Oil Filter Cover O-Ring

[vur]

Was changing the oil and filter on my '84 GS750EF this morning for the first time this morning (have owned the bike for 2 weeks now...) . The oil filter cover had RTV silicone sealant around with what appears to be a patch fix 0-ring replacement. The o-ring appeared to be to large so it was cut and spliced with sealant applied at the splice (and around cover for "good measure").

Can you get a replace o-ring from Suzuki for this (my dealer appears to be closed today for May 24 week-end... Canadian holiday)? I would prefer to have a proper fitting o-ring on this cover!

I have seen some people mentioning new O-rings coming with their fillters. Is this one o-ring for the filter cover?

My cover would have the "3 lobe" o-ring I believe - from what I have read....

Thanks.

 

[ironsheik]

I know o-rings come with the Framm filters I've used. That's the only o-ring under the filter cover so if one came with your filter, use it. Otherwise, I would wait to get a new one from the dealer. They can definitely be found...

Josh

 

[Johno]

Suzuki Filters and O rings

Suzuki Filters and O rings

Suzuki supplies these as separate parts.

Some after market suppliers may provide them as a unit.

 

[Nessism]

Some people complain about the Fram o-ring being too thin to seal in some bikes. No personal experience just sharing...

 

[focus frenzy]

Some people complain about the Fram o-ring being too thin to seal in some bikes. No personal experience just sharing...

it's a odd hit or miss thing, and could have been the result of a bad batch.
I have seen the exact same part number fram filter come with eather the skinny "will leak" o-ring or the correct size.
STP filter comes with the correct O ring and it is a re-packaged fram filter.

 

[BassCliff]

Spares

Spares

Hi Mr. vur,

The HIFLO (HF133) oil filters I get from bikebandit.com come with 3 lobe and 4 lobe O-rings. For $3.45 ea. I usually buy 5 at a time. Sometimes I'll leave the same O-ring on for two or three changes so I've got extra. If you use the same filter I can mail you an O-ring or two if you like.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[tkent02]

STP filter is a re-packaged fram filter.

Really? Is it the same crap filter or a better quality one?

 

[Billy Ricks]

I can't understand the disgust some have for Fram. I've probably driven over a million miles in my life, mostly with Fram filters, and never had a problem with any of them.

 

[focus frenzy]

I can't understand the disgust some have for Fram. I've probably driven over a million miles in my life, mostly with Fram filters, and never had a problem with any of them.

Really? Is it the same crap filter or a better quality one?

I think it probably is a case of a couple plants making filters for everyone.

I was surprised to open a STP box and there was a fram number on the end of the STP filter.

Billy, the hatred started when someone (the first I saw it was someone from a mopar performance web site) got the bright idea to buy filters from all the different manufactures they could find around them and using a tubing roller cutter cut them open and compare the internals.

the fram filter was very shoddy low grade construction with semi glued on card board end caps.

now I think about it, it was started when they had built up a engine and had it fail shortly after putting it in use, and they found card board bits in the oil feed ports to the crank and traced it back to the filter that was a fram.

there are several sites and different model filters have been checked, and I have even stumbled on a site where they did the cut open test on late model sport bike spin on filters and consistently the Fram ones are very low quality.

I used to be a fram man till reading these reports and after actually seeing the insides of a fram filter first hand.

 

[Greg O.]

I can't understand the disgust some have for Fram. I've probably driven over a million miles in my life, mostly with Fram filters, and never had a problem with any of them.

If you cut the different filters apart, you will see a big difference between brands. Our local auto parts store sells Hastings filters. They have cut apart a Fram filter, and a Hastings filter. The hastings has considerable more paper filter element then does the Fram. Does this make it better than Fram? I don't really know for sure, but it doesn't hurt. My thinking is that timely oil changes are more important than the brand of oil filter, or brand of oil for that matter.

When installing the o ring on the filter plate, I find it helpful to use a little heavy grease to hold the o ring in place. I had one slip out of the grove one time, and a lead resulted. I had to reuse the old o ring, which worked fine, but have since always used a little grease to hold it in place.

Greg

 

[ironsheik]

I totally agree about the Frams. I've only used 2 on my bikes when I was forced to by limited choice at the local parts store. They're crap and made like crap. I used to work on VWs and we dissected a Fram and a Bosch filter and that was enough to change my mind...

Josh

 

[jadesystem]

The Fram oil flters are the lowest inferior oil filter you can buy. Yep,
they are cardboard paper garbage glued together. A good filter will
trap particles in the sub-micron level.

Do not alway believe everything of what you see and hear. Most of
this hype is because of the mass marketing Fram pays for advertisement
in magazines and in the media. They have a huge distribution network
and are found in almost every auto parts store nationwide, but they are not the best nor anywhere near acceptable as they would have you believe. Very few choices on oil filters in the national chains but only if you know where to look. And it doesn't mean anything regarding the performance unless you have an independent research firm as a 3rd
party who will do a independent comparison analysis of all the filters on the market. One of them as mentioned is by cutting these filters in half
to view the cross-section and it's filtering materials, construction, and
its capabilties with the mfr's spec. You can't see the work being done,
but you will know maybe years down the road with premature wear and
overheating due to clogged oil galleys.

The cheapest and most highly-rated oil filter is at Walmart. A brand
called Supertech for $2.77 ea. It used to be $1.50 and yes, it includes
the O-ring. Not sure if they make one for the GS series, but I use them
for my Nighthawk and Shadow bikes. Most oil filters for the GS come
with 2 O-ring - one for the later 16-valve TSCC and the earlier 8-valve
engine. Most bike parts stores will ghave oil filters available for the GS
with both O-rinds. I've never seen an oil filter that did not come with
one. Purolator is excellent too, but cost more.

:-D\\/

 

[RWhitehouse]

I can't find anything but fram filters that will fit my GS at any of the three local auto stores. I stay away from fram filters, heard lots of trashy things about them. I stick with OEM Motorcraft ones for my eff-one-fiddy and the parent's explorer.

But when I changed the oil for the first time in the bike, all I could find was fram. Or STP, which is a fram in a different box.

And the o-ring that came with the fram isn't quite thick enough. It leaks a tad. I'll have to find one of the slightly thicker ones.

 

[vur]

Hi Mr. vur,

The HIFLO (HF133) oil filters I get from bikebandit.com come with 3 lobe and 4 lobe O-rings. For $3.45 ea. I usually buy 5 at a time. Sometimes I'll leave the same O-ring on for two or three changes so I've got extra. If you use the same filter I can mail you an O-ring or two if you like.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Thanks for the offer. I currently have a filter on order from NAPA (should be in this Wednesday). The NAPA filter has a 3 lobe O-ring with it. I will see how well it fits first...

VUR

 

[Guest]

Cutting apart an oil filter tells very little about how well it works. A good test would pump hot oil through the filter. The oil would progressively get more acidic and have more and more particles in it. The size distribution of the particles would have to be defined. After a couple hundred hours of use the oil would be filtered again, with laboratory grade filters, to determine what particles were left in the oil. Back pressure in the filter, new and used, would also need to be tested, with warm and hot oil.

Only once have I seen a proper laboratory analysis of oil filters, which was published in Consumer Reports. If memory serves me correctly, Fram filters did quite well in that test.