I have previously fabricated a mount for the oil filter relocation kit (http://mearcat.blogspot.com/2012/06/remote-oil-filter-mount.html), using the standard Z386 oil filter but never completed the whole setup. With oil filter mounted at the top the subframe, it was more accessible than being mounted in the wheel arch like other engine swaps I'd seen. Unfortunately once the intercooler and all the intake piping was fitted in the engine bay, I found there wasn't enough room to route two oil hoses and another PCV hose past the intercooler so I had to consider mounting in the wheel arch like others have done.
The remote oil filter kit is supplied with two main pieces, both made from aluminium. One piece that screws onto the engine block in the standard oil filter location, and the remote piece on which the oil filter screws onto. Both pieces came with a pair of aluminium threaded adapters for AN8 fittings. The kit that I purchased also had two 1/8" NPT thread ports in the remote piece for oil temperature and oil pressure sensors.
When it came to fitting the engine block adapter, it stuck out too far from the engine so to provide additional room for the fittings between the engine and front apron panel, I put the block adapter on the lathe and reduced the overall thickness slightly. I also used the lathe to reduce the length of the supplied threaded adapters. In total I gained approx 14 mm which meant I had much more room to manipulate the fittings down in that space behind the front apron panel.
The block adapter with thickness and diameter reduced and the (black) 90degree AN8 barbed hose fittings, indicating the reduction in depth achieved (the bottom fitting has a rubber washed fitted) :
When shortening the threaded fittings, I had to remake the angled seating surface (37 degrees; JIC standard) one on end. The fittings before & after shortening (with seat surface redone) :
To route the hoses from the engine adapter to the remote fitting, I cut out a hole in the inner guard panel to allow for the hoses to be routed through to the wheel arch. The hole edges are a bit rough but will get a clean up after the engine is next removed and I have better access to it.
The opening between the engine bay and the wheel arch with the hose fittings just poking through :
Block adapter behind the front apron with hose fittings :
For the oil filter mounting location, I had to choose a location in the wheel arch that would not foul against the headlight bowl, alternator and most importantly, the tyre. I chose to locate the bracket just above the height of the shock absorber bracket so that the oil filter will be as high up in the wheel arch and the hoses would have not have any tight bends. To protect the hoses when rubbing on each other, I specifically used fabric braided abrasion resistant hose however for even better protection I will also fit some spiral wrap on both lengths of hose.
The oil filter bracket shares the four bolts used by the shock absorber bracket. The filter is mounted exactly vertically and the shock absorber bracket is angled backwards by ~3 degrees so the four holes you see here are not parallel with the filter :
When getting the car inspected for road registration, I don't know if the inspectors will view an oil filter exposed in a wheel arch as a problem so to protect both the filter and the oil temperature/pressure sensors, I made a cover that bolts onto the bracket and shields the filter and sensor fittings. This was made from 1mm steel and bolts on to the main bracket using the two tabs seen in the above photo. Note that I left a gap (~3mm) between the main bracket and the cover to prevent any water from pooling within the cover.
Lastly, the flow of oil has to of course be in the correct direction where the oil exits the filter from the CENTRE hole. I stamped "IN" and "OUT" on both aluminium blocks to make it easier to identify the required flow direction. When fitting the oil lines, all I have to do is connect the matching ports eg. the IN port on the engine block to the OUT port on the remote fitting.
The remote oil filter kit is supplied with two main pieces, both made from aluminium. One piece that screws onto the engine block in the standard oil filter location, and the remote piece on which the oil filter screws onto. Both pieces came with a pair of aluminium threaded adapters for AN8 fittings. The kit that I purchased also had two 1/8" NPT thread ports in the remote piece for oil temperature and oil pressure sensors.
When it came to fitting the engine block adapter, it stuck out too far from the engine so to provide additional room for the fittings between the engine and front apron panel, I put the block adapter on the lathe and reduced the overall thickness slightly. I also used the lathe to reduce the length of the supplied threaded adapters. In total I gained approx 14 mm which meant I had much more room to manipulate the fittings down in that space behind the front apron panel.
The block adapter with thickness and diameter reduced and the (black) 90degree AN8 barbed hose fittings, indicating the reduction in depth achieved (the bottom fitting has a rubber washed fitted) :
When shortening the threaded fittings, I had to remake the angled seating surface (37 degrees; JIC standard) one on end. The fittings before & after shortening (with seat surface redone) :
To route the hoses from the engine adapter to the remote fitting, I cut out a hole in the inner guard panel to allow for the hoses to be routed through to the wheel arch. The hole edges are a bit rough but will get a clean up after the engine is next removed and I have better access to it.
The opening between the engine bay and the wheel arch with the hose fittings just poking through :
Block adapter behind the front apron with hose fittings :
For the oil filter mounting location, I had to choose a location in the wheel arch that would not foul against the headlight bowl, alternator and most importantly, the tyre. I chose to locate the bracket just above the height of the shock absorber bracket so that the oil filter will be as high up in the wheel arch and the hoses would have not have any tight bends. To protect the hoses when rubbing on each other, I specifically used fabric braided abrasion resistant hose however for even better protection I will also fit some spiral wrap on both lengths of hose.
When getting the car inspected for road registration, I don't know if the inspectors will view an oil filter exposed in a wheel arch as a problem so to protect both the filter and the oil temperature/pressure sensors, I made a cover that bolts onto the bracket and shields the filter and sensor fittings. This was made from 1mm steel and bolts on to the main bracket using the two tabs seen in the above photo. Note that I left a gap (~3mm) between the main bracket and the cover to prevent any water from pooling within the cover.
View of the bracket & cover installed. Note that the steel plate at the back of the oil filter is not mounted against the inner guard due to a bump in the shape of inner guard that it had to clear.
When viewing the filter and bracket from the side of the car, the bottom of the oil filter cover is approx 20mm above the level of the arc of the wheel arch lip (noted by the dashed line in the photo above). At first this may sound like a problem with the tyre hitting it during compression of the suspension, but the tyres on the Mini will stick out past the wheel arch and the tyres will rub on the wheel arch lip before they get anywhere near the oil filter.
Lastly, the flow of oil has to of course be in the correct direction where the oil exits the filter from the CENTRE hole. I stamped "IN" and "OUT" on both aluminium blocks to make it easier to identify the required flow direction. When fitting the oil lines, all I have to do is connect the matching ports eg. the IN port on the engine block to the OUT port on the remote fitting.
Nice work. I need to build one for my old f150...
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