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I am installing a sidewinder exhaust on my cb performance 1835 engine . It has a oil cooler and a spin off filter. My problem is the Mahle OC 84 filter is a tad too long for the header to fit. It is ~ 3.25" long.
I could use a filter that was 2.5 or 2.75" long. 

Any idea on how to find such a beast? I have been looking through the Mahle online catalogs, but they do not provide dims. 

 

 

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Here's my suggestion: take the oil filter element to your nearest independent auto supply store, or one that is known locally for having experienced clerks.  Then find the most hopelessly outdated guy available (he'll not likely have piercings, ear lobe inserts, or neck tatoos).  Show the guy your element, explain your needs, and he'll bury himself in a cross-index book for a few minutes, then put 3 or 4 elements on the counter for you.  You may want to check the specs on your micron size before shopping.  Best of luck!

Jim, good idea. I know just the toothless old guy to ask. 
Gordon I thought the same thing. Also the oil cooler lines run right on top of the header. My current plan is to take the filter off (time to change the oil anyway) install header (temporarily) and see what relocation options could be. This spin off  is a cast piece that bolts to the block , so to relocate might have to get another system all together. Looks like CB offers a few.
To quote Homer Simpson, "Nuthin's easy."

 

MotoCarlo posted:

 

...To quote Homer Simpson, "Nuthin's easy."

 

But that's half the draw of these cars, no?

When it came time to relocate my cooler (which meant relocating the filter, too), this Setrab filter mount solved some problems because it can be mounted and the hoses hooked up in a number of different orientations.

SetrabFilterMount

 

Look at the bright side - the more money you spend on this, the easier it will be.

 

 

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  • SetrabFilterMount

It is beautiful original condition. Wow. Where is it and how much are they asking? He says appraised at $32k. The non tii models - non roundies in perfect condition are bringing mid 20s. Upgrades to look for are brakes (4 wheel disk) It has the better bottle cap wheels. Probably 14s.  5 speed or 4. Upgraded master to tii master.  Steering box can get pretty weird too. And the usual stuff : suspension , exhaust, etc. But if the photos are to be believed - this body looks great , redone interior all original. Really good. Body work can really drain your patience and bank account . This one looks great.

Mine? I am doing more of a resto mod e10.

I'm using the same filter mount as Mitch, but I got it in au-natural aluminum silver to look cool.  

Figured it would look nice, tucked way up in beside the engine where all you can see is the bottom of the filter can.  It's a pretty rugged mount, as my filter seems to like to make a super-glue-like bond to the mount and I have to practically blast to get the damn thing spun off and the mount is still intact (so far).

CMC has a big square horse shoe frame member surrounding the engine so I just bolted my mount right to that.  Done....I thought, but I moved it once when I added a Mocal oil thermostat sandwich switch between the filter mount and the filter can.  My oil hoses from/to the engine go close to the header tubes, but they have a couple inches of clearance and haven't been a problem.  Those hoses are teflon inside of stainless braid.

I needed the oil thermostat switch once I got the gas heater running and started driving in colder and colder weather.

It is in California, but I am not sure it is true.  The passenger side in the pict show some misalignment but the rest is good.   I love those years and the 1987 535i,  

I also like the GHia around 1971.  The problem with all of these is man how many cars can I upkeep   My IM is good but I have that and all the rest of our DD not much time left for anything else... well maybe the dogs.  

BTW, body work according to stats and metal repair will take up to 65-70% of your restauration budget so I like plastic, ok FGlass    

 

Last edited by IaM-Ray
MotoCarlo posted:

I am installing a sidewinder exhaust on my cb performance 1835 engine . It has a oil cooler and a spin off filter. My problem is the Mahle OC 84 filter is a tad too long for the header to fit. It is ~ 3.25" long.
I could use a filter that was 2.5 or 2.75" long. 

Any idea on how to find such a beast? I have been looking through the Mahle online catalogs, but they do not provide dims. 

 

 

This is the on I use. Mahle OC 25. I use a piece of heater supply duct (Heater Box to Chasis tube) as a protective sleeve slid over the filter as the filter is in the wheel well. I'll take a picture and send it on later.

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MotoCarlo posted:

Thanks Mike. Mine is an OC 84 and about 3.25" long. If you get a chance to take that photo, could you throw  a ruler on it and see how long the OC 25 is?

I'll get some photos myself today to show the  current rig etc...

https://catalog.mahle-aftermar...html?eid=437#divider

According to the catalog the OC25 is 93.5mm in height which converts to 3.68".

