Hello all! Drug home an old 55 ford that's been sitting near my house. It's been in a garage for...a long time. She saw the sun for the first time in atleast 20 years on Friday. Sometime in the late 90's it was moved from one garage to another. Well I cleaned the points, broke out the dwell meter and set out to see if the beast would come to life. Cranked it up, good oil pressure, oil up top looking good. Hooked everything up and not surprising, she roared right to life. Shut it down and peeked around for crazy shenanigans and sure enough, the oil filter is leaking to beat the band. So a little digging around has me torn. Seems like Y-block spin on adaptors leak as much as a detroit, and getting the cartridge to not leak is like catching a leprechaun riding a unicorn... So this is my first Y-block, and I just want to drive this one in as found condition for a while as it's pretty bad ass as is. I wanna try to get the cartridge setup to work properly. Can you Y-block experts give me a rundown on on how to make it happen? Without the boat anchor jokes Thanks all! Paul
My first item would be a new spin on filter from your local parts house..seal on old filter is probably dried out after this many years of sitting
You can start here, and run more searches. There's good y block guys here, but this site is only y blocks. The adaptors work if done right, and so do the canisters. http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic120704.aspx
Another Y-Block quirk has to do with the oil filter. The engines built later in the production cycle went to a spin-on, but the blocks are all cast and machined the same. Of course, what this means is there’s an adapter used. Unless your customer is planning a concours-type restoration, the spin-on oil filter is obviously the best deal, so you’ll want to use the spin-on oil filter adapter. At first glance, it looks like a no-brainer, but that’s where some get into trouble. Years of unfortunate and messy experience have taught me to approach the subject with a specific (and proven) procedure. First, there is a flat impregnated paper gasket that seals between the block and the adapter plate. Never, ever, not even once or a little bit, should you use any kind of sealer or gasket material here. If you do it will almost certainly end up with the gasket pushed out and all the oil on the ground. Put it in dry. Second, the plate has to be installed in only one way. Look closely and you’ll see where it is stamped “TOP.” This faces outward (I guess you could say that it is also the top), but the TOP script should also be at 12 o’clock or top as well. If not, the filter will drain dry in a very short time every time you shut the engine off. Obviously, you want oil to stay in the filter so you don’t start without oil – it’s hard on an engine. Finally, the special threaded fitting that holds the plate on and allows the filter to spin on requires a 1-1/4˝ socket and about 50 ft.lbs. of torque. The problem is that a good many of the sockets available are too thick and you won’t get a good grip. I finally broke down and bought a cheap 12-point socket and ground the outside edge until I could get a good grip on it. The first time I dealt with this I invented quite a few new four-letter words before I realized what was needed. My advice: fix yourself up with that socket when you tear it down. (borrowed)
With good gaskets in place the cartridge set-up should work fine... at least they did back in the day. However, I'd go with Ricks advice and use the spin-on filter.
I'm gonna try the cartridge route first, need to figure out what's wat with the gaskets and seals, and what all needs to be replaced to keep her from leaking. Thanks so much for the replys! Will these said seals come with the new filter? Or is there a kit with all the seals I can order?
I bought an original spin on from a later model and not aftermarket when I changed mine (e-bay) Rick's socket deal is right on had to do it. Would have kept the cartridge but the PS hoses were a pain.
Using a spin on with the stock adapter and no leaks. Ricks garage has provided good info. Once that plate is positioned correctly with "top" in the right place and tightened, you oughta be good
So I bought a new filter and gasket today. It came with 3 gaskets. One large flat rubber gasket, one smaller rubber gasket, and one the same size as the smaller one but it's hard. Upon removing the cartridge housing I see the word top is located about 2:30-3:00 instead of 12:00 high. So I assume I loosen the big nut in the center of the plate and get the plate to 12 then tighten? One gasket is for the long bolt that goes through the cartrige, the large one is the seal at the block...the 3rd? Thanks for helping a 292 newb! Also, everything was slathered with silicone which everyone says is a big no no...
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