Tighten Up Those Filters, Boys . . .

[Greg Field]

Heard of another V11 Sport today dead because the filter backed off. That makes three in the last month and two in the last week that I personally know of. He, too, called needing rod shells and bolts. Guzzi is out of rod bearings and rod bolts. Coincidence? You decide.

 

Tighten the filter well, and watch your oil light. It is also considered wise by some to use a hose clamp to be double-dog sure it won't come loose without your blessing.

[docc]

Kind of makes you see the wisdom in the old 'pull your sump' camp.

 

Is it the Manhole Boys that toast their bearings?

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

 

Tighten the filter well, and watch your oil light. It is also considered wise by some to use a hose clamp to be double-dog sure it won't come loose without your blessing.

 

I'll be hose clamping this winter for sure.

[Guest Mattress]

well i ad no usefulleness to you lad....fee I do so now and then . guziiotho...boobie he said(wanted)

[Ouiji Veck]

Hmmm....wonder if it's the change in season/ temp.

Can't figure where the "clamp" goes...what about a spacer/spring between the

manhole and filter bottom?

I know I dont wail my filter on too tight because of the 4.5 hr fiasco

on the first filter change..........

gulp.........

[pete roper]

The weird thing is that in 25 years of farting about with Guzzis I've NEVER had a filter come loose that I can recollect. Having said that my recollection is never the best. It's got me stumped as to why, suddenly, filters should start loosening, but it seems to be hapening so Greg's Idea of the hose clamp that has been used for quite a few years by the paranoid with earlier models with the filter in the sump sounds to be a sensible idea.

 

All the clamp does is butt up against *something*, in the case of V11's I'd guess the thermostat housing for the oil cooler and since it's tightened on the filter body the screwy bit prevents the filter from un-tightening. If I had a V11 I'd definitely be doing it, but once again it shows that the whole externally accessible filter thing was a half-arsed wank and they should never of put the manhole in the sump plate in the first place. Weld the bugger up and be done with it.

 

I'll certainly be dropping the sump plate and installing a clamp on any of the V11's I work on, all, of course, as part of my cunning scheme to fleece my customers and buy that boat

 

Pete

[belfastguzzi]

Is it the Manhole Boys that toast their bearings?

That was my question as well.

 

Why should filters be coming off?

They're just not being put on right...???

[twhitaker]

In my 19 years of owning Guzzis with filters I've never had one come loose. Getting the first filter out of each of my new bikes was a bear. I think Guido does not put oil on the seal ring which causes it to glue itself to the mating surface. I use Mobil 1 filters and have a socket that fits. I totally disregard the torque specified (snug plus 1/4 turn or something like that) and tighten them to where it feels right(probably 1 1/2 turns after snug). I'd rather have to resort to the hammer and screwdriver treatment than the alternative. The first filter change on the Centauro was a bit of a surprise. I don't have a socket to fit the UFI do I did the hammer and screwdriver treatment. When I went to turn the screwdriver, one little nudge and the filter was loose. I mean I hadn't gone 1/16 of a turn and it was free. It got me wondering about the elasticity of the seal ring on that filter. Maybe it was just the difference in techniques between the PO and I.

[guido]

[i think Guido does not put oil on the seal ring which causes it to glue itself to the mating surface. I use Mobil 1 filters and have a socket that fit)

 

Please leave me out of this one. I deny ever, ever having had anything to do with the filters in the factory!

But clearly there seems to be a problem, and it can almost only be a lack of tightening, most likely because few have the right tool and you can't apply a lot of torque with stretched fingers in the confined space left by the cover under the filter.

[Bill Hagan]

Given my skills (and I wasn't given much! ), I would think I'd risk more by having a poorly placed clamp decide to visit the internals than just making sure the filter is snugged down to ... uhm ... hammer-removal specs.

 

Bill

[pete roper]

Please leave me out of this one. I deny ever, ever having had anything to do with the filters in the factory!

