i'd just popped out for a quick thrash round. got to the top of road and i hear a slushing noise.
stop wip the bonnet of and there is oil all over and the oil filter is loose?

1.8 zetec with reno 5 filter halfords one

why should the filter come loose?

bit hacked of as thats £20 worth of oil all over the car and road!!!

This happened to a friend with a spitfire just last week, again a halfords filter. He was not pleased as it was on his driveway. Mentioned that the thread on the filter was VERY short, just a couple of turns. Maybe a production problem, but it is unusual....

My friend races a single seater with a bug engine and he went through a stage of blowing filters off. I guess its just the pressure in the system?

Make sure its really bloody tight next time.

hi check the top/threaded bit of the filter some are inverted some vice versa perhaps by accident you have the wrong one and are not screwing up on enough threads also did you wet the rubber ring with oil it does help to get a tighter filter ,honestly
les g

hmmm yep i oiled the seal as normal
maybe a duff filter i will check the thread

cheers for the input

i have had a few halford oil filters on diffrent car come lose and i will not use them again

How tight did you do it?
Most filters require 3/4-1 full revolution after gasket contact to be tight (with oiled gasket). Usually spinning them on by hand is not enough to get that.
Never figured out why people think a critical engine component should be hand tight.

There is a thread some where that says the R5 filter has a differant thread to the zetec, but it still screws on ?

Metric / Imperial ?

Ive still got one mine

[Edited on 8/9/08 by big_wasa]

Sorry mate. But as I've said before a Renault 5 filter has a metric thread and your screwing it onto an Imperial thread on the Zetec. The thread engagement is at best minute...

Here's my post from last year:

quote:

---

Originally posted by SeaBass
I had a good look around for a decent filter for my Zetec. All the usual suspects were just that - suspect eg using a Renault 5 filter which is M20 on a 3/4" ford oil filter thread - no thanks. I ended up using a short but fat filter from a Ford XR4x4 V6 / Cossie 2WD. Ford oil filter code EFL 298.

Looks like this:



I found the MANN filter catalogue online to be very useful. You can supply the dimensions you want to use and it comes back with suggestions.

MANN Filter Selector Here!

Hope this has helped...

---

Hi assuming that the Renault fitter fitted has the right thread Etc the problem lies with the block rather than the filter..

On the ZETEC the threaded section is well known for being able to come lose when removing the old filter so when replacing with the new one the thread is not tightened in to the block. So as the new seal beds in it has a tendency to become lose.

Always check that the thread is tight in the block before fitting new filter.

Cheers Matt

[Edited on 8/9/08 by procomp]

Very important only to screw filters on by hand and to place a smear of oil on the "O" ring before fitting. Check for leaks and tightness as soon as the engine has been run and when t reaches to normal working temperture. ---

Using grips to tighten the filter can result at the next oil change in major work being required to remove the filter base.

The Renault filter is the wrong thread, but plenty [including me] are using them with no problems.

Stu

quote:

---

Originally posted by procomp
assuming that the Renault fitter fitted has the right thread

---

surely u wouldnt put a nut of one thread onto the bolt with a completely different thread for say bolt your wishbone on ?!?! so why use a filter with a different thread, i dont get it!!

chris

I always wirelock filters on (jubilee clip around the filter then wirelocked to something convenient). This will stop it unscrewing.

Wyn

Unless you are really short of space then the 1.3CVH escort, fiesta type filter will fit and is about half the length of the original zetec one.
Paul.