When re-using your oil filter...

[daman]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
NEVER a good idea to remove and reinstall a used oil filter. Those gaskets were NEVER intended to be used twice.

If you are going to use it for two OCIs leave it alone!

Did you miss the part that Ive never had a leak? they can be reused yes. do it all the time.


Just because you've been lucky doesn't mean others will be.

The engineers that specified those gaskets on spin ons never intended for them to be reseated again. When you have a failure on the highway at speed don't say you weren't warned.

Has nothing to do with luck,it works and can be done,period.

my big block Chev puts out 80 psi cold 65 warm the seal holds up fine.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: daman
[Has nothing to do with luck,it works and can be done,period.

my big block Chev puts out 80 psi cold 65 warm the seal holds up fine.


I'm not saying you can' do it. What I am saying is that the gaskets are compromised when you remove them and resinstall.

You've been fortunate that one hasn't ruptured or failed yet.
You are throwing the dice. It is a carp shoot as to when it'll come up snake eyes.

Is it worth it to try and remove a few ounces of old oil? No.

 

[zerosoma]

Cool, I just wanted to see what you guys thought.

I don't generally take it off and dump the oil anyways, but I figured maybe some of you practiced that and if my thinking was correct - it was! I leave it on.

I'm sure some have gotten lucky here but yes, the gasket is a pretty fragile subject.

I leave my Pure Ones and Wix (Napa Gold) on for two OCI's, but the other filters like Classics and Quaker States I'll leave on for 1 OCI.

 

[Filter guy]

Why would one mix used residule oil with fresh oil?

I know people do it but it's not my thing.

And oh btw...south of the border when they take a filter off and drain the oil out to reuse it...they flush the oil out with gasoline. Something to thin the oil and get it out. Again, not my cup of tea but there you go.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Next time when you remove the oil filter to discard, check the gasket to see if they are fragile and if it can be re-used. Unless you over tighten the oil filter, the gasket is very sturdy and flexible too.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: Filter guy
And oh btw...south of the border when they take a filter off and drain the oil out to reuse it...they flush the oil out with gasoline. Something to thin the oil and get it out.


Flushing with gasoline isn't a good move IMO. The avg sized filter holds ~8 oz of oil, so compared to 5 or 6 qts that's really not much dirty oil mixed with new (5%), so leaving a filter on for a 2nd run without draining it isn't going to matter much. I've only had one vehicle where I'd run the filter for two OCIs ... otherwise I always change the filter at every OCI.

 

[Klutch9]

I'm in the process of re-using the Mobil 1 filter on my Focus, and I just left it on there when I did the oil change. Mainly for 2 reasons... 1) the gasket might not seal properly the second time around and 2) since my filter is mounted vertically, it'd be a mess trying to wipe off a filter covered in oil. I did notice that my oil got darker much quicker, mostly because of the remaining portion of dirty oil left in the filter/valleys.

As one member here mentioned to me when I posed the same question the OP did a few months back: "If you're going to bother taking the filter off, why not just replace it with a new one?" Sound logic to me, so I just left it on.

 

[ltslimjim]

Leave it or or install a new one if removed. The end.

If you are stranded somewhere and need oil + desperately have to remove the oil filter for some reason(leak at the cooler behind it, pressure switch, in the way of some work in a tight place, etc etc....otherwise, uh?

 

[Filter guy]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: Filter guy
And oh btw...south of the border when they take a filter off and drain the oil out to reuse it...they flush the oil out with gasoline. Something to thin the oil and get it out.


Flushing with gasoline isn't a good move IMO. The avg sized filter holds ~8 oz of oil, so compared to 5 or 6 qts that's really not much dirty oil mixed with new (5%), so leaving a filter on for a 2nd run without draining it isn't going to matter much. I've only had one vehicle where I'd run the filter for two OCIs ... otherwise I always change the filter at every OCI.


I agree that flushing with gasoline isn't a good idea. Just mentioned an actual practice used elsewhere.

 

[Coprolite]

As stated many times, the whole benefit of reusing the filter is not having to remove it in the first place. I recently performed a change on my TSX and listened to the MM when it said to change just the oil.

 

[Eddie]

Any time you remove and replace, you run the risk of problems. That is a fact. I see no value in removing and replacing an oil filter but, I do see potential for a problem. If one continues to remove & replace, then statistically there will be a failure. Ed

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
NEVER a good idea to remove and reinstall a used oil filter. Those gaskets were NEVER intended to be used twice.

If you are going to use it for two OCIs leave it alone!

Did you miss the part that Ive never had a leak? they can be reused yes. do it all the time.


The few times I removed an oil filter and reused it I never had a leak either. I run the engine and check for leaks. Truth is I'd rather change the filter with the oil, no point for me in leaving close to another 10-20% dirty oil [in some instances] to instantly mix into fresh clean oil. It's bad enough you can't get all the dirty oil out of an engine when you change it, why leave even more dirty oil in the filter? YMMV

 

[Ken2]

Why drain the oil at 4000? The oil is probably still good unless you've made many short, cool drives. The small amount of oil in the filter is no problem in any case unless some contaminant was put into the engine---antifreeze by mistake or leak or something equally contaminating.

 

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
Why drain the oil at 4000?


It's my preference. And whether the oil is still good or not is entirely up for debate. I don't really subscribe to running a dino oil out to 5-6k.

Could it go out to 6,000? Maybe. But I'm not really interested in drawing it out that long.

Plus, when you're good enough at shopping, it really doesn't matter because most of the oil you get is free or extremely cheap!