BMW Boxer Oil Filter Cover

My elderly R65 has had some rather non-standard repairs carried out to the
Oil Filter cover securing bolt hole threads.

As far as can make out from belated contact with a PO one of the three 8mm
bolts suddenly became a wee-bit "free" whilst being tightened and ...well
the rest you can write for yourselves...

The upshot is that this damaged hole has had a Helicoil type insert fitted
which ...ahem...might not be to specification and which eventually saw the
"Fitter" resort to using "Plastic Metal" into which the bolt was
threaded....

Now,all of the above actually does work ie: the cover is Oil
Tight...BUT...going on the belief that changing an oil filter is generally
beneficial,what are my options to actually change the damn filter,or should
I simply leave well enough alone and ride it till it stops ???

 

Boxers like new oil, cheap stuff will do though.
Have a threaded insert put into the hole if needs be. That's not quite the
same as a helicoil. More like a tube threaded inside and out. Time-sert is
one brand www.timesert.com

 

Sure will, mine goes fine on the ?6.50/gallon stuff that Lidl sometimes get
in.

Yes - I checked the spec - it's well up to standard...

 

Yep all of mine have done very high mileages on the cheap stuff with
no probs. Current R80RT has 157K on the clock.

Plus I agree with HOG on the repair front. I tend to only use one
finger to pull the spanner when I replace the oil filter cover to stop
this sort of thing happening.

Boxerboy
BMW powered for far too long to remember

 

A veritable Vesuvius of useful info here...That Timesert looks like a viable
route.
From what I can see the original "repair" will be self destructed as soon as
I unscrew the bolt.
Is there a limit to how far out I can expand the threaded hole in the
block...what I`m afraid of is drilling into an oil gallery or summat.
FWIW the hole in question is the rearmost of the three.

 

Just do it - if the stud comes out, then fix it.

That'd be bloody daft. Ancient oil filters will clog up and/or
disintegrate and spell the end of your engine.

 

You are only going up 2 thread sizes on the OD so it should be fine.
Of course you might have to drop the engine in the frame to get at it.

 

Yup the boxer's shell bearings are pretty tough but they like nice clean
oil. Give them fresh oil and filters every 3k and they should reward you
with endless life. Hence only needing ordinary mineral oils.
I believe the modern and expensive oils have a higher shear strength, useful
for high revving engines, and longer life between changes. Part of that, for
new engines, will be less generation of pollutants and contaminants.

If you want to know how badly we get ripped off in the UK for quality oils
look here
www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=38993
Mobil1 is similarly priced in the US.

 

This is where "ripped off" and "what the market will stand" are
interchangeable terms?