Collapsing oil filters

[Garnet]

You didn't happen to leave one of the square rubber rings off the end of an old filter down the far end of the filter tube? That could help a filter begin to crush. I have left one of those rings down there and not had a problem with the next filter.

[Deleted User 287]

We should all be riding bicycles, anyway.

[mattcfish]

You should get an oil pressure reading (just to rule that out). I screwed a mechanical type gauge into the idiot light sensor on the left side of the block. I mounted the gauge to one of my crash bars. Your pressure shouldn't be much more than 80 to 90psi when warmed up at high RPM.

[barndeadr80]

No left over rubber in the hole for sure, and the cover goes on in a mannerly way. Maybe I should bungee the mountain bike on the back as a spare or even better, haul the Rokon around on a trailer so if the thing blows I can drag it home. Slowly.
Would be interesting to drill the filter cover and check the pressure there. Does the oil path put the pressure sensor on the block in line with the pump/filter before sending the oil on its merry way through bearings and heads and such?

[ME 109]

Does the oil path put the pressure sensor on the block in line with the pump/filter before sending the oil on its merry way through bearings and heads and such?

Oil pressure sender unit is located between the oil pump and the oil filter. After the oil filter the oil goes up to the front bearing web where it is distributed to the rest of the motor.
The location of the oil pressure sender unit is ideal to mount a pressure gauge in this case.
The pressure gauge needs to be able to read over 100 psi to know where things are at.

Could a failing oil pressure relief valve (located on the front bearing web) be causing this? As in insufficient oil pressure in the gallery after the oil filter.

[Duane Ausherman]

I am surprised at the comments. To find a smashed oil filter was common way back when. Nothing bad ever happened. Is this a rare event now?

I would not worry about this at all. Of course I am not looking at the filter, so maybe there is a problem.

[mattcfish]

I am surprised at the comments. To find a smashed oil filter was common way back when. Nothing bad ever happened. Is this a rare event now?

I would not worry about this at all. Of course I am not looking at the filter, so maybe there is a problem.

Duane, in over 20 years with my R90 I have never had a crushed filter. I've used strait and hinged without issue. It may be common, but why is it happening on every filter he puts on this bike. That's what's puzzling.

[Duane Ausherman]

I have learned something. What was common way back when (crushed filters) is no longer common. Either I have forgotten something, or something has changed over the years. Since nobody is reporting crushed filters, it must not happen these days.

Now I am curious too.

[Rob Frankham]

Hmm.

I'd go with the stuck pressure relief valve. Too much pressure across the filter is about the only thing that will cause it to collapse. That measn one of three things:

1. Faulty filter
2. Blocked filter
3. Too much oil pressure

If it were just one filter or you were using non-OEM filters or you weren't replacing them often enough, I'd acccept 1 or 2 but since non of these seem to apply, that leaves 3 as a good working hypothesis.

Remember, the relief valve should open at 5 Bar, that is to say about 70psi. When the engine is cold, it opens fairly early in the rev range so if the valve is stuck, you could be getting a pressure way over100 psi in there... Now think of the damage that a tyre does when it explodes... and that's just around 30-40psi. Excess oil pressure is not a good thing, you could be lookin at failing gaskets or even structural damage to the castings. I would suggest that a pressure check would be a very wise precaution.

Rob

[ME 109]

If the relief valve was stuck 'almost closed' but open enough to satisfy the lubrication requirements of the engine, (as appears to be the case here) and resulted in excess pressure in the gallery, wouldn't that excess oil pressure be nearly equal on either side of the filter?
I was wondering if a 'stuck completely open' pressure relief valve would create a low pressure situation on the inside of the filter?