Oil filter housing loose !

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by paulofto

I have to wonder, why are you commenting on a 10 year old posting?

Maybe he just noticed?

Perhaps ill-advisedly, back when I was still using the original filter housing setup I'd just crank it on by hand til it felt right. After quite a few oil changes, I never once had one come loose or leak. Maybe I was lucky. I now use torque wrenches more than I used to, though certainly not in every setting.

I've long since switched to the LNE spin-on filter adapter, which I like. I confess, I still don't use a torque wrench here. I've stuck with the old advice of tighten til the rubber O-ring just touches, then turn another 3/4 of a turn. That works out to tightening it about as far as I can by hand. In all the times I've changed the oil, the filter's never really come loose. One time, a few weeks after the most recent oil change, I was under the car for something else and did notice a tiny bit of 'glistening' at the base of the filter. There was an ever-so-slight dampness from oil, nowhere near enough to actually run down the filter let alone drip on the floor. (I checked the dipstick—it indicated full.) I cranked it 'a bit' tighter and the issue went away.