Car fire caused by oil filter?

[4WD]

Yeah … they are not exactly graceful … I lived in an expensive (company) apartment in MEL … on Saturday the exotic cars would crank up and romp on it … the way the exhaust evacuated sounded like something was bad wrong …

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix

Originally Posted by TrainingPolicy

Originally Posted by jeepman3071

I guess I'm just confused about how one would safety wire a spin-on canister oil filter to not come off.

Yeah, I am thinking the same thing. Does anyone have any photos or links to one of these?

Just use a hose clamp on the filter can, then safety wire to a good point near the filter and wire it so the filter can't loosen. Typically motorcycle racers need to safety wire the oil filter, drain plug and oil filter cap, so don't know why the car guys that track their cars aren't at least required to have the oil filter safety wired. Must be a track by track rule thing. Adam LZ even said in the video he was aware of how oil filters can loosed on the GT350 due to the high revving flat-plane engine, so he should have safety wired it the first time he found it loose. Anyone tracking their GT350 should know this needs to be done. Maybe they will now since Adam's video will spread like wildfire through the GT350 community.

I like the hose clamp idea with the wire.

 

[DGXR]

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix

Maybe they will now since Adam's video will spread like wildfire through the GT350 community.

I see what you did there.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by DGXR

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix

Maybe they will now since Adam's video will spread like wildfire through the GT350 community.

I see what you did there.

... yeah, it pretty much fits. I see there's already a big thread in the GT350 forum at Mustang6G.

 

[Job]

They assume the filter was installed correctly. Compressing a thick gasket too far can break the bonds in the rubber and it ruins required pressure on the mount. Any vibrations will magnify the flaw. Until they know the filter was turned the right distance onto the thread to maintain gasket pressure they are out of luck IMO. If the filter says 3/4 turn, that is the correct gasket compression distance. More turning is not better. I tend to want to turn more, but don't do that anymore, just what the filter says on it. 3/4-1 or 1/2-3/4 turn whatever it says.

 

[ZeeOSix]

The oil filter on the GT350 is supposed to be torqued to a specified value. Any Ford dealership should know that by now. Anyone tracking a GT350 needs to safety wire the oil filter, because even torquing to spec may not guarantee that it stays tight ... simple as that. There's a reason Ford changed the filter design from a spin-on to a cartridge filter on that engine.

 

[Job]

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix

The oil filter on the GT350 is supposed to be torqued to a specified value. Any Ford dealership should know that by now. Anyone tracking a GT350 needs to safety wire the oil filter, because even torquing to spec may not guarantee that it stays tight ... simple as that. There's a reason Ford changed the filter design from a spin-on to a cartridge filter on that engine.

Problem solving requires all possibilities to be investigated without bias. Thick gaskets can be torqued but isn't as accurate as turns. The other reason to use cartridges is they may want to idiot proof the oil filter from gorilla types. Too much assuming and reaching possibly wrong conclusions.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by Farnsworth

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix

The oil filter on the GT350 is supposed to be torqued to a specified value. Any Ford dealership should know that by now. Anyone tracking a GT350 needs to safety wire the oil filter, because even torquing to spec may not guarantee that it stays tight ... simple as that. There's a reason Ford changed the filter design from a spin-on to a cartridge filter on that engine.

Problem solving requires all possibilities to be investigated without bias. Thick gaskets can be torqued but isn't as accurate as turns. The other reason to use cartridges is they may want to idiot proof the oil filter from gorilla types. Too much assuming and reaching possibly wrong conclusions.

Ford came up with a torque spec specifically for the GT350 for a reason ... to ensure the filter was tight enough. But apparently sustained high RPM track use with the Voodoo (flat plane) engine was still too much for a properly torqued down oil filter. That's why Ford then went to a cartridge style oil filter. Guys that track a GT350 with a spin-on filter need to safety wire the filter ... that's the best problem solving answer, end of story. Anything else will be a risk. Adam LZ said this was the second time the spin-on came loose on the track (he got lucky the first time), so he should have learned from the first indecent that safety wire was the real answer. $3 for a hose clamp and wire, and 15 minutes of time to install it on the filter would have saved a $60K car.