Best N54 Billet Aluminum Oil Filter Housing Cap?
- Thread starter N54rsenal
- Start date
Maybe after I take the group photo LOLMaybe I can buy one of the other models off you Oil cap man
24-JUL-2021 UPDATE: Had received the new and improved MaLo oil filter cap free of charge from MaLo - Marcel provided fantastic customer service. The new one works fine. All is well. See post a few pages down.
Bad news: The Malo leaked badly! What a mess...I’ll be returning mine for a full refund.
The diameter of the Malo’s channel holding the large o-ring appears to be about 0.4mm - 0.9mm smaller than that of stock. I will be doing a full reporting later this weekend. But here are some photos:
Stock:
Malo:
Bad Leak!
Bad news: The Malo leaked badly! What a mess...I’ll be returning mine for a full refund.
The diameter of the Malo’s channel holding the large o-ring appears to be about 0.4mm - 0.9mm smaller than that of stock. I will be doing a full reporting later this weekend. But here are some photos:
Stock:
Malo:
Bad Leak!
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Oh man that's not good, strange to see that happen because there are alot of them on other cars without any reported issues.
Hope you get sorted out man.
Hi there, I was just informed about that post and I'm very surprised to see the pictures. Did you re-use an oring that was installed in your previous cap and possibly pierce it while removing it? Also what do you mean by 0.4 to 0.9mm? Is the cap oval?
I made them to the same size as the OEM filters and measured everything with a micrometer.
Please get in touch with me so can figure out what went wrong. All my current caps where run off the same set up and that's the first time someone reported it leaking.
Cheers,
Marcel
I made them to the same size as the OEM filters and measured everything with a micrometer.
Please get in touch with me so can figure out what went wrong. All my current caps where run off the same set up and that's the first time someone reported it leaking.
Cheers,
Marcel
A twisted o ring from rolling it on has been a problem for me as well as some from one of the brands , bosch I think.
I had to open it up and replace the oring a couple times until I got into my stash of filters from mahle and then it was good.
Edit... Mann filters not mahle
I had to open it up and replace the oring a couple times until I got into my stash of filters from mahle and then it was good.
Edit... Mann filters not mahle
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Interesting, I never had an issue with my mann filters and their O-rings. Just lube it up with engine oil to help it slide on, and make sure it is not rolled or pinched like you said.
No problem with the o-ring. I lubed it with oil and it went on the Malo just fine. Interestingly, I was able to screw the Malo into the oil filter housing all the way down with my hands - no tools needed. That was kind of odd - there was essentially no additional turning needed when torquing to 25 nM.
I went for a drive to warm it up and suspected a problem when I started to smell oil - it leaked all over, down the oil filter housing, on the belt, flinging on the underside of the hood, on the alternator, down the engine block into the bottom tray, and onto my driveway, etc.
I allowed it to cool before removing, inspecting, measuring and comparing to the stock one. I suspected one of the Malo dimensions may have been off because it screwed on so easily.
I measured the following with a micrometer:
- Diameter over the threads.
- Diameter over the installed o-ring.
- Length of the threaded portion.
I took several measurements of each dimension. My raw data sheet is provided below, which shows that the diameter measured over the installed o-ring on the Malo (88.23 mm, 88.33 mm) is about 1 mm narrower than that of the stock oil cap (89.19 mm, 89.23 mm). I believe this caused the leak:
Next, I removed and inspected the o-rings - they looked fine and were identical. So I reasoned that the diameter of the o-ring channel on the Malo must be smaller compared to stock.
First, I put them side-by-side and took the following photo to compare the o-ring channels:
Stock on left. Malo on right.
