This is my first A/C Vair so I have no experience with the horizontal oil filter adaptor. What's the trick to holding the bolt when installing a fresh filter?

- Art in Missouri
'66 Monza Vert 110, 4SP, AC

Previous vairs:
63 Monza Coupe
66 Sport Sedan
66 Corsa (clone)
61 Loadside

Wrap the entire adaptor and filter in a leak-proof bag.

Remove everything from the engine oil filter housing.
Take the whole thing to the bench to get'r done.

---

Dan Davis ~ Pierce County, WA ~ CCF admin ~
CORSA +Corvairs NW + North Cascades Corvairs + Corvanatics
1966 Corsa Turbo coupe ~ ~ 1966 Corsa 140 Coupe ~ ~ 1965 Monza 140/4 Convertible Sierra Tan/Fawn ~ 1964 Monza Spyder Convertible ~ 1960 Monza Ermine White/Red PG ++ ~ 1965 Monza 140/4 CoupeEvening Orchid w/ ivory/black interior ~ 1962 Monza Wagon 102/4 ~ 1963 Rampside/Scamper ~ 1963 Red/Greenbrier ~ 1969 Ultra Van #468

What I do is change the oil filter with 90 degree adapter when the engine is cold.
As Dan said, drop the filter and adapter as a unit. Cold, the oil will not dump out all over. I usually don't even need to bag it! It's not Jiffy Lube, so no hurry! Also you can fill the new filter with oil before installing it.

Corventure Dave

And do NOT neglect changing the three seals the 90 degree adapter uses between it and the engine!! Those are the one around the bolt, the rubber intermediate seal, and most important of all, the paper outer seal. That one will weld itself into its groove and you'll have a devil of a time standing on your head while digging it out with a scribe or mini chisel. That is after every thing has sprung a leak and no amount of cranking down by Godzilla can stop the leaking. Been there done that. Back in '71. Have.changed those seals faithfully ever since and have had no problems since then.

Mark(owned an a/c Corvair continuously since '71)

Thanks guys!

- Art in Missouri
'66 Monza Vert 110, 4SP, AC

Previous vairs:
63 Monza Coupe
66 Sport Sedan
66 Corsa (clone)
61 Loadside

Cut one of your quart oil bottles and slide it under the filter to catch everything. I find this less messy than the plastic bag approach.

I don't think it matters which filter or adapter you have.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2023 02:57PM by richard1.

For my car I made a custom wrench to hold the bolt. It is a very tight fit with the smog system. I think that you might be able to use a long extension and a flex socket on an A/C car. I just change the filter, I don't change the gasket on the bolt. It is one of the wide original style fiber washers and they last forever. Yes oil gets spilled. I have a ;ittle try and a some rags and I just deal with it. Some people believe that you have to change all of the gaskets everytime but I don't and I put alot of miles on my car and it does just fine.

RJ tools
Salem,Oregon

I hate to differ with Rex, as I respect him. But my experience says otherwise. I DO know that the paper outer seal WILL weld itself into the engine adapter groove. I've dug many of them out over the years, and it's never any fun. I know that the cardboard it's made of WILL eventually leak, no matter how you crank down on the bolt. I've had it happen. And I know that the middle rubber seal WILL harden, just like pushrod tube seals do. I've seen many that were so hard and brittle that they broke into pieces. Which should surprise no one, as we all know what the old original rubber pushrod seals do with age and heat. Same thing happens with the oil filter middle seal.

So who's to say that middle seal on Rex's car isn't as hard as a brick and leaking dirty oil into the filtered oil? Does Rex know? Is he SURE it's not leaking like a sieve? If you don't take it lose once in a while, you can't say for sure. I'm not saying what he says isn't the truth. Maybe he has something special going on with his car. Maybe I just have bad luck (but then I know I do, so what else is new?) I donno.

I just prefer to play safe rather than sorry, so I err on the side of changing these seals. Besides, I hate chiseling that outer seal out of my engine adapter groove.

-Mark

P.S. One more recommendation, and this goes for EVERY Corvair. Run a mill file over the engine adapter's bolt mounting surface (where the gasket sets between the mounting bolt and the adapter.) You will be amazed at how "not" flat it is. If you ever have a leak there, well, it's a wonder how the fiber washer is capable of sealing that surface. File it flat and you can possibly even use a ground washer or shim steel to seal it.

So you're saying the cardboard gasket is easier to get out if you do it regularly?
The original question was about getting the sideways bolt into the filter with the adapter still on the engine. That is very frustrating but I can imagine the best way to do it if you can get the hang of it. Does anyone have a trick in that regard?
I'm just glad I don't see many of them.
Though unsightly and philosophically unappealing is this a good place for a spin-on adapter?
I just went back and reread this thread and saw Rex reply about a special tool he made which would be what I might do if I had to deal with it all the time.

Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2023 08:00AM by JimBrandberg.

The 90 degree adapter was made as a quick solution to the lack of space for a second crank pulley. They would interfere with one another.

Mark

You could put a spin on adapter to the end of the 90 degree adapter. I did that but everytime I would try to spin the filter off the whole adapter would come off. I tried lock tite and other things but it would always spin off with the filter. Clark's came out with affordable oil filters so I took off the spin on adapter. Also with the smog system you had to use a short filter to make it fit.

