Oil Filter Mess
 

When removing the oil filer from a 7.4 MPI, how does one keep from having oil spill over the lip of the filter housing?? I put a bunch of paper towels under it first, but is there an easier way?? It's the only part of winterizing I find a pain.

Thanks for any help.:) :)

I think some of the guys are using zip lock bags. Sounds like a good idea.

But the filter is upsdie down (opening at the bottom), isn't it?

You could get a different oil filter bracket. I think teague has them. Mine hangs them with the top up.

If your filter mounts upside down just poke a hole in it, this will let the oil drain bank into the oil pan.

Oil Filter Mess
 

Hey dallas I have a pair of those 7.4L's with upside down filters. This has worked for me every time:
1. Run motor till warm then shut down.
2. Oil is leaving the filter after shutdown but i believe there might be an air lock in the filter so i SLOWLY loosen the filter enough to let air get sucked in but not enough for oil to get past gasket.
3. Let filter drain for awhile. (go have a beer)
4. Have a pan ready to sit filter in, remove filter

The main thing is to not get in a hurry. Let gravity work for you. I am not a believer in a hammer and a punch to put a hole in a fliter. Then you have oil running out both ends of a filter when you are dragging it over the side of the boat. Also you never can never be sure you didn't knock just a very small piece of metal into the filter and down into the motor.

Thanks for the good advice! I appreciate it.:D

I have the inverted filter on my HP500EFI as well. I use the grocery store platic bags, and surround the whole assembly as best as I can, including a rag. This is just a pain I have learned to live with. I also like to fill my new filter with fresh oil as I install it. My Chevy truck has the filter at a 90* angle, so this inverted boat stuff just adds another element to trying to keep things clean.

I may invest in a flipped filter assembly, but the filter now is just so easy to remove now.

In any rate, the boat is still much easier and cleaner than those few late '80s FWD Tech4 GMs that had the filter as an element in the oil pan. Has anyone ever changed these? The drain plug was actually a 4 inch disc, that you had to pull out, then remove the element, and you had a four inch hole where the rest of the 5 quarts were coming out of. I always ended up wearing half a quart, with another half a quart on the floor. Thank goodness GM stopped that madness.

i have had the pleasure of changing the tech-4 filter what a mess! Even better when previous mechanic or owner cross- threaded the plug last change!! i use the plastic grocery baggy trick and works neatly for the most part. getting good and warm also helps and makes sucking oil out a couple minute job rather than a day adventure. i also always fill my filter with oil but not an option with the filter upside down.

a plastic garbage bag is the trick............just get it a little loose........put the bag under the filter.......pull it all the way up and dont snag it......then reach down into the bag and take it off.........dont drop it.........just lay it down and let the misc oil drain from the housing...........

EZ :p :D

When the hell did they start mounting the oil filters upside down? What bean counter idiot came up with that idea? Ive never had a merc engine with the filter upside down. The HP's had them sideways on the flywheel cover which I also thought was stupid.

formula31...I would think the engineers designed it that way. Us bean counters have nothing to do with design :D

My old boat (454) had the same thing...never understood why!

I have that same upside down filter on my 454 MAG MPI and I thought the same thing. "Boy this is dumb" I think I used about a half a roll of paper towels the last time I changed my oil...

Where do you get those brackets to mount the filter the other, or should I say "right way"?

Trying to keep your boat clean while changing the oil is the worst. Here are some things I have found. If the filter hangs below the mounting plate, use the zip lock bag. It works great. If the filter sits on top of the housing, one of the guy's on the board suggested putting a hole in the bottom of the filter (remember is upside down). This brakes the suction in the filter and will allow most of the oil to drain out into the oil pan.

I don't know if it works yet. But it was suggested by someone on the board. I've got a couple of 500 HP's coming that have the filters mounted this way, and I think its my best shot.

By the way, I think they put the filters on upside down because they do not want you pre-filling it with oil. That would allow unfiltered oil into the engine and they want to avoid that. I have heard some suggest it is for space reasons, but I think its contamination.

So they don't want you to pre-fill the filter with brand new clean out of the bottle un-filtered oil to go to the engine?? But what do you do when you add oil to the engine?

When you add oil to the enging it goes directly into the oil pan via the drain's built into the head. Before that oil does any lubricating, it goes through the filter.

I don't think its as much a case of the new oil being dirty, as it is the individual getting dirt into the filter while its being filled. We started mounting our filters "upside down" for this very reason. We recommend a pre-lube system if your worried about dry starts.

Its an interesting discussion as these same filters are equipped with pressure bypass valves that will allow dirty oil to circulate through the engine if the filter should become clogged.

I do no like the "upside down" filters as I like to pre-fill.