So you are saying that the folks who suggested using Jaguar and other filters are taking a risk and potentially using the wrong filter since no one knows what the RV pressure should be since AM keep it secret?

I had posted a reply then deleted it as I thought of a simpler way to test the filter since the RV does not work on engine oil pressure but the differential on either side of the valve ONLY. So by blocking the outward flow and applying an increasing controlled input pressure using compressed air till the relief valve opened I can determine the PSI point of the filters RV. I'll do this test on the Aston Martin filter, Wix and some others I have in my shop for my own satisfaction just to compare where they open. .

Will be interesting to also try this on filters that I know the RV setting since the design is not an absolute digital value and to see variance in filters with the same value. RV valves use a spring - like a t-stat designed spring that has tolerances necessary due to different materials, manufacturing conditions etc. So even two filters from the same factory with the same stamped setting will not be exactly the same. I read that the tolerance can be as much as +/- 4-5 psi - that's a 10 psi range so we'll see.

You are prudent however in applying caution and using OE filters till confirmed since Aston Martin's reluctance to release any specification prohibits normal OE cross reference practices. It's just a pity that they do this, but I can understand why they wish to maintain an elevated value of their marque and profit. I cannot believe however that they chose to develop a unique oil filter for this car (the volumes simply aren't practical and the filter would need to cost significantly more than $50) especially when nothing else I have found so far is original - even the immediately prior oil filter was similarly "borrowed.". BTW it's PSI is rated at 15psi (1.0 bar) but maybe they went off the rail on this engine and upped it to 23psi while maintaining the exact same dimensions and other specifications as it's immediate predecessor (RV=14.5 psi) - possibly, but unlikely.

Anyway as I said folk can continue to use OE filters from AM - doesn't bother me at all. If my engine blows up I'll report back. I'll also run a test of the oil via Blackstone to see if it's more contaminated using a non oe filter. Maybe it will be cleaner. Maybe I ought not use BMW oil either, wait a minute - BMW doesn't make oil, we just "encourage" folk to buy it through us using brand loyalty practices.







Aston Martin Spin on FF oil filter 1.0 bar RV (14.5 psi)

 

BMW North I am really enjoying your input, and agree with you that Aston could not have developed a bespoke filter for a car with such low volumes.
I am about to do an oil and filter change.
So I'm hoping I can learn what to get from an alternate supplier, paying Aston almost R2000.00 for a filter that I can get from a local parts shop for around R170.00 is going to hurt me

 

I'm a firm believer in avoiding oem price gouging. I've even provided details on the oil bypass filter o-rings to avoid the 100x mark-up at the dealer. While it is unlikely that the AM filter is completely bespoke, it's not too hard to imagine that changing the spring in an otherwise mass market filter is very possible.

It would be necessary to seal the filter screen and then pressurize the high side of the filter to test the bypass pressure with air. Otherwise it would be very difficult to build enough pressure with air if the filter is allowed to flow. Even then the difference in viscosity would effect the test results.

​​​​​​​Still, as I mentioned previously, I have an old filter here, drained and ready to test if anyone wants to run a test.

 

I like the idea of often filter changes you mention, what would you use now instead of the OEM? Brand and model number, I understand your research may make you change this going fwd as your research forges ahead.
In the mean time I would like to do oil and filter, and my vantage does less than 3000km /year so I'm keen to use an non OEM filter for now as my thinking is very in line with yours.
Please let me know.

 

I deleted the above post - I thought I'd wait till I get all the answers and that won't be till I'm back in April. The car is tucked away in a 23C heated garage so I won't see it for a wee while.

I'm gonna use a Wix 57302 filter for the next oil change. It'll be in for less than 3K and I'm not worried. In looking at the history of this car it has had the oil/filter changed on average every 2500 miles. The Wix I plan on using is a dome end BV that is rated 11-17 psi. Given what my Mann buddy told me it's doubtful that the AM filter is anything other than a branded generic. (otherwise it wouldn't be using the same BV valve at the dome end - which is the lowest cost type)

That doesn't mean I will use Wix again in the future. I want to find a filter with a top end BV that won't recirculate contaminants if open. These are mostly used in high end vehicles and broadly on many Ford engines.

 

I feel just like a mechanic. With Telum's assistance, I was able to install a catch can and change my oil. It only took me three days and I only swallowed one nut. I got hung up removing the oil filter. I think the dealer must have superglued it instead of running a little oil around the gasket. I ended up trying four different wrenches, and was only able to get it out when a helpful person from the auto parts store came over and he pulled on one wrench while I pulled the other. We got it out but it pulled out the threaded part from the engine. We were able to get that out of the filter and reinstall it.

You can see from the photos that this was a real project getting the filter off the car. One of the wrenches I used gripped it like the terminator and still no movement.

I think that next time I should be able to change the oil in 6 or 8 hours.