It’s hard to see the difference in this photo, but it looks like the o-ring channel on the Malo may be slightly deeper. So then I measured the o-ring channel with a micrometer as I showed in my earlier post. Since the caliper ends of my micrometer are slightly shorter than the radius of the oil caps, I placed the micrometer beam in the o-ring groove, and then squeezed the caliper ends into the o-ring groove to take a measurement. As you can see the measurement of the Malo o-ring groove is 82.83 mm, whereas the measurement of the stock o-ring groove is 83.26 mm. This means that the stock o-ring will stick out further from the threads and seal more tightly against the oil filter housing. Or, in other words, the Malo o-ring will not stick out as much and seal less tightly against the oil filter housing. This is exactly consistent with all of my measurements and observations:
1. The Malo screwed down easily into the oil filter housing and hardly budged when torqued.
2. The diameter measured over the installed o-ring on the Malo is about 1mm smaller than stock.
3. The oil badly leaked.
Stock:
Malo:
I went for a drive to warm it up and suspected a problem when I started to smell oil - it leaked all over, down the oil filter housing, on the belt, flinging on the underside of the hood, on the alternator, down the engine block into the bottom tray, and onto my driveway, etc.
I allowed it to cool before removing, inspecting, measuring and comparing to the stock one. I suspected one of the Malo dimensions may have been off because it screwed on so easily.
I measured the following with a micrometer:
- Diameter over the threads.
- Diameter over the installed o-ring.
- Length of the threaded portion.
I took several measurements of each dimension. My raw data sheet is provided below, which shows that the diameter measured over the installed o-ring on the Malo (88.23 mm, 88.33 mm) is about 1 mm narrower than that of the stock oil cap (89.19 mm, 89.23 mm). I believe this caused the leak:
Next, I removed and inspected the o-rings - they looked fine and were identical. So I reasoned that the diameter of the o-ring channel on the Malo must be smaller compared to stock.
First, I put them side-by-side and took the following photo to compare the o-ring channels:
Stock on left. Malo on right.
It’s hard to see the difference in this photo, but it looks like the o-ring channel on the Malo may be slightly deeper. So then I measured the o-ring channel with a micrometer as I showed in my earlier post. Since the caliper ends of my micrometer are slightly shorter than the radius of the oil caps, I placed the micrometer beam in the o-ring groove, and then squeezed the caliper ends into the o-ring groove to take a measurement. As you can see the measurement of the Malo o-ring groove is 82.83 mm, whereas the measurement of the stock o-ring groove is 83.26 mm. This means that the stock o-ring will stick out further from the threads and seal more tightly against the oil filter housing. Or, in other words, the Malo o-ring will not stick out as much and seal less tightly against the oil filter housing. This is exactly consistent with all of my measurements and observations:
1. The Malo screwed down easily into the oil filter housing and hardly budged when torqued.
2. The diameter measured over the installed o-ring on the Malo is about 1mm smaller than stock.
3. The oil badly leaked.
Stock:
Malo:
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Yikes that's unfortunate. I wonder why this has occured on your car vs. the others that have had no problems.
Make sure you change your belt and degrease your pulleys.
Here are my measurements. I have calipers also better suited to the task. First - measurement against a calibration bar:
My MaLo cap is here. I like what I see, but have not run it. I'll give it a run today. Here are the relevant measurements. I have 3 caps - factory, CTS, and the MaLo. I have installed but not run the MaLo. Remember the BMW OE is plastic, which is going to have different characteristics in heat and gassing out over time. So it is not going to hold its form anywhere near as well as 6061-T6, nor does the factory cap maintain its shape anywhere near as well as 6061-T6.
I don't recall if this was done, but I'd pull another oil filter ring off the shelf and try again. Double check the ring land is clean, and check the oil filter housing just as a precaution.
My MaLo cap is here. I like what I see, but have not run it. I'll give it a run today. Here are the relevant measurements. I have 3 caps - factory, CTS, and the MaLo. I have installed but not run the MaLo. Remember the BMW OE is plastic, which is going to have different characteristics in heat and gassing out over time. So it is not going to hold its form anywhere near as well as 6061-T6, nor does the factory cap maintain its shape anywhere near as well as 6061-T6.
I don't recall if this was done, but I'd pull another oil filter ring off the shelf and try again. Double check the ring land is clean, and check the oil filter housing just as a precaution.
| Brand | O-ring Groove Width (mm) | O-ring Groove Height (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| BMW OE | 83.5 | 4.55 |
| CTS | 83.3 | 4.5 |
| MaLo | 83.0 | 4.5 |
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Ran it up to operating temp, rev'd a bunch. This is after 30 minutes. No leaks on my end. Hope this helps.
