Oil filter for KENZ oil filter kit?

[ndnchf]

My filter kit arrived today, it looks nice. The casting will need deburring and a thorough cleaning. There is a lot of machining debris inside it. Also, as Adrian noted in the video, there is a hole that is tapped for a plug screw, but oddly, it is not included. I guess they just expect the gasket to keep the oil from leaking. I'll put a 1/4-28" plug screw in it with a dab of sealer. No point in tempting fate.

[alexiskai]

I put a Roloc bristle disc on the drill press and lightly ran all the cast surfaces under it. Smoothed out really nice, and in my judgment closer to the texture of the block.

[SDJason]

Maybe a stupid question - when putting the bolts back in, how many lbs should they be torqued to?

[ndnchf]

Taking a straight edge to the mating surface tells me it will take some lapping on a glass plate with 400 grit to avoid leaks.

[mcgarrett]

SDJason,
Don't use a torque wrench on any of the bolts. The filter adapter is aluminum so just pull all the bolts up evenly and snug on all 3 sides with standard wrenches. The gaskets will do the rest. I just installed my original Kenz unit the way I just described and it's working fine with no leaks.

[SDJason]

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Originally Posted by mcgarrett

SDJason,
Don't use a torque wrench on any of the bolts. The filter adapter is aluminum so just pull all the bolts up evenly and snug on all 3 sides with standard wrenches. The gaskets will do the rest. I just installed my original Kenz unit the way I just described and it's working fine with no leaks.

Thank you!

[ndnchf]

Here is a summary of what I've done to prep the bypass filter casting. Its a very well made piece, but needs some finishing.

I found the machined mating surfaces were not truly flat. There was as much as .010" gap when a straight edge was laid across them. So I lapped them on a piece of glass and 220 grit sand paper until they were dead flat. If this is not done, oil leaks will surely follow.

The crossed drill hole that lets oil into the filter is threaded 1/4"-28 for a plug screw, but none was provided. I used an set screw with sealing compound to plug the hole. I needed to shorten the set screw so it would not protrude into the oil inlet.

I found two of the 5/16-18 holes were not tapped to their full depth. I finished the job. I also used a chasing tap to ensure all tapped holes were clean and threaded easily.

There was a lot of leftover grit and machining debris in the casting. This needed to be thoroughly cleaned out. I used hot soapy water and these little brushes to clean all the holes out.

After this it was degreased, masked and painted with Ford engine paint.

[SDJason]

Thank you for posting!
Mine should be showing up from Snyder's sometime today - now I know what I'm in for.

[ndnchf]

Originally Posted by SDJason

Thank you for posting!
Mine should be showing up from Snyder's sometime today - now I know what I'm in for.

Snyders must be wondering why they are having a run on them :-) A couple hours of prep work will pay dividends. Good luck!

[alexiskai]

This is why all the 1/4"-28 x 1/4" set screws were sold out in my county, too many people ordering them for their bypass oil filters.

[katy]

Originally Posted by ndnchf

The crossed drill hole that lets oil into the filter is threaded 1/4"-28 for a plug screw, but none was provided.

Are you it was 1/4-28 and not 1/8-27 NPT, for a pipe plug or pressure gauge? If it was you could have used the plug that came out of the block.

[ndnchf]

Originally Posted by katy

Are you it was 1/4-28 and not 1/8-27 NPT, for a pipe plug or pressure gauge? If it was you could have used the plug that came out of the block.

Nope. Definately 1/4-28 NF thread. Not a pipe thread.

[alexiskai]

That thread size was confirmed by Snyder’s in an email to me.

[ndnchf]

Installed my filter kit this morning. All went well. No problems. The casting prep work was well worth the efforts. I took it for a 30 minute test drive - no leaks. Using an infrared thermometer, the filter canister measured around 130F. So oil seems to be going through it 😀 With no filter the oil would start turning black in a couple hundred miles. I'm curious to see how it looks at the same mileage with the filter in place.

[SDJason]

Originally Posted by ndnchf

Installed my filter kit this morning. All went well. No problems...

Looks great; I just started on mine, and have another possibly stupid question:

After removing all the bolts, the current/original Timing Cover is still stuck in place pretty solidly (at least mine is) - how do you break it free? I thought about wedging a chisel into the gap, but am afraid of damaging something.

[alexiskai]

You got the oil pan bolt out, right? The one that comes up from underneath?

[ndnchf]

Originally Posted by SDJason

Looks great; I just started on mine, and have another possibly stupid question:

After removing all the bolts, the current/original Timing Cover is still stuck in place pretty solidly (at least mine is) - how do you break it free? I thought about wedging a chisel into the gap, but am afraid of damaging something.

After getting all the bolts out, mine was stuck too. I just tapped on it with a soft hammer to break it free. It was just old sealer holding it in place.

[SDJason]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

You got the oil pan bolt out, right? The one that comes up from underneath?

yup, that one's out

Originally Posted by ndnchf

After getting all the bolts out, mine was stuck too. I just tapped on it with a soft hammer to break it free. It was just old sealer holding it in place.

thanks - I'll try that...I've got a few different mallets and all afternoon to bang on it : )

[SDJason]

Just a quick update - banging away with a mallet didn't really help; after about 15 minutes of that, I decided to pry the cover off by slipping a chisel into a thin opening that had developed - the only damage done was to part of the edge of the chisel.

I did, however, have to pick up a 15/16" wrench this week - I had gotten by before with a crescent wrench, but the drainplug wasn't budging with that; a few whacks with a mallet on a proper six-sided wrench broke it free right away, though.

After draining and replacing the drainplug I poured in almost 5 quarts of oil (and was worried that I might have overfilled with that amount - the dipstick showed at least 1/4" above "F"), but after running the engine for a few minutes, the level dropped down to right at "F" - I assume the oil filter took up some of the extra. Next up will be a drive around town - just because. For now, there don't appear to be any leaks anywhere, so I'm happy.

[ndnchf]

Excellent! Looks great. I found the same thing with the oil level. I partially pre-filled the filter, then added oil to the crankcase to the F mark. After a 30 minute drive I rechecked and it was a little low. Added maybe 1/2 a pint to bring it up.