Oil Filter Pics For the Experts

[Nessman]

New to me 18K mile '78 Unspecial. Completely unknown history, long road of small expenses before I'm ready to kick it over in anger.

Here's my filters:

I assume the sump filter needs to be replaced with the newer style. I ran a magnet through the oil drain pan and it's clean, the side filter bothers me...unless that's 18K miles of accumulation.

 

[weekendrider]

They didn't always clean the cases good so it could be original. It could be the starter fourth gear the ones that causes the noisy starts. Or from the condition of the sump filter it could be bits of the front cam chain guide. The little black chucks are almost guaranteed part of the front cam chain guide. 18K would be about the life span of one that had poor maintenance.

 

[Clarko]

best bet would be to clean/replace your filters and oil and run it for 50 miles or so. if you notice any disturbing noises park it and check for metal. otherwise wait 50 miles and check the filters. it may be many years of build up. also, make sure you have magnetic drain plugs.

 

[Nessman]

My shopping list could get out of hand. Off to research timing chain guide.

 

[crazyorigin]

I changed the filters on my beater bike and when I was changing my oil all I could get was some Rotella 20w50 and I don't think it was wet clutch friendly, 575 miles later I decided to change the oil to some Maxima wet clutch friendly oil, my clutch occasionally would slip and rather than replace it I figured why not see if the right oil will fix it. I had put new filters in my sump and side case, the 575 miles I put on it had accumulated as much debris as you have there, and the bike runs great. I plan to do the cam chain tensioner this winter, but these are tough old motors and they seem to just keep kicking crud out from what I can tell. I now have an oil cooler and a paper element Honda filter in the side case so I imagine next time i change the oil i will have even more debris in there.

 

[5twins]

I wouldn't say your sump filter is beyond repair. I've fixed worse. It's rather routine to have to patch the area from the magnet all the way around the "hump" and 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down the end. You can see it done here on a couple .....

At least you still have the screen there to act as a backing for the JB Weld. Push it out flush with the filter frame and hold it there with some sort of poker up through the bottom feed hole and apply the JB Weld. The screen backing makes for a very strong repair, just like the glass matting you use when laying up fiberglass. The most recent one I repaired not only had the giant hole, but the screen was gone. I needed to fab up a sheet metal "patch" which will get JB Welded into place .....

As mentioned, these are rather crude old motors. The metal chip accumulation you've found doesn't look too out of the ordinary. It took me about 10K miles and multiple filter/oil changes (about every 1000 miles) before I got all the junk cleaned out of mine and the filters started coming out relatively chip-free.

A good investment is to buy a used sump plate and filter assembly off eBay. They can be had for about $20. Then you can have a clean filter/plate ready to swap in at oil changes. The one you removed can then be cleaned up at your leisure and made ready for the next oil change.

 

[Nessman]

I like the patch in the last pic 5twins, solidifies a weak spot.

Many thanks for the pics.