gtstcactus

A few weeks back when I changed the oil & filter I think I might have put the oil filter on too tight...

I've noticed a couple of times when I stop the car what seems to be a bit of smoke coming from the engine bay....

When I lift the hood up it clears almost immediately if it's not gone already when I get the hood up..

I'm thinking it could be a little oil dripping out of the filter.... If I tightened it too much I guess the gasket would be stuffed and it could seep a little oil out....???

I ran my finger around the filter where it seals with the engine and got a really small amount of oil on my finger, but I conclude that must mean it's leaking a little...

I used an oil filter wrench and may have been a little too enthusiastic when it came to tightening the filter... I was worried about not putting it on tight enough and having a major disaster... Now I think I went overboard and it's the cause of these occasional bits of smoke...

Does that sound feasible?? Is there something below the filter the oil could drip onto and burn?

Should I remove the filter and replace the gasket?? or replace the filter & gasket?? Or just do nothing??

I sort of want to get to the bottom of the smoke... If I replace the filter gasket (not sure if you can get separately) and I find there is no more smoke then I know what it was... if it continues I'll know I've got a problem brewing...

It's not something I notice all the time, every drive, just once in a while but I really don't like it... smoke from the engine bay really isn't ever a good sign surely!

PuReChaos

Yep, you possibly went too tight. Don't really need more than hand tight. Maybe like 90 degrees past hand tight is about what I do. As far as is that your problem, not sure exactly sure if thats your problem. The only thing I can think it would drip on to is the exhaust, but if its anything like the 03 routing, it should clear the exhaust. As far as replacing the seal, don't bother, just replace the filter. I don't even believe you can buy them separate. You could test your theory by letting the engine run and just observing the engine bay while its idling or whatever conditions you notice it.

LeX2K

Probably not the oil filter leaking but it is not expensive to swap in a new one to confirm. Don't forget to add about 0.4 liters of oil. Your engine has what's known as an oil filter adapter/bracket gasket part number 90301-68005 which loves to leak on these engines.

You might be able to sneak it past the exhaust to replace the gasket not sure, if not then the y-pipe has to be removed. When this leaks it finds its way onto the exhaust and smokes.

gtstcactus

I think I might just replace the filter as if I recall correctly I gave it a pretty good crank with the oil filter wrench...

I started out with the intention of hand tight + 180 degrees with the wrench and then kind of went a bit further thinking this shouldn't be so easy to tighten....

I think I really need to swap the filter out as the smoke is causing me undue concern... it really is quite intermittent / infrequent but the fact it's happening at all bugs me enough to worry about what it is...

Given how easy it is to change the filter and pop 400mls of oil in I think it's probably worth it to rule it in/out as the cause...

jayclapp

An oil filter wrench is only for removing the filter, not installation.

BDSL

When I install oil filter, I always do hand tight. Even with my hand, I don't go crazy.
Rarely I have to use a tool to remove the oil filter.

mspearl95

1st rule of changing oil filters- never go more than hand tight when installing.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I've never heard of an ol filter leaking because it was too tight. It's probably the residual oil that came out of the filter, that's still burning off. Clean the area around the filter before you decide to do another oil filter change.

LeX2K

The filter O-ring will crush and the filter will bottom out on the filter housing, after that it's metal on metal basically. As mentioned never ever use a filter wrench to tighten, spin it on by hand until it gets hard to turn, at most 1/2 turn after that and you're done. You almost certainly have a leak from the adapter gasket, after 22 years they tend to dry out.

gtstcactus

LOL......

Ok it's definitely on WAY tighter than it needs to be then.... The thing was on so damn tight, I just assumed it should go back on like that, silly of me really... Shouldn't go assuming anything! I was also worried about it not being tight enough and coming off causing a major drama...

I'll do a clean up but I'm certain the filter is leaking at the base where it meets the engine... I'm certain I stuffed the rubber seal / gasket on the filter...

I've stuck my finger down around the bottom side base of filter a few times in the last week or 2 and each time got oil on it, and wiped it off... Each time I go back there is a little more oil... It's a really small amount, it would probably take a year or 2 to even notice the oil drop... but really it shouldn't be leaking anything at all, so I'll put a new filter in this time only hand tight

BDSL

Ok. Follow these procedures.
1. Make sure your oil filter is installed properly (i.e. not too tight / loose, make sure there is a gasket on the oil filter, the gasket is lubricated before screwing onto the block, etc...) See service manual.
2. Shampoo / Apply brake cleaner to that area to make sure everything is clean.
3. Check for oil leak after driving around.

jayclapp

Lesson learned. If you don't know what you're doing, consider the risk if you choose to go ahead and do it.

For example, my daughter came home last week and informed that she tried to have the oil change done at Walxxxx because she didn't have time to have it done by the dealer. They failed and told her they couldn't get the filter off. Consequently, the garage floor started to show oil on the floor. While I couldn't get a good view of the filter, I could see that it was crushed. The "technical" obviously didn't know which direction to turn the filter to remove it!

They had deformed the filter so much that it had a crack in it and was leaking!

Fortunately they did not ruin the threads on the engine block and a proper oil filter change was done. But, you could lose the engine when running without oil and this could cost thousands of dollars of damage.

Trying to save a few dollars when you don't know what you are doing can be a big, and losing, gamble.

gtstcactus

Yeah I'm pretty sure I didn't put it on tight enough to destroy the threads on the block, just enough to stuff the gasket.... I could be wrong, but I'd put money on the it just being the gasket...

Yes I suppose DIY'ing could prove costly if you're not 100% on what your doing...... but what your saying Jayclapp is basically things could get screwed up and potentially expensive even when you take it to supposed "professionals"...
We don't have wallmart here, but I would have thought it a bit like taking your car to the parts store for an oil change... The people there sell parts, might know a bit about parts & cars etc, but they probably aren't mechanics...

In my case I pretty much can't afford to be paying someone to fix stuff for me, so I do it myself with the help of the internet..... I got this car in a straight swap for my 1992 Nissan Skyline with blown gearbox which had been sitting in my parents spare garage for the last 8 years... So worst case I end up where I started with a broken car...

mitmaks

You want to dab some clean oil on the oil filter gasket that way it will come off easy when its time to replace it.

Sprey

You sure its from the oil filter? My oldgirl used to have a decent leak on the rear rocker cover gasket the oil would drop down and get burnt by the exhaust creating the smoke once i opened the bonnet it would all disappear.