sti555

Looking for some help changing my oil & filter..

My car seems to have a remote oil filter, not seen this before & wondering if there are any special precutions- do I also need to fill the braided hoses?, etc..

heres some pics:








Is Castrol Magnatec ok for the STi engine??

Thanks for any info

greasemonkey

Certainly looks that way STi555, although the pics aren't totally clear. What's the story with the two small bore pipes/cables coming out of the filter block? They seem to be running up to the bulkhead. Are they oil temp/pressure senders or something like that?

What's the full score with this? Do the two braided hoses run down to a coupling on the standard filter header, and is the standard heat exchanger left in place, or is there an oil rad instead? What about the oil pump?

Without further info I'd suggest that the precautions should be as per a standard filter change, only moreso. In other words, pre-fill the filter (which could be a sod with that horizontal filter orientation), remove the crank sensor (and ideally plugs) and turn the thing over on the starter for a good 30-40 seconds after the oil pressure warning light goes out to re-establish a solid supply before firing her up.

If you can un-fix the filter block from wherever it's currently mounted, it'd be worth orienting it so you can attach a pre-filled filter without spilling oil all over the engine and floor, while, assuming there's a receiver block mounted to the standard filter receptacle, it'd be worth removing this to drain as much of the old oil as possible out of the system.

All that said, if this was my car, I'd take a good hard look at all this and wonder if it really needs to be on there! Unless there's a valid reason for it to be there, all that extra pipework looks like a load of complication your engine may be better off without.

Edited to add that I've little experience of Magnatec, but I trust the opinions of a couple of experienced folk who don't think it's all that good. You'll likely get better protection from a good full synthetic oil like Mobil 1 Motorsport 15w/50, Motul 300V, also at 15/50, or Castrol RS at 10w/60

Dark Blue Mark

Castrol RS is where its at

GM - clear your PM inbox!

MB

sti555

Cheers for the reply GM..

sorry for the poor quality pics, taken on my phone cos I'm lazy ..

anyway, the car has 3 gauges in the cabin (oil temp + oil press), but not sure if this is anything to do with the 2 x small bore pipes, will have to investigate further..

Also not sure where the 2 x bigger braided hose's go & more importantly whats at the other end!

I've had the front grill off this afternoon, seems like there is a main rad (water) & a 2nd rad poss oil??

The copper filter block itself is mounted on a bracket that holds the hks filter, looks like it will swivel round so should be able to pre fill a filter no probs without spillage!

I'm no really too sure what engine mods are on the car, & don't want to remove something that may be important!, the whole car seems fairly well modified, it goes like **** compared to mates motors (evo's etc), but downside is I don't know wants going on under the bonnet, ummm.

I suppose I was hoping someone on here would know all about it or it would be std jdm parts, oh well!.

Can you give me advice on locating the crank sensor??, I'll get some more oil & use the magnatec in the missus car, just had loads at hand!

Thanks for the info so far

sti555

oh car is a 96 ver 2 sti 555 if that helps

greasemonkey

It'd be logical to think that those two gauges are being fed by senders in that filter block. Follow the cables/pipes as far as you can and see where they end. With luck they'll be going into the back of the two gauges.

Well worth a good look before you make the change.

Can you get a pic of it for us? It may be a power steering fluid cooler (can't remember whether STi2 has one) but given what else we've seen it's likely to be an oil cooler. Has it got the same sort of braided hose as the filter running to it?

Lol, c'mon, life would be boring if everything was simple! Shouldn't be too hard to work out what's going on, just get in there with a torch and have a good peek about. Those two braided hoses will/should run down to a block on the lower front right (i.e. driver's side!) of the engine. If one of them runs down to that radiator, we'll know what it is.

It's underneath the alternator, immediately behind the timing marks on the timing belt cover. Press the little detent down and pull the plug off. More on the general oil change stuff here.