FW: Moss Oil Cartridge

[Robert Grunau]

The following may be of interest to those using the late TD/TF oil pump on their TB/TC cars. Bob Hi Dave and Bill, The question of which rubber oil filter gasket to use in the late TD/TF oil pump filter requires a bit more detail. I have no idea which gasket Moss supplies or how thick/thin they are. However I have checked gasket thicknesses ( measured across the diameter ) as supplied with both a UAP/NAPA 51300 filter and Fram CH814PL filter. Three gaskets are supplied from each supplier, the thin one is is 0.068" wide, the medium one is 0.088" and the thick one is 0.119". Now the slot/groove where the gasket fits in the oil pump measures 0.095" wide ( all measurements may not be exact to the nearest thou but are close enough ). So the correct gasket to use is the 0.088", or in the case of these two suppliers the medium one. The gasket must be seated and fit completely in the pump groove .Oil the gasket and carefully work it around into the groove till it is fully seated. Not the easiest job on the car! The thin gasket is easier to fit in the groove but the oil cannister may not trap it fully and so a leak can occur. The thick gasket will not enter the groove and hence may not seal properly. In any case, never use more than one gasket. These gaskets age, harden and become brittle. Although not necessary to replace the gasket with each filter change, it is a good idea to change then if they become hard and brittle. Use of an adapter to accept a modern spin-on filter means you do not disturb the gasket each time you replace the filter. Also a spin-on costs less money than the cartridge and is easier to change. Trust this is of use. Regards, Bob Bill, Use the narrower of the two gaskets ONLY. I speak from bitter experience. I thought that the wider of the two gaskets should be used. As a result, it didn't fit easily inside the grove (which is hard to tell that the gasket is not all the way in due to it's orientation) and resulted in my loosing all the oil and hammering a rod bearing. This in and of itself was bad enough, but I had to add insult to injury and have it happen on the Tacoma Narrows bridge, backing up traffic for about ten miles (even got on TV). I have since put the narrow gasket in and left it there. The same gasket has held through 15 to 20 oil changes and has not leaked at all. When it starts leaking, I'll change it again. Good luck, Dave

[joecurto@aol.com]

Bob You are right about the gaskets, another thing to check is that there is not a previous gasket left in the groove, many is the time we have found a petrified gasket under a newly installed one, leaks abound. Joe

[Robert Grunau]

Joe,

Yes, good point. I too have found old gaskets lurking under a new one. These old gaskets can be very hard to remove and may require digging out short pieces with a sharp pick. Time consuming and difficult.

Bob

Bob You are right about the gaskets, another thing to check is that there is not a previous gasket left in the groove, many is the time we have found a petrified gasket under a newly installed one, leaks abound. Joe