Oil filter quality (lack of it) and request for recommendations

[Simon Underwood]

For the second time, I’ve run into a problem with the way the mounting thread has been cut (sloppily) in a replacement oil filter for my Spitfire 1500. The filter was purchased from a well known purveyor of Triumph parts near Lincoln, but the first time it happened, it was a Halfords own brand filter a couple of years ago.

What happened on both occasions was that when the engine was started after the oil change,  the oil filter flew off and a large puddle of oil appeared on my driveway. Both these filters had tightened up after only a couple of turns, so with not many threads keeping them on, they couldn’t stand up to the oil pressure. On the first occasion, I had actually bought two filters at the same time, and the second one went on with about 5 turns before it tightened, and worked perfectly. I should have been suspicious about this later one, as exactly the same thing happened. I was able to partially rectify the situation by putting the old filter back on, but obviously this isn’t ideal.

I see that Halfords appear to be doing Crosland, Bosch and Mann filters if you do a search on MG Midget 1500. Anyone got any recommendations?

Simon

[dougbgt6]

Simon

Try the club shop they sell quality stuff. It used to be 4 oil filters for the same postage as 1, don't know if they still do that.

Doug

[Guest]

Hello Simon.

I have always used Mann, Mehr or Fram on all my classics - never had an issue to date.

It is worth keeping an eye out for NOS OE filters if you can get them, they are about.

Good luck.

Richard.

[Guest]

Further to my last, I know Clive did an excellent comment about thread adaptors for using better (more widely available filters) but I cannot recall if the Spitfire 1500 oil filter thread was part of that.

Hopefully Clive will pick this up and confirm one way or the other.

Regards.

Richard.

[Clive]

1 hour ago, dougbgt6 said:

Simon

Try the club shop they sell quality stuff. It used to be 4 oil filters for the same postage as 1, don't know if they still do that.

Doug

Sorry to be blunt, but I expect they are the "classic gold" filters, as I think they are the only ones made. I wouldn't use one of those on a mower, let alone a car I liked.

Simon, I have a couple of filter adaptors left. They allow you to use a 3/4" threaded filters, and there is a Mann version with double anti-drain valve. Very decent filters....with excellent results from people who use them.

[Guest]

Thanks for confirming that Clive.

Regards.

Richard.

[AidanT]

15 minutes ago, clive said:

Sorry to be blunt, but I expect they are the "classic gold" filters, as I think they are the only ones made. I wouldn't use one of those on a mower, let alone a car I liked.

Thanks Colin!

I was going to fit one of those in the next few week's grrrr

Oh well back to fram from paddocks!

Aidan 

[Guest]

Aidan, why not fit one of Clive's adaptors - even if you do call him Colin  !!

Regards.

Richard

[Clive]

6 minutes ago, AidanT said:

Thanks Colin!

I was going to fit one of those in the next few week's grrrr

Oh well back to fram from paddocks!

Aidan 

Hmm, if the GT6 std filter I am not sure what your options are. If you have a spin-on conversion, there are plenty of filters that may fit as they are 3/4" UNF thread too. One off a 1980/90's escort may well be the one (that is what I used on my Vitesse) and IIRC there are some short little filters, which may make it easier to point the filter down.Time searching a filter catalogue will help....

[dougbgt6]

22 minutes ago, clive said:

Sorry to be blunt, but I expect they are the "classic gold" filters, as I think they are the only ones made. I wouldn't use one of those on a mower, let alone a car I liked.

Clive,

to be equally blunt this is, like the resent tyre thread, getting a bit silly. Simon is asking for a well made filter, not something for a moon rocket. The club shop would not stock inferior quality parts as was pointed out to us at the AGM on Sunday. I have a spin on conversion on my GT6, I use club shop filters and will continue to do so.

Doug

[Clive]

Not silly at all. The simple fact is that there are no decently made filters available, so the club sells the only one available. It is that or nothing. Unless the owner gets an alternative adaptor (as sold in vast numbers in the USA as they sussed that the normal spitfire/marina filter was such a small demand, and several filter makers sell adaptors to use a common alternative)

And seriously, I would not touch a "classic gold" filter. But each to their own. Personally I prefer to use quality stuff, and sometimes it involves a "get around".

Maybe I should refrain from offering input at all. The tyre thread was there to post personal, real, whatever you want to call it, of a recommendation for some tyres that offered excellent grip. Sorry if that offended you. 

 

(Oh, and on a 6 cylinder, there is no adaptor as such. The spin on conversion does the trick.)

 

Simon, if you read this,  drop me a facebook message. Time I took a break from this forum.

[Adrian Cooper]

Hi Simon,

Darren Groves started a thread on this forum about oil filter options 

On the strength of this excellent thread I bought one of Clive's adaptors and this allowed me to fit a Mann oil filter to my Spitfire. I don't know about the quality of the filter offered by the club but I was certainly not impressed by the two that I bought from two of the main suppliers. Clive's adaptor solution was a Godsend. I do hope you will reconsider taking a break from the forum Clive, I'm sure that there are many others who value your input as much as I do.

Adrian

[Colin Lindsay]

47 minutes ago, clive said:

Maybe I should refrain from offering input at all. Time I took a break from this forum.

