oil filter O ring?

alright, my 2001 beetle 5 speed is slightly leaking oil from the oil filter cap,

how is the the large O ring supposed to fit exactly?
have to admit ive never paid much attention to it when I change the oil

is it supposed to go INSIDE the housing or get crushed between the housing and cap?

I can not get it to fit inside the housing, its currently crushed between the cap and housing

It goes on the cap and fits in the groove at the end of the cap, just past the threads.

Did you lube/oil it? If not then that might explain what sounds like it walking up.

How comfortable are you that the small o-ring at the other end was installed correctly? (that one can cause catastrophic results if not done properly/installed)

I'm sure I'll get blasted for this, but I've never changed the top o-ring on the filter canister cap except for the first oil change or two. Never had a leak.
Yeah, the little one on the bottom on occasion when/if they look flattened beyond normal. That one matters and can't monitor how it's doing.

the bottom one stays in its groove.

the top one just wont fit innside the housing.
even with lots of oil on it.

Sits right behind the threads, compresses against the housing.
From what I've read, they often get over tightened. Much like a conventional filter, you want to thread to contact and maybe 3/4 more.

There's actually a torque value. I think it's 17 ft-lbs.

UhOh said:

There's actually a torque value. I think it's 17 ft-lbs.

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i understand that,
its printed on the cap, but the O ring just wont fit inside the housing.

RoundHouse said:

i understand that,
its printed on the cap, but the O ring just wont fit inside the housing.

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What filter did you get? (assuming the O-rings came with the filter)

Is the cap screwing down totally? Might be, as there are known to be improperly marked filters (hence my question above), the filter is upside down? (don't know if one can really confuse one upside down as being installable or not).

Link to a pic, the o-ring is a snug fit and must be lubed with motor oil so it will slide into the housing.
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/images/a4/oil3.jpg

Take a real close look at the filter cap after you take it out. It's likely that there is an old hard o-ring still in there preventing the new o-ring from being able to fit into it's groove.

I've been through this over and over again. I guess it is hard for mechanics to understand. I've removed ALH filter caps with 5! O-rings installed. 5. How? That's 3 additional o-rings. How?

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/engine-oil-change-mk4-vw-jetta-tdi-golf-and-new-beetle-98-06/ There is a very good picture of the oil cap with the "O" ring on it.

runonbeer said:

Take a real close look at the filter cap after you take it out. It's likely that there is an old hard o-ring still in there preventing the new o-ring from being able to fit into it's groove.

I've been through this over and over again. I guess it is hard for mechanics to understand. I've removed ALH filter caps with 5! O-rings installed. 5. How? That's 3 additional o-rings. How?

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This kind of thing scares the crap out of me. It's why I don't let anyone else (except someone I know is a true TDI guru) touch my cars. Granted, one doesn't have to be a guru to change oil, but... Not looking forward to the day in which I'm too old to maintain my cars (and have to rely on someone else doing it).

I'd have to say that a "guru" would be someone who cares for your car, whereas any other person just works on/"processes" your car.

And that's why on any oil change I do, I run the engine and check for leaks at the plug and the filter, ALWAYS. Kinda of a carry over from airplanes for me. Even thought in your head you know without a doubt you got it right you still verify that you did.

Don't be like the guy that didn't check for leaks after an oil change until he was 400 miles from home and the imbecile light came on. He posted here wondering why his engine compartment was saturated in oil and the dipstick was dry.............

Doing top-side oil changes reduces one point of possible leaks (drain plug).

allrighty

I got a magnifying glass and a bright light and found that there are two O rings on both ends.

the old ones are so hard and square that you cant tell them apart from the cap

I had a decent mechanic do the oil change and i reminded him to swap the O ring.

he either didnt take off the old one, or perhaps there were two O rings already on there and he took off the ones that are easy to see.

hes a good guy, does LS transplants, including all the wiring harness mods, automatic to 5 speed conversions on muscle cars etc.

anyhoo, thanks for the help and for not flaming me for asking what yall have to think is a really stupid question



now if i can just stop the brake light sockets from melting.....

Yeah they blend right in. The last batch of Hengst filters I bought had a white big ring. They could've been attempting to mitigate this problem but who knows.

RoundHouse said:

anyhoo, thanks for the help and for not flaming me for asking what yall have to think is a really stupid question

now if i can just stop the brake light sockets from melting.....

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Not a stupid question as you aren't the first. Clean the bulb sockets and bulb fittings really, really good. IIRC they make heat when the contact isn't good.

Yes, I agree. Was not a stupid question. The stupid ones are those who overlook or ignore something so simple.

I don't know much about beetle tail bulb holders but I know the wagon tail holders tend to melt the smoosh welds that hold the strips down. Only solid way to fix that is to replace the holder.

UhOh said:

This kind of thing scares the crap out of me. It's why I don't let anyone else (except someone I know is a true TDI guru) touch my cars. Granted, one doesn't have to be a guru to change oil, but... Not looking forward to the day in which I'm too old to maintain my cars (and have to rely on someone else doing it).

I'd have to say that a "guru" would be someone who cares for your car, whereas any other person just works on/"processes" your car.

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A guru is primarily a teacher by definition. It doesn't mean you are necessarily a genius. I always felt that a major part of my job was to teach my customers as much about their cars as they cared to know. Within the limits of my own understanding of course.

runonbeer said:

A guru is primarily a teacher by definition. It doesn't mean you are necessarily a genius. I always felt that a major part of my job was to teach my customers as much about their cars as they cared to know. Within the limits of my own understanding of course.

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Yes, a teacher vs. a technician. Doing by way of knowing vs. doing by way of procedure/rote (a robotic approach). I am, and probably will only ever be, of the later; though I strive to "know."

I'd say more like a proactive technician. You should try to educate my GD. If you could turn the light bulb of understanding on in her head, you could live barefoot up on top of the mountain and people wood seek you out for your wisdom.
"Gramps, why is my engine waaaay overfull and the transmission dipstick dry?"

My young Padawan, do you remember what you did exactly when you changed your oil by yourself for the first time 2 weeks ago?

Corolla's are really durable car. Apparently they can run just fine when overfilled with 4 quarts of engine oil and have a empty trans pan.............

Lightflyer1 said:

Not a stupid question as you aren't the first. Clean the bulb sockets and bulb fittings really, really good. IIRC they make heat when the contact isn't good.

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I fought an obstinate one recently, ended up prying the ground out a bit. There's TWO points for contact: power, the" tang" (easy enough to pry up, and generally the ONE that gets the attention), and the ground, the outer ring contact (I'd never thought of bending this until recently after the tail light in the wife's Golf started acting up again after I'd attended to the power connection).