I found the online Mahle Catalog and it has an extensive listing of oil filters and their dimensions. Here are some of the shorter filters: OC 1051 2.89", OC 619 2.5", OC 606 2.89", OC 500 3.15", OC 494 2.89",OC 458 2.89", OC 1253 2.6", OC 272 2.89", OC 242 2.89", OC 230 2.58", OC 205 2.89", OC 64 2.5", OC 21 3.14", and OC 11 2.5".

I didn't look at thread pitch or size so you'd have to follow up on that using the link to the Mahel Catalog. https://catalog.mahle-aftermar...uct.xhtml?eid=154432

 

Last edited by Robert M

Here are photos of the dilemma.
1 shows the spin off filter with the two lines going to the oil cooler in the fender. (Photo from rear of car and original Dansk exhaust removed.)

1

And 2 shows the side winder header and how that 3.5" tall filter is too tall. (Photo from front looking back)
I think I will go for a 2.5 or 2.25" tall filter, then deal with the heat as I did before - wrap the pipes.

2

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I thought the same thing Robert.

But I only drive it about 1000 miles a year , and the filter and oil get changed every year even at that low mileage.   Also there is a bit more oil in the system since it has an separate oil cooler (radiator).  And it still has that bogus VW oil screen. 
So that is my reasoning ... with fingers crossed. ;-)

MotoCarlo posted:

I thought the same thing Robert.

But I only drive it about 1000 miles a year , and the filter and oil get changed every year even at that low mileage.   Also there is a bit more oil in the system since it has an separate oil cooler (radiator).  And it still has that bogus VW oil screen. 
So that is my reasoning ... with fingers crossed. ;-)

Sounds to me like you’re changing it often enough it won’t be a problem. 

This is 1 of 2 issues with the pump/filter assemblies- real high performance exhausts won't clear the filter. If you can find a short enough filter to work, Carlos, I don't think changing it every oil change should present any problems. I say this because in most automotive applications the filter only needs to be changed every 2nd oil change, along with the fact that so little mileage accumulates between changes.

The other issue with most pump/filter combos- the passages in the cover are too small to flow the volume pumped above 6,000 rpm and the pump drive tang will eventually break.  Al

MotoCarlo posted:

I thought the same thing Robert.

But I only drive it about 1000 miles a year , and the filter and oil get changed every year even at that low mileage.   Also there is a bit more oil in the system since it has an separate oil cooler (radiator).  And it still has that bogus VW oil screen. 
So that is my reasoning ... with fingers crossed. ;-)

1000 miles..... Ah, that is what happens when you have too many toys Carlos  

Last edited by IaM-Ray
MotoCarlo posted:

Thanks Mike. Mine is an OC 84 and about 3.25" long. If you get a chance to take that photo, could you throw  a ruler on it and see how long the OC 25 is?

I'll get some photos myself today to show the  current rig etc...

Sorry these are tardy. I've also used a Mann W917 which is shorter but fatter on my old setup (like yours) and it worked fine, it won't work on my current setup with building stand offs for the filter mount.

I'll take some pics of both filters on the bench for comparison.

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  • IMG_6082: Filter sleeve on
  • IMG_6083: Filter sleeve removed
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Is that a piece of black drain pipe covering the filter?  They make really nice billet aluminum covers that supposedly also act as a heat sink to cool the oil.  $20 at Speedway Motors.

Speedway Finned Aluminum Engine Oil Filter Cover

Speedway Finned Aluminum Engine Oil Filter Cover

 $19.99  Universal Fit, 3.625" Inside Diameter, 6.000" Depth
Inside Diameter:3.625"/Outside Diameter:4.000"/Depth:6.000"/Overall Length:6.375"
Last edited by WOLFGANG
WOLFGANG posted:

Is that a piece of black drain pipe covering the filter?  They make really nice billet aluminum covers that supposedly also act as a heat sink to cool the oil.  $20 at Speedway Motors.

Speedway Finned Aluminum Engine Oil Filter Cover

Speedway Finned Aluminum Engine Oil Filter Cover

 $19.99  Universal Fit, 3.625" Inside Diameter, 6.000" Depth
Inside Diameter:3.625"/Outside Diameter:4.000"/Depth:6.000"/Overall Length:6.375"

Its a piece of heater box to heater channel tube. It slips right over the filter nice and snug.