But clearly there seems to be a problem, and it can almost only be a lack of tightening, most likely because few have the right tool and you can't apply a lot of torque with stretched fingers in the confined space left by the cover under the filter.

 

This is a very good point, but Greg said that it's been happening to long time Guzzi owners who know the score and, it seems, it's only started happening recently. That's what I find the weirdest thing.

 

Oh, and Bill, knowing your luck even if you did it up super tight and then used a clamp on the filter it would probably get a nail in it

 

Pete

[Guest ratchethack]

Is it conceivable that this rash of loose filters coincides with a plummeting global common sense index?! Nearly any kind of analysis of our National elections this week would seem to fit this picture.

 

I personally can't conceive of a mentality that would attempt to install a new filter through the manhole without torquing it up properly using the correct filter socket. Are there owners -- and yea, verily -- "professional mechanics" -- who, lacking the correct filter socket, would forego the effort of acquiring the right socket or do a proper removal of the sump, and then simply spin on a new filter through the manhole, attempt to seat it with their fingertips at an impossible angle, fail to do so (as any dipstick would instantly comprehend) , and then say, "All done, time for lunch!"

 

Unfortunately, a rise in the popularity of common stupidity, laziness, and lack of responsibility and accountability seems to be the only plausible answer. A creeping mendacity seems to've been oozing in through the cracks lately like a foul, rising dampness. . . . .

 

Faced with the evidence, what are we to do about it?? Wot kinda insurance do you need and/or want? Wot're ya willing to pay by way of effort and application of common sense? I reckon it mostly depends on y'er "local environment". . . . .

 

I do 100% of my own maintenance. I decided after installing 2 Roper plates, and eyeing things up close and personal again twice in one day, that as long as it's ME who continues to torque 'em in properly with the right tools as I've always done, my confidence level is such that I have no need to back up my procedure with a "filter lock".

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

[jrt]

well i ad no usefulleness to you lad....fee I do so now and then . guziiotho...boobie he said(wanted)

 

Is Belfast visiting Chicago?

[dlaing]

notice the safety wire hole and the nut, for p-roper torquing.

Of course it costs more, and I am not sure where you would wire it to.

Note the correct part number is NOT the one shown in the above image.

It is KN-163

http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=KN-163

[Dan M]

Is it conceivable that this rash of loose filters coincides with a plummeting global common sense index?! Nearly any kind of analysis of our National elections this week would seem to fit this picture. <_>

 

I personally can't conceive of a mentality that would attempt to install a new filter through the manhole without torquing it up properly using the correct filter socket. Are there owners -- and yea, verily -- "professional mechanics" -- who, lacking the correct filter socket, would forego the effort of acquiring the right socket or do a proper removal of the sump, and then simply spin on a new filter through the manhole, attempt to seat it with their fingertips at an impossible angle, fail to do so (as any dipstick would instantly comprehend) , and then say, "All done, time for lunch!"

 

Unfortunately, a rise in the popularity of common stupidity, laziness, and lack of responsibility and accountability seems to be the only plausible answer. A creeping mendacity seems to've been oozing in through the cracks lately like a foul, rising dampness. . . . . <_>

 

Faced with the evidence, what are we to do about it?? Wot kinda insurance do you need and/or want? Wot're ya willing to pay by way of effort and application of common sense? I reckon it mostly depends on y'er "local environment". . . . .

 

I do 100% of my own maintenance. I decided after installing 2 Roper plates, and eyeing things up close and personal again twice in one day, that as long as it's ME who continues to torque 'em in properly with the right tools as I've always done, my confidence level is such that I have no need to back up my procedure with a "filter lock".

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

 

Exactly. After near 30 years in the car business I can tell you that filters that "come loose" were always loose. Loose, leaky filters that I've seen were usually put on by the car's owner or some snot-nosed kid at a quick oil change place. The only bright side is that if you are not qualified to tighten an oil filter fully then natural selection is probably going to see that you are removed from the gene pool after you decide to do your own brake service.