Cracked plastic oil filter housing (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter LC CT
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7000ft
SILVER Star
Buy the Jowett Performance ( sponsoring vendor) billet oil cap and oil pan drain cock and forget it!
Billet Oil Cap for filter - https://jowettperformance.com/products/coming-soon-billet-oil-cap-for-filter
Billet Oil Cap for filter - https://jowettperformance.com/products/coming-soon-billet-oil-cap-for-filter
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bloc
SILVER Star
16 oil changes so far on my $25 (at the time) venza housing with zero problems, using a tool meant for the stock housing giving the ability to torque to factory spec. Also using the provided drain tool for clean changes, then toss that tool in the trash with the filter.
The perfect solution IMO.
The perfect solution IMO.
I went with a Jowett Performance cap instead. Does he still have them in stock?
Happy with my "mod" lol and 2 days of leak monitoring with the belly pans off dry as a bone.
The tube swap was literally a pick and one minute.
It is normal for the tube to sit slightly lower than filter top right? Looks from down under that the top tube downpipe fills that gap.
Just making sure.
Also HIGHLY recommend this motivx filter socket. WAY better grip on the housing and 24mm socket adapter with the 3/8' options is ideal. My other one was a 26 socket for some reason and is probably why my tabs broke. This is a tab-less design and multi point socket to the actual housing bottom.
Amazon product ASIN B00XTAGHU0
The tube swap was literally a pick and one minute.
It is normal for the tube to sit slightly lower than filter top right? Looks from down under that the top tube downpipe fills that gap.
Just making sure.
Also HIGHLY recommend this motivx filter socket. WAY better grip on the housing and 24mm socket adapter with the 3/8' options is ideal. My other one was a 26 socket for some reason and is probably why my tabs broke. This is a tab-less design and multi point socket to the actual housing bottom.
Amazon product ASIN B00XTAGHU0
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bloc
SILVER Star
Yep, normal for the tube to be recessed somewhat. As long as it's not 2" too short it'll still do its job of preventing the filter collapsing.. which is even less likely with the TRD filters and their existing internal support tube. The factory filter doesn't have this part though.
MotivX makes really nice stuff!
I have thought about replacing the plastic filter housing as, from past experience, plastic does not age gracefully. My concern, after watching the Car Care Nut's video on Toyota filter housings, that by removing the center tube to go on an aftermarket housing, the by-pass valve setting is changed and no longer within specifications. The Care Care Nut stated specifically, No, No, No, No, don't do that, as the by-pass valve is factory set / calibrated, and if the tube is damaged or removed, the PSI setting is altered and the housing is now junk. I am not inclined to take a chance and mess up the by-pass valve setting. I have also found that going away from OEM generally invites more problems than it solves. Opinions?
If using the Toyota Venza metal housing you're quite literally using the same center stack tube and spring from your plastic housing, the only thing that's changing is the material that the housing is made from. I can't speak to the Jowlett.
bloc
SILVER Star
Since you asked for an opinion…
I think he’s wrong.
I cannot see how the stock filter and spring stack acts as a bypass element. The bottom of the tube is blank, no special valve or anything, so it seems to me that the spring merely pushes the filter up against the top of the housing to ensure any oil flowing from the outside to the inside is forced through the filter.
For that spring to act as a bypass, the whole filter would have to move down, opening a gap at the top for oil to bypass the filter. From a physics standpoint I cannot see how this would work. And even if it did, in the case of the TRD filter with elastomer o-rings on each end, you’d risk one of those coming loose and being sent into the oiling system. I cannot fathom TRD releasing a filter that takes this risk.
Note that I’m not saying there isn’t a bypass valve, merely that it must be elsewhere in the system.
Edit: after looking at some pictures of the filter housing online I believe the ~21mm nut that sits next to the removable filter cap is actually the bypass valve. I've seen these before on other toyota products where under that nut is a spring and ball against a seat. This may be an overpressure valve to dump excess oil back to the pan, but it could also be the filter bypass. I'd have to see one of these in person to figure out which circuits it communicates between.
Also, the other function the spring serves is to keep the drain valve closed. The tension of the spring being precisely calibrated isn't important here either, with a plug installed over the hole unless a filter change is in progress.
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Yep, do not mess with it.
Would you mind sharing how you broke the plastic housing? Was that using an adaptor spreading the load like the Motivx tool or just a generic wrench grabbing two ribs?
Thanks a lot.
It was with a capri tools aluminum rib grab type housing socket. What i found afterwards is it had a ton of play on the housing end. It really only is meant to grab ribs.
Im not sure what the best way to go on the stock plastic housing is. On one end, the rib tabs may break, on the other, a multi point drive on the bottom end could round off the plastic too.
I think its best to ditch it and make a proper alum-alum multi point grab with a tab-less tool like the motivx.
As far as the other comments, im with @bloc here. I didn’t have a choice but to replace and i know i didnt over-torque the housing on my oil filter change. If it broke on me it will probably break again in one way or the other as described above. Best to just change it.
I also just “tested” both spring rates by thumb and they were identical so i used old tall tube with new seat and spring and made sure they were exactly the same. They were…
Like bloc said the system is too simple to worry about lack of pressure detention of the spring. It wont mess you up, and is very easy to determine by eye and feel.
It may not take much torque to tighten down, but if my cheap torque wrench over tight by a few lb-ft could wreck it that quick, im upgrading.
Looking at it now how it failed exactly like the OOP, i bet a lot of these are replaced at the dealer without customer knowing a thing about it. And i bet they dont even put a torque wrench on it there.
Given how many people are running the Venza and Jowett oil filter housings I believe them to be 100% safe.
I believe Toyota designed this on purpose this way also preventing cross thread damage to the female part on the engine vs the Venza setup.
With the right tool using the 14 face profile at the top (or bottom) of the filter housing I expect zero issues.
Done years of maintenance on my 2014 BMW 535d with similar plastic filter housing setup, be it easy top access. Use a 27mm socket and no issue whatsoever. The Toyota housing at larger diameter should be as strong if not stronger.
With the right tool using the 14 face profile at the top (or bottom) of the filter housing I expect zero issues.
Done years of maintenance on my 2014 BMW 535d with similar plastic filter housing setup, be it easy top access. Use a 27mm socket and no issue whatsoever. The Toyota housing at larger diameter should be as strong if not stronger.
Thats the camp i used to be in actually, but when i took a better look at my plastic housing before slam dunking it in the trash, the 14 face was worn on all its edges from what i assume is the dealer. My old tool didnt really grab at that part as much as it used the tabs, which obv broke off hence my post reply.
I just dont see a huge downside really, i mean if it did seize, you would be at the same position but with a much better bite and purchase on the alum, while the plastic would just continue to crack on you.
Perhaps a really careless cross thread is the biggest danger. So yall dont get too drunk during your oil changes i hope lol.
bloc
SILVER Star
IMO they used plastic for us because it’s cheap and would work, being protected by splash shields and tucked up between two crossmembers.. but metal on the venza because it hangs lower and is more exposed to potential damage from road debris. If there were a risk of cross threading, it would be the same on the venza.
