak hand tight when the actually have a seal. I honestly think I must have turned the filter upside down at some point walking over to the boat and the seal fell out. Lot's of time invested in a project that should have been so obvious!

From my past mistakes, (and it only happened once) it is possible that the rubber gasket from the new filter is stuck to the engine or to the old gasket which is stuck to the engine. When the two gaskets stick together oil squirts out as you described. Use a flashlight and look at the surface where the new filter and gasket are to mate with the engine. Also, I was under the impression that one never uses a wrench to tighten an oil filter. Snug plus being enough

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I have always done the same thing... Little film of fresh oil on the new rubber seal to insure it spins on easily and seals.

This may not be necessary but it gives one more inspection prior to install.

Always lubricate the rubber :whistle:

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