Over tightened the oil filter
 

I was stupid enough to over tightened the oil filter last night as i have found some oil underneath after moving the car out of the garage. It's a 92 300E.

Should i replace the filter since it's seal is damaged or let it stay till the next oil change and just loosen it a bit?

Thanks for your help.

I would be very surprised if overtightening is the cause of your problem. Are you sure that it is not crossthreaded, and are you sure that the old gasket was not stuck in place?

Good luck,

How do you figure you overtightened the filter? Could the puddle be from what spilled when you removed the filter? Pretty hard to avoid some spillage with the M103 filter arrangement.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Hi Larry and Sixto,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I parked the car to another spot after oil change. And I remember you guys telling people to check leaking after whatever fluid change. That's why i checked the floor when moving out of the garage this morning and saw some oil on the ground.

I read some previous posts telling people only to tighten the filter with hand and not more than 1 turn after it sits!

I used a MB wrench but did more than 1 turn after tightened it with hand. That's why i suspect the leaking from a too tight filter.

Too bad my brother in law has borrowed the car for the weekend.

Please advise what should i do if it leaks from the filter.

Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend

My guess is that it was just residual oil that dripped when you removed the old filter. (How much oil leaked?)

Check by parking in a different spot when your brother gets back. If it is the oil filter seal, then it will still be leaking.

Good luck.

Jeff Pierce

To minimize the mess when removing the 103 oil filter, use a long punch and put a hole through the very center of the top of the filter. Then pull the drain plug and let oil drain into pan for 15 minutes or so. This vents the filter and lets oil drain out before you remove it.

Have a great day,