Nah, I've done that on other forums..... and always went back again. I missed getting my sixpennyworth in.

No point in being a forum if we don't have opinion and debate. 

I've personally salted away about a dozen Unipart, Fram and Wix filters so should be okay for a while, but my Estate's had an adaptor since the mid 1990s so even then there was an issue with filters.

BTW I'm running Wix filters on both Herald and GT6, so the adaptor for the Herald and the spin-on conversion for the GT6 must have the same thread.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Adrian Cooper said:

I do hope you will reconsider taking a break from the forum Clive, I'm sure that there are many others who value your input as much as I do.

Very well said Adrian and second that.

FaceBook - what's that ????? !!!!!

Regards.

Richard.

[Pete Lewis]

Clive stick with it ...  youre wanted ....we neeed you     I will let you  share my award  plaque  Ha ,!  If that helps 

Pete

[AidanT]

Hi

Should have said I have a spin on conversion!  That being said I got my latest  filter from the shop

Are we saying this make are no good ot just the standard gt6 filters?

Confused 

Aidan 

[Simon Underwood]

Yes, please don't go, Clive. I've replied to you on Messenger.

Simon

 

[dougbgt6]

1 hour ago, clive said:

Sorry if that offended you.

Clive,

I'm not offended, the guy asked for a descent supplier, the club shop is. Your opinion of the club shop product I do find odd and frankly over the top.

These cars have been running without canisters for 40 years, why are we now nit picking over which canister is the best?

I encourage you to stay on the forum, you are a font of knowledge, but don't expect not to be challenged from time to time.

Doug

[Clive]

Simon, you have a reply on FB

Doug, it seems you don't know spitfires? they have always run a spin-on filter from the factory. When decent (or even crossland etc) filters were available, things were OK. Now those makers have gone, we are stuck with "classic gold" and so-called "Borg and Beck", which is made by goodness knows who (certainly nothing at all to do with the original B+B brand, the name was bought up and stuck on all sorts of products as a marketing ploy)  But the Club shop can only sell what is available easily, they cannot trawl the jumbles for quality stuff or get things liken oil filters made at viable costs. The same issue applies to many things, from engine bearings, gaskets to rubber bushes and dreadful rotoflex's.  My experiences are of testing the stuff I actually use, or have used. Many items sold for our cars are just not fit for purpose, as many people can testify. If there are better alternatives available, it is worth using them.

Anyway, the last batch of adaptors I imported were at the request of club members, after Darren had bad experiences with club supplied filters. Go and check the thread linked to above, before calling me silly. I do my best to assist owners wherever possible and hopefully make their cars way better, and avoid substandard parts where possible.

 

Aiden, I don't know what brand the shop supplies for the GT6. But it will be a 3/4unf thread. And if made by a proper brand will be OK. Otherwise ford escort 1300 mid 1980's ish

[Anglefire]

I too hope you stick around Clive.

From being on here a fairly short time, I do enjoy reading your posts and agree with most of them one way or another. 

It seems to me there are two types of owner on here, those that want to keep their car(s) as original as possible and those (like me) who want to keep them on the road and reliable and if that means a few modern modifications or changes to the 40 year old specification, then so be it. Neither positions are wrong. 

[dougbgt6]

Mark,

I have sent Clive a grovelling apology and I hope we are reconciled. It may need a Thornton's chocolate egg, good value in their post Easter sale.

Doug 

. 

[Anglefire]

I did see a Malteser one in a shop tonight for a fiver - 1/2 price - but it was well battered. 

[Pete Lewis]

Do the Cadbury  cream eggs  have a anti drain valve ??

 

Pete

[Peter Truman]

Interesting Clive pls stay as one from the antipodes I appreciate your input, the advantage of a FORUM is the diverse thoughts, experiences and ideas. Yep we all get caught sometimes saying what we said, BUT its a result from our experience or knowledge & others can either use it or ignore it. As one who also sometimes gets into shallow water passing on knowledge I  always appear to float and survive! So don't go on sabbatical please!

On the comment of Spitfire adapters, we've had my daughters Mk2 Spit 17yrs and I converted it very early on & use a BMW refluxed filter and never had a problem, sometimes during the oil change the adapter unscrews from the block, I think there's about 3/4in length of thread on both ends, with a hex between the two threads.

Eons ago I was following a complete stranger in a Spit along St Kilda Beach Rd here in Melb, when he pulled over I stopped to help, it appeared it had pumped ALL the oil out between the block & filter. It had just been fitted with a filter adapter & filter supplied by a local Triumph protagonist here in Melbourne, it had gone around 30klm and the filter/joint failed pumping the oil out, nowt on the dip stick. Interesting the filter was tight on it's thread? so had the adapter failed ie jumped/locked a thread or had the filter seal failed, I didn't find out, the owner RACV trailered the car away. I did subsequently hear negative comments re this suppliers adapters, short threads and no hex between the two threads.

Regards

Peter T

 

[Anglefire]

8 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

Do the Cadbury  cream eggs  have a anti drain valve ??

 

Pete

Funnily enough, the eggs have no valve at all - the two halves are filled and then they are stuck together. As it happens they have just been shut down for maintenance. So the usual 1.2Million eggs a day has been zero. ?