So I bought my 2005 XKR this summer and love it.. wasn't sure when the last oil change was done and with winter approaching I figured i'd do it..I've always changed my own oil on previous cars.

Changed the oil to Castrol 5W-30 synthetic.. put the OEM filter on but I don't have a special tool so I figured I'd be ok finger tight, aftermarket filter came off easy so I put it on easy tight.... mistake. On my previous Miata finger tight was always fine so I figured it'd be the same..

The next day had a good drip coming right off the bottom of the oil filter and a decent size oil mark on my driveway. Oil level indicated half low on the dipstick.. took the filter off and cleaned the surface and oil filter surface and tried my best to use both hands to torque that filter down (I know it says 3/4 turn.. I couldn't even do that..but it's on TIGHT..)

next day? Same.. oil indicated half down. Still leaking now much less but still leaking..now I'm wondering if the seal or filter is bad or torqued wrong or who knows..it's a OEM Jaguar filter and maybe I just got a bad one?

My question is - when you guys change the oil filter, do you torque that on there and turn it 3/4 of a turn? Have any of you ran into this? Do any of you do it finger tight or do you really crank it down with a tool? I'm thinking of buying another aftermarket oil filter with a tool or maybe a K&N filter with the wrench nut on top and trying again. Frustrating it wasn't leaking before this oil change.. worried switching to synthetic caused more problems then I wanted. Thanks guys

 

I always wipe of the seal land with a paper towel then lube the seal on the filter with oil on my finger before hand tightening it.

My car drips oil from the bell housing, but the filter area is completely dry.

 

^thanks for the response not sure what I'm doing wrong.. I'll jack it up and look at it again.. I'll clean the surface again and try again but frustrating :P

 

Not to insult anybody's intelligence, but did you remove the old gasket before installing the new filter?

 

^nah I'm at my wits end why it's leaking so I don't mind you asking that - I looked at the surface and it was nothing but metal but like I said I'll double check and look at it again - use some brake cleaner this time and clean it good

 

Sounds like you just got a bad filter. I would just go buy another one and see what happens. I always tighten mine by hand. Snug it up then give a little twist. If tightened too much it can be really rough to get off sometimes

 

Yeah I think that's possible I'll give it another go tomorrow morning. BLAH.

 

I also tighten new oil filters only by hand, but I have monster hands and have been known to crank them down too much if I'm not careful. In nearly 40 years of doing it this way I have had a total of two new oil filters leak at their gaskets after I installed them. One (back in the early 1980s) was a defective gasket, and one (just a few years ago) was my fault for getting distracted and cranking it down too tightly....

 

+1 on hand tight, sounds like a bad filter.

 

Hey Paul; where were you 40 years ago? Most embarrassing moment on my fixing friend's near new Jag was a replica of this dilemma. In hindsight, I missed the original gasket, screwed on new filter and gasket. Drip, drip, drip.

Removed filter, checked mating surface (missed there were now 2 gaskets back to back stuck onto filter; with old one damaged) . . . only to refit and find . . . drip, drip, drip. Second removal found and solved problem . . . bitten once and badly; never been bitten since.

Gentle hands only to fit . . . but some of the modern gasket material may need an oil filter wrench to remove.

Cheers and best wishes,

Ken

 

Thanks for the replies everyone - I put an aftermarket filter on after blasting everything with brake fluid making sure the surface was clean. The OEM filter looks.. "ok" but.. I'm not sure what the heck the problem is but maybe it was dropped at some point or the seal was just defective but.. we'll see how it holds. I gave it some umph tightening it on but we'll see if she holds! Thanks

 

Have you checked the oil lines to/from the oil cooler? They both come off the engine block below the crank pulley. I suppose there is an off chance they could drip into the general area of the oil filter. These lines are a maintenance concern on our cars, they have a life expectancy of 10 years, or so I read. Just a thought.

 

Just an FYI When I replace the old filter I look the surface over and clean it. I then dab my finger in the oil and apply it to the oil filter gasket then I install the filter hand tight, run the engine and check the filter tight again. I do not use a tool to tighten it just my hand.

If the surface is dry the gasket on the filter might not spin on the surface causing the gasket on the filter to stretch and not seal properly.

 

Never had a leak.

clean mating surface
smear oil on gasket from drain pan
tighten to just seat gasket against mating surface
tighten an additional half turn

All according to Hoyle.