 

You have a threaded fitting on the inlet side of your oil filter that doesn't look like it should be there.

 

Mm no he said the threaded bit came out the motor, normally that stays in.

On a sticky oil filter simply hammer a sharp screw driver through it then you can turn it a half turn lose to get it going, it's messy but works every time.

After all a used filter is going into the bin anyway.

 

I am also a wannabe Vantage mechanic.

Faced with a sticky, welded?, filter, two removal tools had partially collapsed my canister. What could I do?

I knew of Captain Greg's "drive a screw driver through the damn thing", but considered this a last resort. I wasn't there yet.

My fix was to take a putty knife with a thin flexible blade and to tap it, gently, between the interface of the steel filter and cast aluminum block. About 40% of the circumference was reachable. Followed up with a liberal squirt of penetrating oil and 5 minutes of patience.

Easy, peasy, out it came...could have removed it with my fingers.

Learned above, the Ford part, FL2021, is also available with a thicker steel can, FL820S. Should be more deformation resistant.

Senator Blutarsky, nothing is easy, if it was, everyone would do it. But doesn't it make you feel good when you succeed?

 

I know for most of the members of this board changing oil is like brushing your teeth. But I have never changed the oil in a car before. I was so happy when it turned out that the difficulty I had removing the oil filter was not due to my ignorance!

I did feel stupid swallowing the nut from the catch can, though. I dropped the first one with my fat fingers and it fell down into the engine and I could not find it. So for the second one I put the nut in my mouth so I wouldn't drop it while i placed the bolt. I ended up swallowing that one. Luckily, Tellum let me know that I only really needed one pair. He just included three pairs for redundancy.

I must have passed the nut because I didn't set off the buzzer at the airport last week.

 

I've seen this happen on a couple cars now. It's probably from over-tightening the filter (the filter is tightened more than oil filter adapter so the adapter loosens from the engine before the filter loosens from the adapter).

Get an oil filter wrench. Off the top of my head, there are four kinds:
1) a handle with a rubber strap (these are crap)
2) a handle with a solid metal loop (used one of these for the first time last week and it worked great)
3) ones that look like a wide-open pair of pliers (these can easily damage the filter but work for removing old ones since you probably aren't keeping it)
4) ones that look like a huge socket that fit over the end of the filter (these need to be the exact right size to work)

I'd recommend option #2. If you google "oil filter wrench" you'll see each of your options.

I honestly thought you were joking about swallowing that Glad you're okay!

The thinnest part of the catch can setup is the mounting tab on the can itself. The top of the tab has a cross-brace tab for reinforcement, which keeps the mount nice and strong. To test it out, I've been running my catch can with only a single bolt holding it on (rather than 2 or 3). Using only a single bolt to keep it in place allows the possibility of more movement, which would create stress over time that can break the mounting tab. Despite this, I still haven't had any issues with it after thousands of hard miles and several track days. I don't recommend using only one bolt due to the potential for damage during hard driving, and do recommend people use at least two bolts (three might be overkill but there's no downside to it aside from the extra time needed to add the third bolt). But in my own testing it has proven strong enough to handle it.

Here's a link to the catch can for those that haven't seen it, including pictures of the mounting tabs:
http://www.redpants.lol/shop/oil-catch-can

 

I agree that the plastic handle with the rubber strap is mostly crap, but I have one (that's never worked previously, not sure why I haven't thrown it away) and it actually worked to turn my Vantage filter loose on my last oil change. I wouldn't suggest that anyone else buy one, though.

The method I've had the most luck with on tough filters that I don't have the correct socket style tool for is this:

These things are cheap, crappy and simply don't work as intended:


HOWEVER, if you buy a big hose clamp and tighten it around the arms of the clamp once on the filter, it will hold on to that filter with a death grip that would have made Bruce Lee cry.

 

That 3 pronged claw is the one that gave me the best grip, and the one that grabbed so tightly that it crushed the oil filter. The harder you pull on the wrench, the tighter it grips.

I tried using the metal strap wrench and it slipped, so I folded some sandpaper and used it inside the metal strap. I got a decent grip but the filter was in too tight.

I had also tried the rubber strap and the pliers with the big lobster claw. None of them was strong enough to unscrew the filter. But mine was insanely tight.

I will definitely try the hose clamp method if I get stuck again. Thanks for the tip!

 

If you dont oil the gasket before you install the filter you will regret it when it comes to changing it . I have various oil filter removal tools but if they dont work then out comes the huge A&$ set of channel locks ...problem solved every time .
Channel lock does make a specific set of them for filter removal which are very good but they are always in my truck or on work job somewhere not handy .
The big A&$ regular channel locks live in the shop as they are too big to fit in a portable tool box , these things are huge , lots of grunt power for stuck filters .

 

The new black filters do get stuck pretty good even when lubed. I torque them to 18nm and still have times that the threaded adapter comes out.