SuzukiSavage.com - Back-wards oil filter!?!?

Balderdash

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Back-wards oil filter!?!?
05/10/09 at 22:33:45

I just replaced all the bolts on my '96 savage engine, replaced the cam chain and adjusted the valves, replaced the brake pads, replaced the gaskets on everything I opened up. Checked the clutch plates but decided they looked fine and put them back...

When reassembling the bike, I quickly took out the old oil filter, put a new one in, correctly, and then realized I had a spare small o-ring and took the oil filter back out and replaced the small o-ring and thought to myself, what a silly thing, that old o-ring was just fine... then quickly forgot all about it as I reattached the oil filter cover with the 3 new stainless steel allen wrench bolts.

Next day, after letting the gasket material in the header to slip on 'cure' for 24 hours, I'm all ready to listen to the motor start up and see if I got the cam-chain in the right spot or if I missed by a link or two and would have to start over.

Turn the key, engine spurts - kicks in, spews some black smoke from pouring oil over the valves after resetting them, and I think, oh yeah, the chain is right and the bike is purring... I'll rev it a little, when suddenly...

POW!

And Oil is spewing straight out of the side of the bike about three feet laterally, like a jugular has been slit. I jump and turn off the bike and look down, the oil cover is cracked in a 3 inch half moon shape under the bottom half of the oil filter circle. I remove the 3 bolts and find that I put the oil filter on BACKWARDS! Covering the hole with the solid end!

Dear God, someone please shoot me! Embarrassed

24 hours later with a quarter cup of JB Weld soaked into the crack and waiting for a RonAyers purchase to arrive, the bike is running again, but man or man, what an idiot I am Grin

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photojoe FSO

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #1 - 05/11/09 at 05:13:21

Every time after I button something up, I seem to always ask my self if I forgot to do something. I once walked into the house after doing an oil change asking myself if the rubber O-ring was installed. It drove me crazy enough that I opened it back up. The O-ring was there.

When I do an oil/filter change, I pour a bit of oil into the filter just before I put everything back together. This way it has to go in the right way.

Something that will help us make sure that everything was done right with an inside procedure is pictures, video or someone looking over our shoulder.

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FSO

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Reelthing Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Fish or ride that is the question Posts: 5397 Houston,Tx Gender:	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #2 - 05/11/09 at 06:35:04 well your not alone - that's i believe the 4th blowout I recall on the forum - the very first one was quite a puzzle -
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SavageDanny

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #3 - 05/11/09 at 07:28:40

I got you beat for stupid.

I put the little gear on the back of the clutch on backwards once. You know the little gear that turns the other gear that makes your oil pump work. Embarrassed

No oil was getting to the top. It ran fine for a week then started having problems. It got noisy and ran like crap. Took it all back apart and found I had to replace the cam and rockers. That was one expensive learning experience.

Now every time I work on it I get paranoid, wondering if I put it back together right. I have actually done jobs twice just to make sure I did it right.

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marshall13

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #4 - 05/11/09 at 13:01:16

mark your parts!! a sharpee, an electric pencil, a scribe, even prick punches.... as you dis-assemble, mark the outer face of parts... put a mark on your filter's outer face... before you button up, check for your marks all facing correctly... a star, check, or happyface drawn on the metal end wrap on the filter with a sharpee will not contaminate your oil, and will show at a glance if it's installed correctly.... "dummy insurance" is cheap.... it only costs a little time....

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diamond jim Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 1425 North Alabama Gender:	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #5 - 05/11/09 at 13:23:02 That is great advice. So simple.
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ero4444 Full Member Offline weekender Posts: 176	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #6 - 05/11/09 at 14:44:32 Balderdash, thanks for sharing this unhappy story. Was the oil hot at the time? Some here seem to think that thermal expansion causes the blowout but I think it's probably the oil pressure, turning the backwards filter into a hydraulic piston.
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Balderdash

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #7 - 05/11/09 at 20:06:32

ero4444 wrote on 05/11/09 at 14:44:32:

Balderdash, thanks for sharing this unhappy story.

Was the oil hot at the time? Some here seem to think that thermal expansion causes the blowout but I think it's probably the oil pressure, turning the backwards filter into a hydraulic piston.

There was no expansion yet, the oil was not even warm yet. In fact I know it wasn't, as it blew out less than a minute after starting it was still cool to the touch as it came out.

The shape of the hole is exactly outlining the oil filter, the filter was brand new and wasn't pre-soaked, the oil pressure just simply tried to push through the filter top and drove the filter through the outside of the casing. The ring inside the cover that holds the spring in place is visible as well as the oil filter outline, so much pressure was pushing from the inside and trying to get out.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #8 - 05/12/09 at 08:44:45 Maybe the splash pot up in the head kept the cam & rockers oiled.
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SimonTuffGuy Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline i like to thump... ;) Posts: 1159 Central PA Gender:	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #9 - 05/12/09 at 08:56:33 Ouch! I guess I'll need to double check myself when I change my oil soon!
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Seth C. Full Member Offline Posts: 173 Tucson, AZ Gender:	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #10 - 05/12/09 at 14:12:54 I did it about umm 6 weeks ago. Doh!
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prsavage

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #11 - 05/12/09 at 17:20:39

I am currently working on a brand new ship (BCFerry, M.V. Island Sky). We had the engine manufacturer's rep do the final inspection/service before handing the boat over to us but he didn't start the engine and z-peller after changing the filters. On the next startup we blew a 2" gear oil line apart and lost about 200 litres into the bilge. We did it 4 more times before we found he had left a valve turned 180 essentially blinding the filter housing outlet.

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marshall13

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #12 - 05/12/09 at 17:26:06

prsavage wrote on 05/12/09 at 17:20:39:

I am currently working on a brand new ship (BCFerry, M.V. Island Sky). We had the engine manufacturer's rep do the final inspection/service before handing the boat over to us but he didn't start the engine and z-peller after changing the filters. On the next startup we blew a 2" gear oil line apart and lost about 200 litres into the bilge. We did it 4 more times before we found he had left a valve turned 180 essentially blinding the filter housing outlet.

always doublecheck the work of an engineer....lol Grin

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BurnPgh Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1732	Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!? Reply #13 - 05/13/09 at 23:37:17 had the same thing happen last year, except i had the filter in right ways.
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John_D FSO

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Re: Back-wards oil filter!?!?
Reply #14 - 05/13/09 at 23:44:13

marshall13 wrote on 05/12/09 at 17:26:06:

prsavage wrote on 05/12/09 at 17:20:39:

I am currently working on a brand new ship (BCFerry, M.V. Island Sky). We had the engine manufacturer's rep do the final inspection/service before handing the boat over to us but he didn't start the engine and z-peller after changing the filters. On the next startup we blew a 2" gear oil line apart and lost about 200 litres into the bilge. We did it 4 more times before we found he had left a valve turned 180 essentially blinding the filter housing outlet.

always doublecheck the work of an engineer....lol Grin

But wait, aren't the engineers supposed to know everything? Roll Eyes

Yeah, none of ya were going for that, were ya! Grin

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'07 ElectraGlide.

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