SR20 oil filter fell off when driving HELP!!!

[importknight]

Hi guys i have a 97 240 sr20det, bought it like that a month ago, just drove to the gas station last night like 2-3 blocks away from my school, then wen on my way back to school right before i pulled in my car shut completely off and the all the lights came on. I tried starting it twice and it cranked for 2 secs and i let it off. then just left it, it was bitter cold out last night so i waited till today to check, and to find the oil filter just fell off the motor!!!! with a big puddle of oil under it. ive only had the car for a month or so and have yet to change the oil myself. I put the filter back on and havn't tried to start it again cause it def needs oil, the dip stick had alittle still on the bottom of it. I just checked the oil yesterday before i drove all the way to school and it was fine.

im not sure if i blew the motor or if should put oil in it and try starting it so im asking u guys first..... any help will be appreciated.

[jamg]

get yourself an oil filter relocation kit.

[fliprayzin240sx]

First off, verify you have the right filter. Get an oil filter off a 95 Nissan Sentra SE-R. Put oil in the engine, start it and hope to God you didnt blow the engine or have a rod knock. Question is how soon did you shut the engine off from the time you noticed the oil light turned on. If the engine turned off on its own...I wouldnt hold my breath on having a good engine.

[importknight]

the oil the light must have suddenly came on as soon as the filter fell off and the car just rolled to a stop and yea this filter has been on the car for a couple thousand miles. im pretty sure the previous owner put the right filter on and it just fell off from not putting it on tight enough

[Sileighty_85]

Your Choice.

Either pull oil pan and look for gold, Might not find any,

Pull engine and tear down

OR

fill up engine and filter with oil
disonnect injectors
crank engine to help prime system.
Start engine
If engine Starts and runs
run engine for a few mins
turn off
let all oil drain to pan.
drain oil into clean pan
drop engine oil pan
start mining for gold

[Croustibat]

Sudden total loss of oil pressure while running ... i would at the very least check the rod and crank bearings before attempting to start the engine. but imho they are already fubared. Trying to start an engine with fubared bearings means you may also have the rods and crank to change.

Your choice ...

Oil pressure allows your crank, rods and block to not contact each others. As soon as it is gone, they will rub.

[gostrider]

M1-110 is your friend get it and be done....

[redsx13]

Get some oil and Start that shiz!!!

If its dead its dead, if its not you will be able to tell right away. not worth pulling it apart

[godsmack]

Make sure to find out what motor you actually have. Makes a difference when getting the right filter. And he could have put on the wrong filter and cranked the shit out of it and then it finally let loose. Seen it happen already. S13 motors have different thread pitch than S14 and S15.

[redsx13]

Make sure to find out what motor you actually have. Makes a difference when getting the right filter. And he could have put on the wrong filter and cranked the shit out of it and then it finally let loose. Seen it happen already. S13 motors have different thread pitch than S14 and S15.

This is true. Most likely why the old one fell off. People try to use ka filters on sr20s and they work, however the threads just barely catch, so overtime it will come loose

[importknight]

yea filled it back up, it started and ran fine, then went to start it the next day and started it and popped the hood and the DAMN OIL FILTER FELL OFF AGAIN!!!!!! now the car was actually running without it on for like 1-2 mins!!!! and i could hear a loud ticking wtf!!! why do they keep coming off and what tool do i use to tighten it with??? im thinkin of using some locktight this time but idk about it cause of the ticking noise. might be done now.

[ForeignMuscle]

Your bearings are toast man. Take that engine out and do a $300 job instead of a $2000 job. Replace the main bearings and rod bushings if need be.

You also need a new oil filter housing. This shit is not some common problem that a tool will fix by tightening the filter more. I put my filters on hand tight and then back them off a little so they don't get stuck on. I have never and will never have one just fall off.

Your threads are jacked or you have the wrong filter, period.

If the main bearings are scuffed it is only a matter of time. You can bite the bullet and take your engine out and replace them or you can drive it until it spins a main and slings a rod out of your block. I have been down this road. Take my advice unless you have money to blow.

[importknight]

pffff damn ok man gonna bring it to the guys over at Tarmac in Long Island to check it out first

[nickauger]

Is your engine notchtop or flat top ? because notch use M20 oil filter and s13 use 3/4 ... if you have put an M20 filter on 3/4 tread, its normal your filter fell off.

[godsmack]

^ and vice versa. which engine do you have? is it a red top? black top? s14? s15? The threads should still be fine on the oil block adapter but still should inspect them. and yeah i'd also pull the motor now and replace the stuff mentioned above. if you run it like it is your gonna end up needing a new block.

[zombiewolf513]

If you want to rip it apart then go that route. If you have the money for a new engine, then fill it with new oil/filter and try to run it. If the engine is screwed then just get a new one.

[steve shadows]

What wtf. Yeah if you are ever going to "FIX" an oil leak like that watch it like a hawk while it's running and see what exactly is happening. I would have pulled up a chair and a glass of wine and watched it idle and as soon as the oil started leaking out I would have ripped the ignitor chip out or uplpugged the MAF or cut a fuel line F IT! haha. Gotta be careful with Oil. Oil is precious. Tiny oil leaks out the oil pan you can goose it by but oil sender? very dangerous.

What is the part number on the replacement oil filter you bought to replace the one that fell off? Do the threads look stripped?

Sounds like the sender/sending unit which is what is screws onto is damaged or something> You could have easily purchased a new or used one and swapped it on and picked up an SR20DE oil filter to screw on nicely...

How bad is the knocking? Is it just ticking. You could be lucky and might just have air in the lifters but that's if you're the luckiest guy in NY and I'm pretty sure there are guys in Hedge Funds in the state who can claim that right.

Good luck!

[ForeignMuscle]

I would also like to know what oil filter you are using..

[Frank_Jaeger]

Invest in an oil filter wrench. In the event you find the wrench you bought is too big, add a wrench between it and the filter to make it tight.

[ForeignMuscle]

You should never, ever need a wrench to keep a filter from "falling" off.

He has an issue. Like I said earlier, I tighten mine hand tight and then I back it off 1/4" or so to make it easy to service the next time. I have never had an oil filter come loose.

[ShadowMan]

Take your oil filter off and take a picture of the oil filter mounting/housing/block and its threads then post it here with you oil filter brand and part #.

[zombiewolf513]

You should never, ever need a wrench to keep a filter from "falling" off.

Word. I go hand snug, not even hand tight. Never have had anything like this happen to me.

I was changing my buddies oil with a filter he bought, about a year ago. It seemed to thread on. I noticed it wasn't really getting snug/tight, and it easily jiggled off of the threads. Luckily I caught the mix up. Chances are you did the same thing, but didn't catch the mistake.

Did you put a filter for a S14/15 SR on a S13 SR?

[godsmack]

^ That's what I'm trying to figure out. That's probably what happened and getting a relocate kit he will have problems as well if he's getting the wrong thread pitch.