Is your oil filter working or is it just something
making changing your oil difficult while doing nothing? Most British
cars that I've worked on have non-functioning oil filters. This is
because the bottom plate inside the filter canister is missing. Without
this plate, along with the felt seal, washer, spring, and retaining
clip, that holds everything on the long canister bolt, the filter
is not working.
What happens is someone takes this assembly apart to clean the canister.
The clip is lost or not reinstalled properly. The next time someone
changes the oil, the plate sticks to the bottom of the cartridge and
then it is discarded along with the other items of the assembly. If
a person is not familiar with this assembly, they drop in the new
filter and assume this is all that belonged in the cartridge. At this
point the filter is doing nothing. Save your money and don't waste
a filter if you are missing these parts.
I would highly recommend restoring your filter to its working condition.
Moss shows these parts for some cars but not all. This is odd, since
most all use the same filter element. I believe the same plate assembly
will work with all filters that use the common filter, Moss #833-000.
The plate is Moss #435-155, felt washer #031-218, plain washer #435-565,
spring #329-230 and clip #326-205. All should work with this filter,
regardless of the car. Of course, order the correct assembly pieces,
if the catalog shows they are available. If not available, these should
work. It should be obvious when everything is in front of you along
with the picture in the catalog or service manual.
The filter is important to avoid costly repairs and of course, keeping
your car running on the road. With spring just around the corner,
"on the road" is where they belong.
Good luck with your project.
Lynn Martin,
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