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While using some sort of shield for an oil filter mounted in the wheel well is probably a good idea, to be honest , I've never heard of any one with this set up damaging a filter on the street, which leads me to ask- are we creating a solution for a problem that doesn't really exist? Don't take this wrong- I'm not trying to be difficult or rude here. Has any one had this happen to them or have first hand knowledge of it happening to someone else? Again, I'm asking because in all the years I've been playing with Volkswagens I don't think I've ever heard of this being an issue on the street.

Last edited by ALB

Not trying to be difficult here but I'd like to understand more. If a filter has a cover, would it not be more likely to keep in heat ? Secondly, if the cover is used to repel heat from the exhaust, I think it might attract it and thus increase heat to the filter. 

In aircraft for instance, sometimes there is a "stand alone" heat shield installed between the exhaust and the item needing heat protection. In that case the heat would go from the exhaust to the heat shield and get dissipated by air flow over it before getting to the item needing less heat ( oil filter in this case ). 

David Stroud posted:

Not trying to be difficult here but I'd like to understand more. If a filter has a cover, would it not be more likely to keep in heat ? Secondly, if the cover is used to repel heat from the exhaust, I think it might attract it and thus increase heat to the filter. 

In aircraft for instance, sometimes there is a "stand alone" heat shield installed between the exhaust and the item needing heat protection. In that case the heat would go from the exhaust to the heat shield and get dissipated by air flow over it before getting to the item needing less heat ( oil filter in this case ). 

Your reasoning is sound to me, David. I wouldn't want to enclose the filter, but (as you say) a heat shield would be beneficial. If worried about the filter in the fenderwell taking a hit, a shield part way around it that didn't impede airflow would give peace of mind.

Last edited by ALB
ALB posted:

While using some sort of shield for an oil filter mounted in the wheel well is probably a good idea, to be honest , I've never heard of any one with this set up damaging a filter on the street, which leads me to ask- are we creating a solution for a problem that doesn't really exist? Don't take this wrong- I'm not trying to be difficult or rude here. Has any one had this happen to them or have first hand knowledge of it happening to someone else? Again, I'm asking because in all the years I've been playing with Volkswagens I don't think I've ever heard of this being an issue on the street.

Hello Al, I have a long crushed stone driveway and once I exit onto pavement whats ever caught in the tires lets loose flinging it off into the the wheel well. I figured an once of prevention.

MikelB posted:
ALB posted:

While using some sort of shield for an oil filter mounted in the wheel well is probably a good idea, to be honest , I've never heard of any one with this set up damaging a filter on the street, which leads me to ask- are we creating a solution for a problem that doesn't really exist? Don't take this wrong- I'm not trying to be difficult or rude here. Has any one had this happen to them or have first hand knowledge of it happening to someone else? Again, I'm asking because in all the years I've been playing with Volkswagens I don't think I've ever heard of this being an issue on the street.

Hello Al, I have a long crushed stone driveway and once I exit onto pavement whats ever caught in the tires lets loose flinging it off into the the wheel well. I figured an once of prevention.

Fair enough, Mike; I don't think anything that's small enough to get caught in the tire tread could develop enough force to pierce a filter canister, but I get your concern. How about building a semi circular shield that protects the front and bottom and bolts to the inner fenderwell an inch in front of the filter? You could even put some really small holes in it so there's airflow (and, of course, with lots of holes it won't weigh so much- and if you make it out of aluminum even better! Hah!).

Last edited by ALB

Someone else on here showed us their spin-on oil filter cover a while back.  They had it mounted in the wheel well behind the tire, too, and covered it for protection.  Mine is mounted inboard of that, hanging down inside of the rear body frame and out of the way of the rear wheel and in the airflow beside and outside of the headers so I never felt a need for special protection.

The folks at O’Brien Truckers make a lot of aluminum dress parts for Hot Rods and Customs and they used to carry oil filter covers made of ribbed aluminum for spin-on style filters (think Ford and Chevy V8s here, like PH8).   They sold maybe six of them and I notice that they no longer list them on their site.

What they still carry for the Hot Rod world that might appeal here are ribbed, slip-on dress coil covers.  They also sell a reproduction Hildebrant Oil Filter (It hides a spin-on PH8 style filter inside) that would look cool in a Speedster.....But maybe not for $225 a pop, polished!

https://www.obrientruckers.com...product/search/2593/

I keep bugging Dennis, the owner, for a reproduction Oberg oil filter that really works but he keeps reminding me of how well his filter covers sold so I guess that won’t be happening any time soon...

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