Here is a video of the MaLo going in: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7yvrN1pahDR2GKbR9 Note how it has drag once the o-ring is in play. This is hand-tightened. I verified 25-nm with a torque wrench and my hand tightening was pretty much at 25-nm.
I hope this info helps.
Here is a video of the MaLo going in: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7yvrN1pahDR2GKbR9 Note how it has drag once the o-ring is in play. This is hand-tightened. I verified 25-nm with a torque wrench and my hand tightening was pretty much at 25-nm.
I hope this info helps.
Looks good. This really shows the importance of using a new o-ring to overcome the MaLo’s 0.5mm smaller o-ring groove width as measured by Fillipo. Rubbery materials like o-rings generally shrink as they are heated so hopefully it holds up when road-tested under heat and oil pressures. In the past I had no trouble moving the o-ring from the stock to the CTS, and now back to stock.
I would feel more comfortable if this dimension in the MaLo were closer to stock. It would help to remove the risk of on oil leak due to someone reusing a <3000 mile o-ring like I did.
BTW - The CTS, Uro and BMS o-ring groove widths according to my measuring technique were also a little bigger than that of the MaLo, but slightly smaller than stock. Photos, of course:
Malo measured again today (82.82 mm)
Uro (83.06 mm):
CTS (83.14 mm):
BMS (83.01 mm):
I would feel more comfortable if this dimension in the MaLo were closer to stock. It would help to remove the risk of on oil leak due to someone reusing a <3000 mile o-ring like I did.
BTW - The CTS, Uro and BMS o-ring groove widths according to my measuring technique were also a little bigger than that of the MaLo, but slightly smaller than stock. Photos, of course:
Malo measured again today (82.82 mm)
Uro (83.06 mm):
CTS (83.14 mm):
BMS (83.01 mm):
Also, I promised every one a group photo of all my oil filter caps with plastic and metal bird cages and the needed tools for installing. I believe this is the only complete set in the world. Bidding starts or $1,000 LOL.
L-R:
Stock, CTS, BMS, Uro, MaLo
L-R:
Stock, CTS, BMS, Uro, MaLo
I see a potential issue with your measurements, it is that your caliper might not be long enough to reach the true maximum diameter of the O-ring groove.
The next issue is that O-rings are like copper crush washers - one time use only, otherwise they get deformed when you mush them down and heat cycle it. Once it is in there I doubt there will be an issue if you don't remove it.
Given the level of detail you've worked at, I'm sure new o-rings are how you'd approach it. Smart move. Did you install with new o-ring BTW? Curious if the problem gets solved, or if there is some other issue at play.
Dimensionally you have to account for (cannot ignore) that plastic and T6061-T6 are not the same material. There is compressibility in the plastic. I think when it comes down to it, fresh o-rings and everything is fine. Not a product problem in my opinion. Also the standard digital calipers you are using will not give you an accurate measurement across the width, which is why I posted in the first place with the tong calipers. The technique for measuring a ring is not the same as for measuring a constant width item. I digress.
O-rings do not like to be re-used. I just ran into that with my E70 X5 35d. They don't sell the fuel filter with a new o-ring. When I installed the filter with existing o-ring ... yep ... leaked. BMW doesn't spec the part. Measuring the o-ring doesn't actually tell me a true measurement because it has been compressed for some time. It was a PITA to find a suitable o-ring that sealed, not knowing original dimensions.
New o-rings are the ticket!
Filippo
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Yep. Good point on the o-rings. And I had recognized that I wasn’t measuring true diameter. I only had the Nieko digital caliper and did the best I could, as indicated in my post above:
Since the caliper ends of my micrometer are slightly shorter than the radius of the oil caps, I placed the micrometer beam in the o-ring groove, and then squeezed the caliper ends into the o-ring groove to take a measurement.
Yes ... just to complete the discussion on measuring round stuff ... if one watches how bore gages are used to measure cylinders for roundness, that sort of gets one in the zip code. The digital tongs are dragged across the the outside of the circle such that the value increases until it decreases. Repeated measurements yield a consistent peak. It would also tell us if it is out of round.
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