International 340 Utility Spin-On oil filter conversion

daveking95 · Apr 25, 2017

I'm frustrated with the canister filter on my 340, and would like to change it over to the spin-on type. Has anybody else done this, and why am I having such a lousy time finding this conversion part? I'm hearing lots of things about how I should use a filter designed for lower oil pressures, and such. I definitely don't want to cause more problems than I solve, and I don't want to put a filter conversion to it and starve the engine for oil.

Dave King

Bob · Apr 25, 2017

That engine still used a bypass filter system, meaning oil to the bearing doesn't pass through the filter first, only a small portion of the oil pumped by the oilpump goes through the filter, then dumps back into the crankcase.

The filter #538836R1, crosses to a WIX 51051, a filter designed for bypass use.

The link below will show the part numbers, apparently NLA from FIAT (Messicks says to call for availability), so that might be worth a try.

At least you'll have some numbers to see what you can find on the 'net.
Partscatalog page

BarnyardEngineering · Apr 26, 2017

You're having a lousy time finding the conversion part because you are looking for what amounts to a rare, likely out of production aftermarket accessory for a ~60 year old tractor.

What is giving you so much trouble with the canister filter? A fresh rubber gasket on the bottom (after digging the petrified remains of the old one(s) out, which is usually so hard it can fool you into thinking you've hit bare steel when there is still an entire gasket in there), a fresh copper washer on top, and gentle but firm torque, you should be good to go.

daveking95 · Apr 26, 2017

BarnyardEngineering, I should have led off with the fact that I had just bought this tractor, and it was just sitting around for quite a while. This was my first oil + filter change / hytran + filter change. So this can probably be blamed on "Operator Headspace"...

I'll bet that there's a petrified rubber seal that's stuck down in the belly of the housing, that's giving me the problem. That's GOT to be why it's been fighting me so hard. I'll peel it apart and check for another seal stuck down in the groove. That would explain my issue, and obviously make it [u:d0f2daaa56]way[/u:d0f2daaa56] harder to get it all back together if there were two. My neighbor must have thought I had Tourette's when I was struggling to get it all back together!

I might still eventually go spin-on, but I'll look at electronic ignition as a first upgrade if this can be a back-burner project.

Kajun · Apr 26, 2017

Dave:

I fought this issue for years on my IH444. Unsuccessfully tried to go the conversion-to-canister-route , too. Imagine my surprise and delight when in about year 25 of tractor , I finally got a flashlight and looked up in groove and saw remains of gasket-one . I dug it out with a pointed knife. Before I spent hours on oil changes trying to make leak proof fit that now takes minutes . I'm old ; gotta laugh at myself ; it is the privilege of the old.
Kajun

International 340 Utility Spin-On oil filter conversion

daveking95

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Bob

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BarnyardEngineering

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daveking95

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Kajun

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