WIX XP oil filter leaking....

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by dkryan
Well, that's the question: hand-tighten only or "snug" with a wrench?


Put a wrench on it and give it a 1/8 turn to see if the seepage stops.

There have been reports of leaky filters where the leakage was coming from the base plate seam, so not amount of tightening or cleaning would fix it.

Originally Posted by dkryan
There were no issues with the filter leaking right after the change and for the next 4,500 miles.


This is a hint that it's probably a base plate seem. If it was contamination on the base, it would have leaked right away. Might be possible it loosened up some, so giving it another 1/8 turn after you went tight as possible by hand would be something to try.

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Originally Posted by dkryan
Well, that's the question: hand-tighten only or "snug" with a wrench?


That would depend on whether you can get it to 3/4 by hand, if not use a wrench. I never would of admitted to doing it back in the day when I was changing my own oil but most of the time my hands were to oily to get a good enough grip so I used a wrench for that last little bit, never had a filter leak on me.



Really good points here by duffyjr....

Oil on hand turning filter = a lot less coefficient of friction to properly tighten down oil filter= could easily equal leaking later...

 

[dkryan]

Thanks for the replies.

My wife used the Outback for a run to the veterinarian this morning, so I changed the WIX XP roughly two hours after her return.

The first thing I noticed pre-filter change was there was no oil sitting in the filter housing, unlike that in the picture in my original post.

The filter was a bear to remove by hand! Leather gloves helped. Once removed, I examined the gasket and seam and I did not notice anything amiss. I dried the gasket and seam and still did not detect an "error."

I installed a NAPA Platinum and tightened it by hand, then ran that monstrous HP 2.5L engine for about five minutes. No leaks.

I'll monitor the filter and let you know if the seepage re-occurs.

Pics to follow.

 

[dkryan]

DOH! Says Homer Simpson.

I believe I gave you two pictures of the"wiped off" filter base. This pix is immediately after I removed it, though I am loathe to tell any difference between the two.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted by dkryan
Well, that's the question: hand-tighten only or "snug" with a wrench?


I remember on the OEM filter having a strange spec of 7/8-ths turn after filter contact with base. Maybe critical.

 

[Job]

A side view of the used filter compared to a new one may give a better idea if the gasket was damaged by over tightening. If the rubber structure is weakened, the heat cool cycles or pressure cycles could make the no longer springy gasket leak.

 

[KenshinHimura]

I had a Wix XP that was weeping on my Eclipse. It was weeping at the seam which also seemed to be a semi occurring thing with some of the XPs. Didn't have any issues with any Napa gold or regular Wix filters. Ended up buying some new Platinum fitlers for the Eclipse, 200, and the Veloster to try and see if that one from last year happened to be a bad batch since Napa had a 20% discount for AAA members.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted by dkryan
DOH! Says Homer Simpson.

I believe I gave you two pictures of the"wiped off" filter base. This pix is immediately after I removed it, though I am loathe to tell any difference between the two.


Is that a hole in the gasket around 9:00, or some kind of flash illusion?

 

[53' Stude]

It appears to be looks like oil on gasket.

 

[dkryan]

No hole.

It's oil and "the flash" as noted by 53'.

We'll see how the NAPA Platinum performs.