Hey all,I have had my oil filter head leaking for awhile all over the side of the block, so it is time to pull it off and replace the gaskets. I looked in the FSM for some guidance on what to do, but no luck. Is there anything special I need to be aware of besides draining the coolant? I bought 2 paper gaskets from cummins (the parts guy advised me that is all I should need). I figure the proper torque on the bolts should be 18ftlbs based on the size of the fasteners.Thanks,Chris

Not that I'm aware of its just a bolt on item. The only thing I think you might look into is the oil lines that pass into and out of the cooler is ther O-rings on them? If so you might consider getting those too. But since I've never pulled a oil cooler I'm not sure... So I'll be learn from you as well.

I asked the parts guy if there were any o-rings on the breakdown and he said there were not... I guess it will be "exploratory surgery" for the ol' truck:truck:

i am curious as to why you must drain the coolant before messing with the oil filter cannister.

From what I understand the oil filter mount bolted to the side of the block doubles as a heat exchanger. If I am incorrect in this, someone speak up! You will save me alot of extra work! GB

i am curious as to why you must drain the coolant before messing with the oil filter cannister.

Yes the oil filter mount has a oil cooler on the back side that acts as a oil cooler bathed in engine coolant. So yes you must drain the coolant...

Sorry to bring this back around.... is this true on Common Rail engines? I suspect that I have damaged my filter base. I removed my old filter and screwed on a new filter pretty tight, even though it would still spin a little bit. When I fired it up, it was leaking oil a little bit. When I went to take the filter off the base, the threads kept getting tighter & tighter. I finally gorilla'd the filter off the base. I swapped to a new filter.When I spun it on, it got really tight before the gasket ever contacted the filter base. I thought it might have been just my eyes & the poor angle, but when I fired up the truck, it shot about 2 gallons of oil onto the driveway before I could even shut it down.Can I unscrew the threaded post from the base, or do I have to buy a whole new base?Somebody help soon... this is my daily driver.Thanks.

That threaded stub should be replaceable... Someone else would have to comfirm it though...

That would make my whole day.... after I cleaned up the lake of oil from the shop floor, I tried to tighten the filter (oil'd up of course). No go. Used a lot of brake cleaner to get things back to clean-ish. Managed to get some grip and MUSCLED the filter tighter & tighter until it finally started to spin free. I feared that i had stripped the threads entirely, but I noticed that while it was spinning freely, it was actually threading right in. So, I managed to get the gasket to contact the filter base and gave it another 1/4 turn (as I've read elsewhere). Fired the truck up, no leaks. I have a feeling that this was the last time I'll be able to get the filter on/off without having to replace something. At least it's driveable, but I am not comfortable with the situation as it sits right now...Anyone want to chime in & confirm if the threaded post will unscrew from the filter base?

Usually printed on the outside of the fleetguard can is 3/4 of a turn after contact is made... :wink:But in your spot I would be leery of the filter nipple...

Keep a good eye on it. If something in there fails it could be quick and catastrophic. if the nipple lets go it could dump your oil in a matter of seconds.

Similar situation happened to me once.... I had the old oil filter gasket stuck to the oil filter base trying to screw on 2 gaskets with one new filter. It doesn't work to well... I lost about 5 quarts of oil on the driveway. I found out that I must check this on every filter change as the old rubber gasket is almost always staying on under there. Man what a pain if you forget to check that and start it up.

Page 67 (their label says page 55) of this PDF is making it look pretty promising that the nipple unscrews from the "lube oil cooler" assembly. Guess I better get with the terminology here.... http://www.gessford.com/images/5.9 Cummins Manual-AERA Diesel parts.pdf

Went to dealer today & purchased nipple separately from the rest of the Lube Oil Cooler assembly. $31. You know that once I get this thing open & check it out, it'll be a $1.25 part from the plumbing aisle at Ace Hardware.But, I'd rather have the part on hand when I go to remove the oil filter this time, since this is my DD and it has to be up & running ASAP.Results to follow. Never thought I'd have enough information or knowledge to share on a site like this (with so many knowledgeable folks). Maybe I can contribute afterall...

Results to follow. Never thought I'd have enough information or knowledge to share on a site like this (with so many knowledgeable folks). Maybe I can contribute afterall...

You'll be fine... Yes you'll contribute something to the site as soon as you complete your project... Might be a good idea to post up the part numbers so other might find this post later when searching for answers.