Aluminum oil filter housing?

[Theiceman]

what a fucking disaster lol... I'd give up and throw in the towel.on life lol.

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[Phil Audi B7]

Oh it was a disaster. Other people seem yo have luck with it. Maybe I’ll try the aluminum version again when the gasket fails.

[simrag]

I was tempted to try the aluminum version, but I'm glad I went with a plastic housing when I did mine a few weeks ago after reading this.

[Jayz691]

I was tempted to try the aluminum version, but I'm glad I went with a plastic housing when I did mine a few weeks ago after reading this.

Why? It was 1 person that had an issue, and not it the fault of the part..

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[simrag]

Why? It was 1 person that had an issue, and not it the fault of the part..

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I'm not interested in grinding down a lip to make a hose fit either. I like the idea of aluminum rather than plastic, but it sounds like the part needs a few revisions

[80sGuy]

It's going in, any day now. Oil Filter Housing with ALL adjacent parts. Will keep you guys posted....

Oil Filter Housing (Original):





Hose (oil cooler)





Crank Sensor (Adjacent to Oil Filter Housing) What a mess on the area. Might as well!







PCV Inlet Hose(s), including lower one to the Oil Filter Housing! Found small traces of oil on it. Going on 17 years and I think it's time!

[Jayz691]

Why? It was 1 person that had an issue, and not it the fault of the part..

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Ok, lol. Or just get a silicone lower hose..
But even if its needs modified, its only 1 little thing. Its that or spend $300 on a new plastic one.

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[Audi'sRevenge]

No disrepect to the guy above that doesn't want to deal with this, that's his prerogative, but sounds like the kind of person that pays other ppl (i.e. mechanics) to do stuff on their cars. Those same mechanics of course who, if they are worth their salt, have learned very...very well how to adapt/improvise everything from parts to making their own specialty tools, etc.

Now how much of that anyone wants to get into on their own is up to them but Dremelling or drilling out a little lip is NBD for myself or the others that have done this.

Anyway I just got around to looking back into it today... I ground the lip of the front/first inner part off--stuffed a wet paper towel in the hole and then just went at it with the Dremel (be absolutely sure to wear a proper mask when grinding alum. by the way). However I then found it wasn't really the collar hitting that first that was the problem (or maybe it was a bit of both) 😡😅 What was happening was the end of the pipe was hitting the ridge that was farther into the hole!

So at that point I had two options, start grinding that or use a hole saw like the other guy... But then I was like, "why am I wasting my time with this grinding bit, when I can just cut the end of the pipe so it doesn't bump into the second lip?". Grabbed a hack saw and just sawed the [plastic] pipe end off where the chamfer is--essentially making the end of the pipe flush with the "cloverleaf" retainer part. When you cut the pipe here it has no bearing on the seal since the [two] o-rings "slots" are still on there and unaffected. The original o-rings were still quite a tight fit so I put the thinner ones on and now it fits:
1. All the way into the pipe with the cloverleaf locking on.
2. The o-rings I used seem a good tight/snug fit into the hole. I'm crossing my fingers it will not leak air but there's really no way to tell until I put it back together now. If it leaks at that point (which I don't think it will), then I will try seeing if maybe one original o-ring and the second one the thinner type will do the trick. If that fails, at that point I'll just buy the ECS pipe but for now I'm pretty confident it'll work fine. 👍

My assessment on this if the smaller o-rings work fine is that you don't need to even grind that lip at all. Just cut the end of the pipe flush with the retainer as mentioned, and use said thinner o-rings and that's all you need to do I think. Some Dow Corning 111 (or other similar silicone grease) on the o-rings upon reassembly is a good idea too. This is again for the "cloverleaf" type pipe. If you don't have that thing, you may not even need to do anything but use different o-rings.

The o-rings I used so far are the #115 I think it was, from the HF metric (blue) o-ring kit. Once I get it back together and have a minute, I'll report back on how it went.

[simrag]

No disrepect to the guy above that doesn't want to deal with this, that's his prerogative, but sounds like the kind of person that pays other ppl (i.e. mechanics) to do stuff on their cars. Those same mechanics of course who, if they are worth their salt, have learned very...very well how to adapt/improvise everything from parts to making their own specialty tools, etc.

Now how much of that anyone wants to get into on their own is up to them but Dremelling or drilling out a little lip is NBD for myself or the others that have done this.

