nhdiesel
Member
After work I went to do my first service on the Tenere. I'm far from a novice at this, as I've been a master tech for 10+ years and a hobby mechanic for 10+ years before that. The change went quick and easy (did the final drive as well). That is, until I started the bike. I noticed a slow drop start from the plastic skid plate/engine trim under the filter. I removed it and checked the filter, and it was tight, yet the drip continued. I loosened the filter a half turn to try retightening it (by hand) and it still leaked. OK, pull the filter. The filter sealing surface, the engine sealing surface, and the gasket all appeared to be in good shape. The only thing I did notice was that the filter seemed to tighten up pretty suddenly, without feeling the compression of the gasket. Well my bike is my transportation, so I left the plastic off and made sure the filter was on tight and rode the half mile to WalMart and bought a Purolator filter (the best brand they carry, in my opinion) and another quart of oil. I swapped filters in the parking lot and the Purolator tightened right up like it should, with the compression of the seal easy to feel. No more leak.
I'm guessing that either the Carquest filter was defective and didn't have the correct clearance for the hex at the base of the threads of the filter boss, or the Carquest filters are made to the wrong specs and won't work on this bike.
I'm curious if anyone else ever ran into this, and if not...consider it a warning to check off brand filters carefully. I'm kind of kicking myself for not having felt the lack of compression of the gasket, but I was in a bit of a hurry.
I'm guessing that either the Carquest filter was defective and didn't have the correct clearance for the hex at the base of the threads of the filter boss, or the Carquest filters are made to the wrong specs and won't work on this bike.
I'm curious if anyone else ever ran into this, and if not...consider it a warning to check off brand filters carefully. I'm kind of kicking myself for not having felt the lack of compression of the gasket, but I was in a bit of a hurry.