TO30 Oil Filter Adapter

Has any one ever actually installed one of the spin-on adapters like they sell here (S-42809 Sparex part) on a TO30? How do you get the gasket into place and if you use a little "pookey" to finally stick it into place like I finally did, what kind to finally make it stop leaking?
I am about ready to go back to the cannister, but I switched because the third world suppliers could not quite get the filter gasket diameters cut right and my old one had gotten hard and would not seal perfectly any more. And, of course, I'll have to hand cut the old fiber and vellumoid gaskets that seal the parts of the cannister can together even if I can get lucky on a rubber cap gasket with the filter.
That all said. I'm not new to cannister filter elements. I have owned at least one car or tractor with one for about 60 years, but this one, after owning it for almost 30 years, has me totally frustrated.

This post was edited by TexMac on 09/02/2021 at 01:07 pm.

I havent used the spin-ons but use the Fran C3p filters that do come with the correct gaskets for the canister

I've never converted one to a spin on.

And a spin on is sure easier to deal with.

But I have also heard stories of the spin on being impaled by a stick if doing work in the rough!

I finally figured it out. I just had no time to write it up. First, the enclosed rubber gaskets are totally useless for the right angle, horizontal cannister base on my particular 1954 TO30. Neither gives enough contact area between the fairly small base face and the outer flange of the adapter plate. They might very well work on bases that are machined directly on the block like the 35 where the filter mounts more or less vertically.

My solution was to make my own gasket. I used the remains of the thin fiber gasket that was from the factory as a starting pattern. I used its inner diameter (about 2 1/4 inches) as a starting point. Then I made the OD exactly the same as the adapter plate. I used a scrap of neoprene rubberized cork about 1/8 inch thick because that is what I had available and I figured it would give me a little extra compression for a tight seal. All metal parts need to be surgically clean. You want a seal that will last another 67 years like the clean, new metal at the factory.

I glued it to the adapter plate flange with VersaChem Type 1 gasket sealant. That is the sticky, quick setting brown sealant I use on the valve cover side of valve cover gaskets. Spread it very thin but evenly coated. The spray form would probably be better, but a tube was all I had on hand. (You can get a thin spread with your finger tip. Alcohol will clean it off your finger if you don't let it dry too long,) That stuff dries hard and fast, so you cannot have any thick spots of lumps and you need to work fairly quickly.

Lay the adapter, gasket side down, onto a flat smooth surface covered with wax paper until it sets. I ate supper while waiting. It should not stick to the wax paper if you were neat, but any paper around the edge could be trimmed without marring the sealing face of the gasket.

Clean the cast face of the base on the block with a razor blade and wash it down with a generous amount of brake cleaner. Inspect the edges of the mounting surface for any nicks or burrs. I used a Dremel Tool to smooth up a couple on mine. The adapter plate overlaps this surface by about 1/8 inch and irregularities might prevent a true flush fit.
Smear the exposed face of the gasket with a thin coat of clean motor oil just like you do the gasket on an oil filter. Fit he adapter plate with the supplied pipe fitting. Make sure the shoulder fits squarely into the hole in the plate and run it ip snug, Do not over tighten. That plate is not very hard steel and it will either distort or cut your gasket. Oil the gasket on your new filter and spin it on just like any other filter.

Crank it up to get the pressure up to normal and double check for leaks. Should not be any. Don't worry about the small amount of gasket that is exposed on the inner diameter. If it should disintegrate and slough off over the years, it is on the dirty side of the oil flow and that is what you just put the fancy new filter on for - to keep the oil going to the moving parts with tight clearances clean.

Looks good and works good a week later. And, I really don't see a major problem with the spin on. My Kubota has both the oil and fuel filter in a similar location. Granted the loss of the diesel filter would kill it pretty quickly, but I use it in the woods quite a bit and never even considered puncturing the oil filter behind the front axle.

This post was edited by TexMac on 09/15/2021 at 09:03 pm.