Another leaking oil filter thread

So I'll try to make this brief. I had been running the aluminum Toyota housing but then decided to get a new plastic housing last weekend after watching The car Care nut oil filter episode. So I did the oil change brand new housing and torque to all the appropriate specs. There's torque specs took me slightly past the marker. Fast forward to yesterday and there was a drop of oil hanging off the bottom of the new housing. Road trip in 5 days do I just monitor it or drain all the new oil and put the metal housing back on

 

I don’t use that metal position indicator (marker). I tighten to 18 ft-lbs torque. I am somewhat suspect about the calibration accuracy of my torque wrench. Who knows if their’s is accurate? But at least you can be repeatable. With a rubber o-ring, I don’t think it should ever feel “bottomed out”. My factory installed oil filter housing had the metal position marker at the 1200 o’clock position if looking up from under the vehicle. It was pointed toward the front of the bumper. It was also very tight, almost certainly too tight. So how would you ever know what the correct position is? Even if you lined it up to an external fixed point (metal tab on threaded nozzle that receives the plastic housing) how would you know if it wasn’t 360 degrees (1 revolution) short or long? It doesn’t need to be that tight. I always check for leaks after the job is complete before reinstalling the skid plate. Same with oil drain plug access panel. I did this same method with my Tacoma for 7 years. Never had any leaks.

 

Depending on how thoroughly you cleaned the housing before installation, it may just be residual oil. Clean with isopropyl alcohol and and check again.

 

^^^I’m thinking residual oil.

 

Should have stayed with the plastic one, wont harm the threads. May have to stick with the metal one now.

 

This is the best suggestion. More than likely it’s just residual and nothing to worry about.

A few questions to ask yourself during an oil change.

Did you remove and discard the old O rings? Double gaskets to happen.

Did you lube the O ring and make sure that it was seated properly before reinstalling the housing?

Did you remove the old drain plug crush washer and replace it with a new one?

Finally, did you torque everything to the correct spec? Trying to do this with a 1/2” torque wrench will no yield consist results. I always recommend using a 1/4” or 3/8” torque wrench on low value engine torque specs.

 

I use a 3/8” torque wrench for this reason. Would use 1/4” if I had one. But I am always using feel judgement on low torque values like this. I don’t want to bottom out on the rubber o-ring

 

What did you pay for the new plastic oil filter housing? If it’s OEM aren’t they over $100?

 

Yep

 

Yeah