Words by Glen Grissom
Photos courtesy Speedway Motors and by Glen Grissom
11/8/06
ith Christmas and the off season soon on us you’re probably looking around for useful gifts for your favorite racer. Well, don’t wait until the last minute. Get your racer one of the best preventative maintenance tools – an oil filter cutter.
Checking inside an engine’s oil filter after a race is an excellent method to check for early warning signs of engine wear issues. If you see metal flakes or particles snagged in the folds of the filter element, you need to be on the lookout for bearing or bushing wear, or grinding gears.
Sure you’ve used a hacksaw to cut open a filter before, so why get off the hip to buy a specialized cutter? First, it’s likely the action of cutting the metal filter housing with a hacksaw introduces metal chips and flakes that mingle with the ones trapped by the filter. Second, ever have the hacksaw slip off the filter housing and look for flesh? Don’t ask me how I know this.
Use a sharp utility knife to cut the metal end caps off the paper filter element so you can lay out the folded paper.