OFHG replacement

[skyotee]

Quick question on replacing the oil filter housing gasket --

I just did mine, and after I put everything back together, when I started the car she was idling very rough and even made a few loud knocks (!). I was really worried about the knocks and trying to figure out what I could have possibly done to make the engine run rough. This went on for a minute, maybe less, and just as I was going to shut her down, the engine smoothed out and everything was fine.

I am putting this down to lack of oil pressure, since the filter housing was empty. Any thoughts on what I could have done differently to prevent this, maybe filled the filter housing with oil before start? Also, what do you think the loud knocks could have been, and did I do any damage to my engine?

Thanks

[skyotee]

Oh, and I will add my one contribution for anyone doing this job -- Be ready to change the VANOS oil line. It is hard to see the side of the line where the banjo bolt connects it to the filter housing. Once I got things apart, I could see mine was leaking from the crimp, which meant I had to wait a couple days to get a new oil line... Try to inspect this before you get things apart, so you can be ready with a replacement line if needed.

[legoman67]

ive done tons of these, never had any weird noises on first start.

[charter21p5]

I usually just fill to capacity. You need to build up pressure. I never hear the noises you mentioned but the oil light will be on for a second.

[skyotee]

One question -- I tightened the filter housing bolts to 24 ft/lbs. After I put everything back together, I realized ti should have been 24 Nm, so the bolts are over tightened. Is this something to worry about, is it necessary to take everything back apart so I can loosen and re-torque the bolts properly? I will they be fine left alone at 24 ft/lbs?

Thanks

[charter21p5]

Well you should re-torque back to nm. Over torqued causes broken bolts and stripped threads. If the threads aren't stripped you are good and didn't cause any issues unless it starts leaking.

[skyotee]

I guess I was hoping someone would tell me not to worry about it! But I did go back and pulled everything apart, and removed each bolt, inspected and re-torqued. All bolts were fine, and now I have pace of mind knowing I torqued them properly. Anyway, it was much quicker to do this the second time, took 2 hours start to finish...