[Steve in Wa]

Guys,



I have been reading posts for a couple of years now and the other day I read one about the washer for the oil filter. I just looked in the GL500I service manual and it clearly shows a spring, washer, and oil filter inside the housing with the bolt that secures everything together.



On my bike, there doesn't appear to be a spring or a washer and I have changed the oil & filter many times and have put over 25,000 miles on it. The oil pressure light goes off very soon after it starts and often as I am cranking.



My question is: do the GL's use the spring & washer and am I running a risk of damaging the engine or is that the way it is supposed to be?

 

[bandit]

Guys,



I have been reading posts for a couple of years now and the other day I read one about the washer for the oil filter. I just looked in the GL500I service manual and it clearly shows a spring, washer, and oil filter inside the housing with the bolt that secures everything together.



On my bike, there doesn't appear to be a spring or a washer and I have changed the oil & filter many times and have put over 25,000 miles on it. The oil pressure light goes off very soon after it starts and often as I am cranking.



My question is: do the GL's use the spring & washer and am I running a risk of damaging the engine or is that the way it is supposed to be?

Steve,its as if you dont have a filter,because its not doing anything,just floating about

,to run without a washer could be risky...to run without a spring is madness.i would not use you bike until at the very least a spring is in place

even a similar spring from a hardware store is better than nothing

 

[Mountain Rider]

I had to buy mine at my local Honda dealership. Both the washer & spring were something like $6.38 (last year). Put mine on this spring and I feel better having all the parts there. I also bought a new oil filter bolt with the 17mm head as I was beginning to strip the old small one.

 

[marshallf3]

Yes, without the spring the filter isn't pressing against the crankcase thus oil is just flowing around it.



The washer is to keep the spring from digging into the filter as well as better distributing the force on the filter.

 

[Steve in Wa]

Hey Guys,



I was worried, so I took the filter off and cleaned up everything. No spring or washer. So, with my curiosity piqued, I put the bolt in the housing and put the filter over it until it was in all the way. I used a straight edge across the mating surface of the housing and with a dial caliper, measured down to the center gasket of the filter and subtracted the thickness of the ruler. used the same ruler on the mating surface of the engine housing and measured to the raised part that the bolt goes into.



The distance the between the filter gasket and raised boss the filter bolt goes into is -.085". That means it seals the filter gasket at the engine and the other end of the filter is tight fit to the bolt.



There must have been some problems with that design to warrant a change. It probably only changed the filter housing depth so the filter had an interference fit.



I'm glad I posted this because some other people with the newer machines are probably scratching their heads like me.

 

[bandit]

Hey Guys,



I was worried, so I took the filter off and cleaned up everything. No spring or washer. So, with my curiosity piqued, I put the bolt in the housing and put the filter over it until it was in all the way. I used a straight edge across the mating surface of the housing and with a dial caliper, measured down to the center gasket of the filter and subtracted the thickness of the ruler. used the same ruler on the mating surface of the engine housing and measured to the raised part that the bolt goes into.



The distance the between the filter gasket and raised boss the filter bolt goes into is -.085". That means it seals the filter gasket at the engine and the other end of the filter is tight fit to the bolt.



There must have been some problems with that design to warrant a change. It probably only changed the filter housing depth so the filter had an interference fit.



I'm glad I posted this because some other people with the newer machines are probably scratching their heads like me.

wow,thats odd.

i have an 82,and it needs a spring.

just for interest sake,what is the total length of the filter housing steve.

mine is about 60mm

 

[CXPHREAK]

Could well be wrong here, but theyre all the same aren't they?

 

[bandit]

Could well be wrong here, but theyre all the same aren't they?

mm,thats what i was thinking CXP.

 

[Steve in Wa]

Bandit,



I just measured the oil filter housing and it is 2.135" (54.2mm) tall. I measures with a straight edge across the top of the housing to the mating surface on the engine.



It appears there are two variants out there. If there was a 1/4" (6mm) of slop that would explain the spring and washer.

 

[ramprat06]

Perhaps understanding how the design works would help. I'm shooting from the hip, so please correct me if I got it wrong.



The center post of the engine side I think is the intake of oil back to the engine via the pump. The outer portion of the engine side has a return hole where I think the oil comes into the filter housing. The oil then flows through the filter from the outside in, and back down the tube into the engine. If the spring and washer are missing the filter will not circulate properly through the tube because it can't seat tight to the casing. The oil would basically bypass the filter for the most part, rather than be forced to pass through it.

 

[bandit]

Bandit,



I just measured the oil filter housing and it is 2.135" (54.2mm) tall. I measures with a straight edge across the top of the housing to the mating surface on the engine.



It appears there are two variants out there. If there was a 1/4" (6mm) of slop that would explain the spring and washer.

Steve,it appears your correct[2 varients],with a straightedge mine would be a tad over 60mm.......quite odd

 

[dak]

So, has it been verified that some models dont need the spring? I just changed the oil on my new to me 81gl500 and it didnt have the spring

 

[Bama Jama]

I also have an '81 CX500 and it has the short housing with no spring.

 

[dak]

Hmm, cheapcycleparts diagram shows I should have one

 

[Shep]

Use a parts fiche for model and year.AFAIK they all use the same oil filter washer and spring setup.If some one has changed the filter system then that would account for the difference.There are,"Screw On" after market ones but if it's not one of these and has been installed correctly then seriously get the correct components and fit them correctly if you value your engine.



My 2 cents.

 

[Sam I Am]

Mine's an '82 Silverwing and mine came with the spring but not the washer so I found an appropriate o.d. stainless fender washer and enlarged the i.d. with a step drill. I'm sure they're cheap and readily available but I'm even cheaper.



I expect it's not uncommon for the washer to stick to the filter and get tossed in the bin with it.



I was under the impression that the housings were all the same. I could be wrong, it's happened before

, but I'd still say that there needs to be some means to ensure that the filter is tight where it needs to be. A change in the housing would seem to indicate the need for a different style of filter as the rubber grommets on the filter we use that seat it in position are recessed from the two faces. It would also seem that a shorter housing, with the intent of sandwiching the filter in place, could lead to a questionable seal on the big o-ring.



Of course, my opinion may be worth as much as the cleverly arranged pixels on the screen that represent it...