Oil Filter Relocation

This is another project fresh off the back burner... if you can believe that. Why did I go through the trouble? I won't deny that I totally did it for cleanliness reasons.

In an earlier post I described the finish work and alterations I made to the adapters from a Trans-Dapt oil filter relocation kit. I fully expect some criticism for the final orientation of the oil filter, being that the open end is pointed down. Since this project had always been off to the side I'd never committed to any one spot for the filter to reside. I was a little troubled by the lack of space and the hose provided with the kit wasn't exactly the most flexible in the world. One area that had caught my eye was the real estate left behind by the power steering pump and reservoir. Given the nature of the oil feed and return lines, I began looking at the possibility of mounting the filter upside down, essentially making the hose run vertically. Before I embarked I had to lay my skepticism of a turned over oil filter and spent quite a bit of time wading through other setups. It turns out that the SR 240SX guys have been doing it for years.

To mount the upper adapter I utilized the leftover mounting points of the power steering pump. I originally looked at modifying a pump bracket, but after getting my hands on one it was going to be more trouble than fabricating a new one. I did however, use the bracket as a pattern for my bolt holes. After finalizing a cardboard template, I laid my bracket out on a piece of 1/8" aluminum. Once I had the basic shape cut up I laid out and drilled all the holes to mount the bracket to the motor and the adapter to the bracket. The bend isn't perfect, but not bad for what I did it with. For finish work I added radiuses to the corners and cleaned up the edges. Someday I'll have the bracket coated. Extra ARP bolts and studs were used to mount the adapter to the bracket, as well as the assembly to the motor. 

The supplied 36" hoses were far too long. I ran them over to a local hydraulics shop after marking where they needed to be shortened. I had no idea that the brass ends were simply barbed. Fortunately the guy was nice enough not to charge me, and even got a chuckle out of my stupidity. My first test fit with the shortened hoses revealed that I needed a little more angle toward the firewall. Digging through the shop turned up a pair of well used 45 degree ½” NPT forged brass fittings. I couldn’t quite get myself to install them covered in dings and machining marks, so out came the sandpaper. I had to start with 100 grit to break down everything to a uniform finish, then I worked my way up to 600 grit before a buffing wheel brought them to their final shine. With the new fittings added to the mix I found adequate clearance of alternator without hitting the firewall.

The last step in this project was hooking up the oil temperature sensor. Coincidentally making this connection also took care of the final open ended wire in the engine bay. As a result I've started tidying up all of the aftermarket wiring run from the interior.