Hfilter is leaking like a sieve

[Daniel Coronado]

I changed the oil in the '61 B and semie-restored the cannister at the same time. When started, Swepco purple is pouring out of the top bolt despite using new copper crush washer. I prefilled the cannister as recommended but not all the way up to the top. Opening the cannister, the oil level had risen to the top to overflow levels. It would appear the oil is not cycling through but I have no reason to believe the lines or canister openings are blocked. I turkey basted oil out of the cannister until almost empty, closed it back up, and restarted for about 3 seconds. No leak this time but a slight gurgling, wheezy sound from the motor. I am afraid to proceed for fear of oil starving the motor. I'm really not sure what the next step would be and hoping the forum members can help....help!

[Thomas Sottile]

maybe there is an blockage in one of the lines feeding or returning the oil

[Daniel Coronado]

would that be the bottom or side? Thanks.

[Tom Keating]

That happened to me once. I pulled the new filter out and put another filter in. problem solved. Do not remember the brand but it must have blocked the very small holes.

[Martin Benade]

Even so it seems like all the oil should have been contained.

[Wes Bender]

Even if the small hole in the side of the standpipe is blocked, the top bolt shouldn't leak. No need to prefill the cannister. It's a bypass system and the filtered oil only drains back into the crankcase.

[Michael Pawelek]

Try starting the motor for a few seconds with the lid of the canister bolted down but no filter inside. If all flows ok it might be something wrong with the filter.

[Wes Bender]

That would equate to the hole in the standpipe being blocked as I posted. The oil flows in through the upper hose, passes through the filter, through the small orifice in that stand pipe and exits through the lower hose where it dumps into the crankcase. The flow to the bearings, etc is not affected. He needs to fix the fit of the copper water and top bolt.

[Mike Wilson]

Daniel, were you previously using Swepco with no leaks?

Mike

[Daniel Coronado]

I don't recall the previous brand of oil. I am pulling the car out of long term storage. This is not a simple leak. It seems like oil is being forced out the cannister top under(extreme?) pressure. I'm starting to get the impression the oil is not draining from the bottom of the cannister. As in filling from the side fitting and remaining captive in the cannister. All oil circulation was normal until I pull the cannister to refurbish it and refilled with new oil.

[Wes Bender]

Unless you have very high oil pressure, say 90 psi or so, you can block the outlet and a properly sealed canister won't leak. What restoration work was accomplished on it? Do you have a gauge to see what the oil pressure is? One issue might be blockage, but it alone can't cause leakage.

[Al Zim]

We always encourage our customer to install a full flow oil filter when the engine is being restored. Some of them even remove the factory bypass filter!
Most of the people that look at your car will not be knowledgeable to know it is gone.
***If you have an oil leak while driving! How long will it take till you have to restore the engine? You cannot successfully do that at home***This is an expensive disaster*** our shop is full. al

[Dave Erickson]

I don't recall the previous brand of oil. I am pulling the car out of long term storage. This is not a simple leak. It seems like oil is being forced out the cannister top under(extreme?) pressure. I'm starting to get the impression the oil is not draining from the bottom of the cannister. As in filling from the side fitting and remaining captive in the cannister. All oil circulation was normal until I pull the cannister to refurbish it and refilled with new oil.

Daniel, did you see Tom Keating's post, #4 above? If the filter blocks the exit hole in the stand pipe, no oil can get out of the cannister. So check the filter.

[Mark Roth]

What is an Hfilter? Should the subject be, “Oil filter canister is leaking like a sieve”?
If so, I can change it.

[Wes Bender]

I don't recall the previous brand of oil. I am pulling the car out of long term storage. This is not a simple leak. It seems like oil is being forced out the cannister top under(extreme?) pressure. I'm starting to get the impression the oil is not draining from the bottom of the cannister. As in filling from the side fitting and remaining captive in the cannister. All oil circulation was normal until I pull the cannister to refurbish it and refilled with new oil.

Daniel, did you see Tom Keating's post, #4 above? If the filter blocks the exit hole in the stand pipe, no oil can get out of the cannister. So check the filter.

Dave, could you explain to me why a blocked hole, plugged filter, etc. will cause the leak? During normal operation, the inside of the canister is seeing pressure almost as high as the system. The small orifice can't flow enough oil to drop the pressure much. He's got a problem with sealing around that top bolt (or a crack in the can).

From experience here is what a blocked hole does: on my last engine rebuild, I put a new filter cartridge in the cannister. A few minutes after startup, I put my hand on the cannister and found it was cool. Oil pressure light was out and I was doing the cam and lifter run-in thing, so I didn't shut it down. After 20 minutes I shut it down. The cannister, while not cold, wasn't at oil temperature level either. I disconnected the input line to the cannister and attached my gauge. On startup it read 55 psi. Only a single drop of oil ran out when I disconnected the line, which is normal. I opened the cannister and removed the filter cartridge. Nothing strange noted except the oil level in the cannister was lower than expected. Further investigation disclosed the remains of a (Germanm I suppose) spider completely blocking the orifice in the standpipe. Removing that and blowing out the pipe fixed the issue. Put the same cartridge back in (after blowing it out too), closed it up, reattached the inlet line and started it up. Can gradually warmed as expected. No leaks occuered at any point in the process.

The spider probably found its way into the filter at the factory.