[Chrysler300] insert style oil filter --big heads up.

Hi,

Some more learning off this 57 Dodge that is bent on driving me crazy. Today’s nice surprise..

I pulled the stock 57 style cartridge filter mount , used on most of our 300’s pre the screw on cartridge , in preparation to installing hot heads conversion mount that lets you use late Mopar screw on filters , not because of any big problem about the stock 57 ones (other than the often huge mess they make to change the element-- and they seem to leak, no matter what, at gasket, covering the passenger side underside of car and torque converter housing with an oil film/dirt -- ?and you thought it was the road draft tube?)—and availability of filters. .

I found that a succession of animals had apparently over tightened it (the leak issues , = deforms the top of outer can, dents inward, when leak was probably initially the gasket not sitting right –the gasket I took out was not seated symmetrically. ) . Anyway, I noticed on close examination of the removed mount part , on way to trash, that there is a formed thin ring of aluminum concentric around where the bolt goes in that holds on the outer can (the whole mount thing is die cast aluminum, I think)--- why this detail is there, has to do with routing the oil; the oil leaves the filter around the center bolt (clean oil ) ; so first off that missing piece /open gap ?? lets dirty oil in. But even worse…

Unbelievably, just when planning to reinstall engine, I see two places where banging or hitting this fragile ring with the bolt(?) while changing the filter caused pieces to break off, apparently sending at least two 1/16” pieces of aluminum into the oil feed to the block (it happened twice, in two different places, from my forensic look) .

Behind the filter mount , at least on Dodge 325 (thank you Burt!) there is a sort of pocket where oil from filter goes first, then goes up and enters block. The hole into block is about ¾” higher than bottom of this pocket , so this might have been intended to sort of trap any chunks , but perhaps oil flows so fast it carries it upwards, and in…… I had really hoped to find the broken off chunks in the pocket…nothing. Of course.

Now what? Engine ran ok with great oil pressure. I am trying to convince myself that aluminum will act like a bearing material if it ends in the wrong place, eventually wear down. if it was a steel chip we are done for . Point of this posting is be EXTRA EXTRA careful with starting this bolt at any filter change , and inspect your filter mount for damage .

Input / comments welcome….