No disrespect to you, but I'd guess I've been wrenching on cars longer than you (40 years +/-). I picked up a manual B7 a few months ago at a price I couldn't pass up because it had a misfire check engine light and wouldn't smog. It was originally just going to be an extra car, but I like driving it so much that it quickly replaced my SUV as a daily driver, and I decided to catch up on any deferred maintenance, repair anything broken and upgrade it somewhat. Since then, I've cleaned the intake valves/bowls (the cause of the misfire), replaced the timing belt and related pulleys, water pump, thermostat, 034 motor mounts, downpipe/cat, coils, installed the 034 rear differential bushing insert, the oil filter housing, a JHM tune, inner CV boots pads/rotors at all 4 corners, the cannister valve, vacuum pump seals and probably 5 other things I've forgotten. Doing the work has also gotten me somewhat proficient at VCDS along the way (no prior VAG ownership). I've also installed a new head unit, front speakers and replaced the factory sub. I'd say I'm a pretty competent DIYer. Unless it requires special equipment or the vehicle is under warranty, I've always done all of my own repairs/upgrades.

I've spent my share of time on previous cars with a carbide bit and a die grinder opening up exhaust manifolds, and porting turbo inlets and wastegates, but a stock replacement part that requires hogging out a passage to make a stock hose fit isn't normal, it's a poorly designed part. More power to you if you want to fix stock parts to make them work. I expect them to fit out of the box.

[Theiceman]

It's going in, any day now. Oil Filter Housing with ALL adjacent parts. Will keep you guys posted....

Oil Filter Housing (Original):





Hose (oil cooler)





Crank Sensor (Adjacent to Oil Filter Housing) What a mess on the area. Might as well!







PCV Inlet Hose(s), including lower one to the Oil Filter Housing! Found small traces of oil on it. Going on 17 years and I think it's time!

Very nice .. i love the look and feel of new parts .. where did you source them ? local dealer or on line ?

[80sGuy]

Online dealers: OEMAudiparts and GenuineAudiparts. They are the ONLY two AUDI dealer genuine parts I've been doing business with for years. Cheaper than anywhere. Shop between the two - one does not charge no sales tax, and the other is free shipping. All depending on how much you spend.

[Theiceman]

Online dealers: OEMAudiparts and GenuineAudiparts. They are the ONLY two AUDI dealer genuine parts I've been doing business with for years. Cheaper than anywhere. Shop between the two - one does not charge no sales tax, and the other is free shipping. All depending on how much you spend.

the diamond in there is the CPS .. great move replacing that .. as it sucks donkey balls and leaves you stranded when it craps out

[80sGuy]

Those who know me here in Audizine for the past 17 years know that I ONLY use GENUINE PARTS and I don't fuck around with mickey mouse or third-party parts. It is key to keep my car running in tip-top condition. Last time I brought my car in to my local dealer for oil-changed special ($69.95) and they couldn't believe how well and original my car was.

[Theiceman]

Those who know me here in Audizine for the past 17 years know that I ONLY use GENUINE PARTS and I don't fuck around with mickey mouse or third-party parts. It is key to keep my car running in tip-top condition. Last time I brought my car in to my local dealer for oil-changed special ($69.95) and they couldn't believe how well and original my car was.

same here OE only

i would for those reading this, be careful of one thing .. there is an aftermarket Chinese company selling parts ... and guess what their name is .. you you guessed it "Genuine"

so be careful when buying "Genuine" parts.

[80sGuy]

the diamond in there is the CPS .. great move replacing that .. as it sucks donkey balls and leaves you stranded when it craps out

Yes! This is one of the most essential part that people would overlook nor never thought about. A cheap replacement and can save major headache!

[Jayz691]

No disrespect to you, but I'd guess I've been wrenching on cars longer than you (40 years +/-). I picked up a manual B7 a few months ago at a price I couldn't pass up because it had a misfire check engine light and wouldn't smog. It was originally just going to be an extra car, but I like driving it so much that it quickly replaced my SUV as a daily driver, and I decided to catch up on any deferred maintenance, repair anything broken and upgrade it somewhat. Since then, I've cleaned the intake valves/bowls (the cause of the misfire), replaced the timing belt and related pulleys, water pump, thermostat, 034 motor mounts, downpipe/cat, coils, installed the 034 rear differential bushing insert, the oil filter housing, a JHM tune, inner CV boots pads/rotors at all 4 corners, the cannister valve, vacuum pump seals and probably 5 other things I've forgotten. Doing the work has also gotten me somewhat proficient at VCDS along the way (no prior VAG ownership). I've also installed a new head unit, front speakers and replaced the factory sub. I'd say I'm a pretty competent DIYer. Unless it requires special equipment or the vehicle is under warranty, I've always done all of my own repairs/upgrades.

