Hi! My name is Wynne, and I just signed up. (Again) Somehow my info got lost. Anyway, I have a question for anyone that can help me. I have a 51 Merc with the original flathead in it. I rebuilt the engine a while ago, and performed a modification that I found in a book. I drilled and plugged the Oil hole in the back of the block, and threaded the hole so I could have a full flow oil filter. I remembered that in the book it said that this would filter the oil for 1 thru 7 cylinders. Number eight would be unfiltered. Now I have a problem with number eight oil fouling plugs. I just came from a car show where I met a guy that told me "No, you did it all wrong" , and he told me about a conversion kit that comes from Flathead Jack. It supposedly goes in through the oil pan directly into the oil pump. I couldn't find it on the Flathead Jack site, and wondered if anyone had any info on this?
I like the stock filter best. But if you did it right what you have should work ok, but will have nothing to do with the oil fouled plug. It pulls the oil from the main bearings. I think any filter is better than none. But a lot of people don't run one at all and just change the oil every couple of thousand miles. Since it's a rebuild sounds like you have a problem with rings seating or possibly something else , but not the filter. The other filter system you said the guy told you about is complicated compared to what you did and I don't feel it's worth the extra effort.
There are other reasons other than your filter for your plug fouling . Lots of flatheads are run with no filter and the oil is changed frequently.
Yep, and yep. The oil filtering system has nothing to do with that fouled plug. Unless, you have the filter canister mounted right over 8, and maybe you are shorting the plug wire against it? Check the plug lead and see if there is anything wrong there. If it's not firing correctly (full strength) it could look gunked up rather quickly.
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