Oil Leak from filter

[no1uknow]

Just looked under my truck and Noticed it was leaking oil from the Oil filter. The oil filter itself was loose. I'm glad I found out about it at home then on the road. I am running synthetic oil (Royal Purple) and a K&N Oil filter. Is there anything I can do to stop the leak or should I just run regular oil? The engine only has around 10k miles(454). Any suggestions because it gets pretty expensive adding oil all the time.

 

[Cricket]

Tighten the filter and watch for more leaks. If the filter is tight and it keeps leaking there is another problem. Make sure the oil is actually leaking from the filter and not above it somewhere. Worse case, drain oil and inspect filter, filter mount bypass and block face.

The more information you post the easier it is to help. IE; how long has it leaked like that in the past 10k miles? What weight of oil? etc.

 

[readymix]

Sorry but i have to hijack here.

I have a leak that seems to be coming from directly above the oil filter and i saw a goofy looking sensor thing there. What is it and could the leak be coming from where it mounts. Pics can be provided if needed.

87 305, TBI

[/Hijack]

I wonder if your leak is from the same spot

 

[dyeager535]

Guessing the goofy looking sensor is the oil pressure switch.

It could be leaking, but I'd suspect its where the plastic is crimped to the metal base of the switch, unless the fitting is loose, instead of from the block.

It's either 1/8 or 1/4 NPT there, so if tight, it won't leak, within reason of course.

I don't know what his app. is, but AFAIK carbed apps t'd off the top of the motor, not off the side.

Later TBI app's (1991 454 for sure) used a combination pressure switch/sender, which I highly recommend switching to if one or the other fails on an earlier setup.

 

[no1uknow]

The oil weight is 10w 40. Also the leak just started recently within the last 500 miles. My buddy tightened the filter by hand and I checked it the next day and it was leaking. I can't find my flashlight in order to check if it's from the filter or just above. I thought it was weird that the filter was real loose.

 

[Cricket]

Well if he tightened it by hand and didn't torque it a 1/4 turn with an oil wrench it may have backed off when warm. Either that or there was some crap on the mounting surface that got between the filter seal and block. Just keep an eye on it and try to pinpoint the leak if it continues. While never experiencing it directly I have heard of filters loosening up in very cold temps.

 

[Can Can]

Make sure that there isn't an old oil filter gasket stuck to the sealing face of the filter housing. The fact that you can't keep the sucker tight leads me to believe that the problem lies there.


One other possibility- are you 100% positive you have the right filter on the truck?