Flywheel housing gasket replacement

[Hammerhead]

(01-10-2018 )Rawze Wrote:  I have seen a lot of engines with melted pistons due to that mystery o-ring. It is a good thing you found it before it broke apart and took out a piston.

I have always used fleetguard filters because of this. They replaced the filter design where that o-ring resides into a full-on gasket with flaps to prevent this very thing.

Other manufacturers put thicker o-rings like the one you pointed out there in that filter... not sure if I trust it though, so that is why I only use the more expensive fleece-guard now.

I can assure you that I sat there under my truck for at least 15 seconds in pure astonishment when I found it.
I sat and enjoyed a beer that evening for sure, thinking of how lucky I was that I found this when I did, instead of finding it the hard way.

Cummins threads the outer diameter of the filter instead of the spigot where the filtered oil returns into the engine. IMHO the threaded spigot is a superior design as it eliminates the need for this O-ring/failure point.
Like I said, I don't have any F/G filters to look at to verify, and this may well be "the fix", but this is the O-ring I believe was the issue. I believe, no proof whatsoever, that the mystery O-ring is located where my finger is pointing. The thick O-ring is the one that has been removed from this Baldwin filter, and the mystery is of course the broken one in the pic.
   

So the lesson here is, check every removed filter and verify this O-ring is in tact, and in place. If it is not, be extremely concerned as the only thing that can catch it before a piston cooling jet is the oil rifle! Because it is now POST FILTER!!!

If anyone is doing a clutch job and has used Fleetgaurd filters for many years, as I did before I switched suppliers, for peace of mind you may want to spend a few extra hours of labour to replace the flywheel housing gasket to make sure that you DO NOT have one of these time bombs just waiting to bite your backside. I do MOST of my own services, and I like to think I'm quite careful, but I can assure you that I WILL be stepping up my vigilance of checking filters for this O-ring.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for Baldwin filters, I switched suppliers because of convenience. If they would have had carried F/G, that's still what is be using. the missing link gave me a few Wix filters to try as that's what he uses, and his oil is cleaner than mine, so I'm going to try them, cut them apart when changed, and post pics and reviews based on what I find.