RJ tools
Salem,Oregon

RexJohnson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Some people believe that you have to change all of the gaskets every time but I don't and I put a lot of miles on my car and it does just fine.

Same here with multiple A/C cars. No issues. I also use spin-on adapters such as below on Cathy's 65 which is another controversial thing I've done for years. I'm just a rebel I guess.


Oh my...how will I ever change the fan belt in an emergency?



Dave W. / Gilbert Arizona
65 Corsa 140/4 Butternut Yellow
66 Corsa 140/4 Stinger Tribute
66 Corsa 140/4 w/factory A/C Aztec Bronze
65 Monza Convertible 110/4 Hunter Green
65 Monza 4DR 140/PG w/factory A/C Ermine White
65 Monza 4DR EJ20T/5 Light Mettalic Blue

Spin-on adapters are a whole other subject, Let us just say that there are several different designs out there, and some are thicker than others. Some have unnecessary restriction issues (which I have covered in other posts, articles, and presentation lectures). And their use with the 90 degree adapter brings up another set of issues, such as filter size.


But the bottom line concerning spin-on filter use is, IMHO, that they are of no economic benefit and only hurts the whole Corvair hobby by reducing the market demand for PF-4 type replacements. While it would possibly have been nice if the Corvair had been designed for spin-ons, I personally don't recommend them, and especially when your car requires a 90 degree adapter for pulley clearance.

-Mark

P.S. For the record, I have two such adapters, but I don't use them. Still, I had their machinist (the late Ed Corson) machine different center pieces for me, so that I could use a GM PF-52 filter (the recommended filter for most Fiero cars, which is what I was driving at the time) instead of (what I considered) the bastard filter that was supposed to be used on it. The PF-52 is very similar in size to the PF-4 Corvair filter. I also remachined those two adapters to relieve some unnecessary flow restrictions.

I don't use the adapters either but brought it up as a way to avoid the little bolt. No answer to my question if the paper gaskets come out easier if changed often. If not I avoid them like the plague.
It sounds like Rex came up with a wrench to hold the little bolt while introducing the filter to it and spinning it on. Seems like the best solution.
The broadness of the adapter when changing the fan belt is a good thing to be aware of and may reason for veto.
I used to buy a case of NAPA filters on sale every Spring to help keep a monopoly from forming but they've been too expensive for a few years now. My concern is if people see a high priced oil filter on their bill they may wonder if I'm charging too much on everything. If Wix quits making Corvair oil filters there could be a pricing monopoly or severe shortages occasionally.

Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

Take just the oil filter off for 3 changes in a row. On the 4th, remove the right angle adapter and change out the seals. Dun.

For the 4th change I use a 12" long 3/8" drive wobble extension.

Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Stock
Been Aircooled Since 1973
Northwest Ohio 45840



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2023 10:39AM by Wagon Master.

Lots of reasons for spin-on adapters. In my case, I bought it because importing filters from Clark's, or anyone, with Fedex running (15 years ago) $175 minimum, plus paying 30% in duties and VAT (on filters and freight) seemed high. Not sure what that would be today, as they now charge $345 to send a document envelope.

Shortly after buying my Corvair, I became a Donaldson distributor. The Donaldson P550335, an excellent filter (and 2.99" diameter, vs 3.4" for the WIX) cost me $2.39 landed in my warehouse. I also needed to keep 600 or so in stock because most Fords, Nissans, and many Toyotas and CAT small equipment also use that filter, so availability was a no-brainer.

Restoration in Bolivia
Richard's Mini Pickup
Richard's Corvair
Richard's Renault Dauphine

Selection of the Right Motor Oil for the Corvair
Selection of the right transmission oil for the Corvair
How to polish and restore stainless and aluminum trim

People have laughed when I told them how I do mine (air vair Mark cringes) but here goes. I only remove the short bolt and leave the 90 on the engine. I get to the short bolt from under the engine (my car is sitting on a hoist) after removing the rear grille, rear cover, motor mount bracket, "catch all" tray, and some of the rear engine seal. I wrap a thick plastic bag around it first to catch the oil.
Remember, I am NOT in a hurry when I work on my Corvairs.
But I am also in agreement with WM. About every 4th oil filter change I replace the 90 gasket and seal.

I can't give any "life expectancy" figure on either the paper gasket or the rubber seal, but I DO know that the longer the paper gasket is in the car, the greater the risk it will weld itself to the aluminum. Maybe it varies from one to the next. But I've seen them begin to adhere in only one oil change cycle, and the longer they are in there, the more area of them and tighter they adhere.

As far as the rubber seal goes, think of it as but one more pushrod tube seal that will eventually harden, crack, and leak.

I'd rather not risk the wrath of the car gods. I've had too much bad luck with them as it is over the years.

-Mark

Has anyone tried greasing the paper gasket?

Joel
Northlake, TX
5 Ultravans, 141 Corvairs and counting...

I grease the paper gasket every time I have it off using the hard green
"Assemblee goo" stuff I have bought from Napa.
In the old days (40 years ago on my A/C cars) I would remove the 90 and reuse the paper gasket and transfer the inner rubber seal from the "old" filter (3,000 miles) every time and the seal use to always be soft.