When I remove the filter from my 85 12a, the oil is not draining back into the block. Has anyone else encountered this? What could be causing it, (e.g. when I punch holes into the top of the filter to let air in, I expect the oil to drain back into the engine so that when I remove the filter oil does not spill). Now not only does the oil not drain back into the engine when I punch the holes in the filter, it does not drain when I remove the filter.

 

i've never punched holes in the top of the filter before...

Its allways just drained on its own for me.

 

+1. I crack it loose with the wrench and unscrew it a teeny bit after draining the pan. That little crack allows air in and lets the oil go down.

 

Don't some filters have an "anti-drain" valve on them to keep this from happening?

 

My problem is that when I remove the filter, the oil that is higher than the lip on the part that the oil filter screws onto runs out - but the remaining oil does not drain back into the engine like it does on my SE - so something appears to be clogged - has anyone had this happen to them?

 

Depends on how worn your oilpump is.The bypass springs in the pump and regulator require a fair amount of pressure to open.The pump itself is positive displacement,which means the passage to the pan is blocked off by the pump rotors and housing.The only way for the oil to get back to the pan is by sneeking by the gaps between the rotors.

I always let the motor sit overnight before changing the oil filter.That way the filter comes off clean.It seems to drain back overnight,no matter brand oil filter I use.(K&N,Purolator,Delco)

 

Is it ok to do an oil change on a warm engine? I always thought it was. I've done oil changes and not spilled a drop when removing the filter; I rotate the engine untill the oil can drain down through the pedestal.

 

uh...

I've never once done an oil change on a cold engine. Have allways ran them out to warm them up and then drained it.

And that is on all of the vehicles that I change oil in, from the 87 Wrangler to the 04 Duramax to the 83 RX-7.

 

Steve is the first person I've ever known of that changes oil on a cold engine.

 

Read a little closer.....I always change the oil FILTER after it sits overnight.That way all the oil will drain out of the filter and I dont have to refill any oill to make up for spillage.

Yes,I always change the oil itself when warm.

 

Yeah, I do a hard run and then drain the oil. Ouch, oh, ouch! ouchy, hot, hot, hot!

 

Oh, ok. I've just learned how to not spill a drop, even with a warm oil filter.

 

I always warm the engine up, and let the oil drain. By the time the oil pan is empty the filter goes off. Never had any problems with spilling.
I do always take the filler cap off, this makes the oil run out faster and easier.
BTW: oil MUST be changed with a warmed up (not really hot, but just warmed up) engine, as otherway it might not drain completely (esp in colder climates).

 

There will always be oil in the rotors and the oil cooler. You can't get around that fact unless you do a bit more work than the average oil change requires. I personally don't worry about it and change the oil whenever it needs it. Heh, it's a rotary; the worst thing that happens to the oil in a healthy rotary is gas dilution. Rotaries don't polute their oil like boingers do, therefore I'm ok with the remaining oil in the rotors and cooler.

Change your oil a little more often if it's street ported.

 

Hey, if you're ****, you could always jack up the sparkplug side of the car a little higher than the intake/exhaust side. It'll help the last couple ounces of oil to drip out of the drain plug a little easier.

 

I put the car on the ramps when I do the oil change. Maybe I should put only the left ramp.

 

Nah, just throw a smallish piece of plywood on one of them, or don't use anything at all.

I've noticed that if you've got headers and a shallow enough drain pan, you can get away with not raising the front of the car at all. Isn't that a cool thought? The oil filter is already up in easy reach. The drain plug can also be gotten-at from above.

 

You know you're actually right. Except once the car is hot, you wouldn't wanna touch the headers with the back of your hand while trying to loose the plug. OUUUUUUUCH!

 

True. At least headers cool down more quickly than the bulk of the engine. Just give it couple minutes after you shut down the engine; not only for the header pipes to cool, but also to let the oil sort of settle down. It will help prevent dripping oil from the filter as you remove it, and you'll ultimately get more oil out of the pan as less will be clinging to the bottom of the housing etc. It's also a good idea to let it drip from the drain plug for a while, if you're into that sort of thing.

 

i'm pretty sure that everysingle oil filter for the rotory engine has an oil drain back valve i know all frams do and so does the K&N and the puralator....

 

Yeah, they try to keep oil inside the filter so it gets to the bearings as soon as possible at startup.

 

Yeah exactly, what I do is when I shut the engine off, I remove the plug and leave it like that for a good 10 mins so every possible drop of old oil is gone.

Slightly off topic but I got a K&N oil filter, which is supposed to last double the normal filter. I was thinking of changing it every other oil change. Any reason not to?

 

Think about this:

The oil change I did last year before the car hit the road was the first oil change the car got since it had been left to sit... and happened before I got the engine running....

which means the oil had FIVE YEARS to drain out of that filter! I guess I haven't run into any oil drainage problems yet.

Jon

 

Waaw, I bet that filter must have been clean inside! Or at least dry!
Actually, I wonder what this thread is all about. Just become real whealthy, and buy a new car every time you'd need to change the oil. Problem solved...

 

I always change the oil in a cold engine.......i have never had any problems doing that (hears explosion in the background........................................ .)