Well the dirty deed is done! Last sunday (6 days ago) I worked on the 1 quart per 100 mile oil filter adapter leak.
I reused the '87 Renix oil filter adapter, replaced the o'rings (less than $5.00 at the dealer, and they were instock, NICE!) and swaped out the OEM '87 metric thread oil filter pipe nipple for the newer 3/4" SAE pipe nipple. Then I installed a new 1 quart oil filter in the vertical (87 OEM Style) direction.
But let me digress first. A few days earlier I swaped out the Quaker State oil filter (which I was under the wrong impression to be a relabled Fram, but it turned out to be a decent relabled Purolator, I think) for a Mobil 1 filter.
I saw no difference in start up oil pressure, cold, warm, or hot oil pressure, or oil pressure at various loads and rpms. The oil pressures were exactly the same for all operating conditions with both filters.
Then with the new 1 quart oil filter K & N Part #HP-3001 (which replaced the 1/2 quart OEM size filter) I noticed the following.
Took about 5 to 6 seconds:shiver: to see oil pressure on the gauge during the first start up. Now the pressure comes up pretty fast at start up.:yelclap:
The oil pressure on the dash gauge, overall at all operating condisitions seems to be a bit higher now. :yelclap: I have monitored it for over 200 miles the last 6 days and it seems to have helped increase the oil pressure just a little. I am close to 60 psi at a first morning cold start now versus about 50 to 55 psi before switching to the larger oil filter.
Also the idle rpm oil pressure when hot seems to be about 5 psi higher now as well.
The lowest oil pressure, hot idle just after a long hot highway run for 30 minutes, with the water coolant at about 190 F, is about 22 to 23 PSI, where as before I had seen it as low as 18 to 19 psi. Also once I slow down to neighborhood speeds (less than 40 mph) for a few minutes the hot idle oil pressure comes back up much more quickly than before and to a higher idle oil pressure of about 28 to 29 psi.
Still not 100% sure if it is just the new oil and new filter media effect I am seeing at the hot oil idle condition, but it definetly has raised the engine oil pressure at least 5 psi (if not 10 psi) for most of the other operating temperatures, and rpms. The hot oil pressure at 60 mph, 2000 rpm is running 33 to 40 psi, versus 28 to 30 before.
The current oil is a slightly different mix (from what I had a few weeks ago) currently of 5w-50 Castrol synthetic (about 35%), 20W50 Castrol Syntech (part synthetic, part dyno, about 40%) and some Exxon straight dyno 40Wt (about 20%) and some Quaker state 20W50 (maybe 10%).
Since the recent leaks were so huge and the crankcase oil was mostly brand new, I only topped off what was still in the engine after fixing the leak and doing the filter modification.
During the last few weeks (3 weeks) of the big leak, I was replacing leaking 20W50 Quaker State with Castrol 5W50 synthetic at first*, and towards the end with 40 wt Exxon dyno oil.
I saw very little if any change in the oil pressure readings during the last weeks when I was using the different oils to replace the leaked oils.
One last note! I think the oil filter adapter leak started when I used a 1/2 quart of Marvel mystery oil and 1/2 quart of Risolene oil additive during my last oil change about four weeks ago to help with lifter noise. I thought the two additives had just burned off quickly (which is normal) and replaced the first lost quart with a trial of partial synthetic for the first time, 5W50 Castrol 100% synthetic.
It was obviously Leak City :tear: at the oil filter adapter after that. The o'rings were flat, hard and brittle so the additives and synthtic oil must have cleaned the trash out that was still sealing the oil filter adapter o'rings before I used the additives and synthetic oil.
Conclusions:
I like the new larger oil filter in the vertical position!!!!!:sunshine:
I am getting more oil flow and pressure to the engine!party1:
The leak has stopped!!!!!