I've spent my share of time on previous cars with a carbide bit and a die grinder opening up exhaust manifolds, and porting turbo inlets and wastegates, but a stock replacement part that requires hogging out a passage to make a stock hose fit isn't normal, it's a poorly designed part. More power to you if you want to fix stock parts to make them work. I expect them to fit out of the box.

I get that, but its minor. For a complex part, cast in aluminum, for $80, im surprised it fits as well as its does. And 10 mins of trimming is def worth saving $150+. As far as longevity, its new so we'll have to wait and see..

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[simrag]

I get that, but its minor. For a complex part, cast in aluminum, for $80, im surprised it fits as well as its does. And 10 mins of trimming is def worth saving $150+. As far as longevity, its new so we'll have to wait and see..

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No worries. It is amazingly cheap for what it is. Based on one of the earlier comments, hopefully they have fixed the issue and it will work out of the box down the road. I just hope my plastic replacement is good for another 150K (probably not).

[Theiceman]

No worries. It is amazingly cheap for what it is. Based on one of the earlier comments, hopefully they have fixed the issue and it will work out of the box down the road. I just hope my plastic replacement is good for another 150K (probably not).

my factory original lasted 300k km before it started leaking , that's not a bad run.

[80sGuy]

my factory original lasted 300k km before it started leaking , that's not a bad run.

And usually starts with the rubber gasket which (for many folks here) would fix the problem for an extended time. But it is wise just to replace the entirety of the part due to age. Aluminum or not, the rubber gasket is bound to go no matter what which is the source of the leak.

[CameraMan7410]

Im the 'other guy' who did not have to modify anything on the Al one to fit.

Yes, i bought the one listed here, from Amazon. The same one that has reviews about it not fitting.

I had to push on the connector to hear it click into place. I did do a test fit before installing it to make sure it would snap in, and it did. Although I was prepared to dremel out what I needed to.

Currently hav about 6k miles on it so far, and still no leaks. My OEM plastic one had my driveway riddled with spots before I swapped to the Al one. I guess I got lucky on everything fitting? not sure, maybe I pushed a little harder than others, or my o-rings are damaged? regardless, car runs fine and no leaks :)

[Jayz691]

And usually starts with the rubber gasket which (for many folks here) would fix the problem for an extended time. But it is wise just to replace the entirety of the part due to age. Aluminum or not, the rubber gasket is bound to go no matter what which is the source of the leak.

But very often a gasket change don't work well. 15yrs of heat cycles do a lot to plastic.

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[80sGuy]

Did my Oil Filter Housing, all the Vent Hoses that's connected to it and to the PCV, Crankshaft Position Sensor, etc. Major pain in the ass! Description and pics here.

[80sGuy]

But very often a gasket change don't work well. 15yrs of heat cycles do a lot to plastic.

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Exactly. Also true on the heat stress over time. But 15 years brother? Hot damn, I'm gonna be really old by then!

[Theiceman]

Did my Oil Filter Housing, all the Vent Hoses that's connected to it and to the PCV, Crankshaft Position Sensor, etc. Major pain in the ass! Description and pics here.

how is the back feeling ??? i did mine from the top and i have to tell you my back was barking for a few days after.

[80sGuy]

how is the back feeling ??? i did mine from the top and i have to tell you my back was barking for a few days after.

I was too embarrassed to even mention it. Suffered bruises on both hands and arms and my back was in agony for at least three days! Worth every penny though.

[Audi'sRevenge]

A bit late on the update here but I thought I'd make one anyway.

Finished this job a couple weeks ago (I was just working on it here/there when I had time). In the end after I got the housing on but didn't put everything back together, I decided to also change the thermostat since it's basically "right there" and, more importantly, I did not want to go through the mess of draining coolant again in any kind of near future. To be clear my thermostat was fine but the thermostat is a known failure point, though not exactly common it does happen (tends to fail open but still a problem which will turn on the MIL). The car is nearly 12 years old and 150k miles I figured it was going to be a good idea as preventative maintenance. Picked up the OE Mahle/Behr thermostat (80 degree on the HO engine, p/n TI680 or VAG# 06F121111H; it would be TI687 or 06F121111F for the A4/std. output engines).

As a note the thermostat is not entirely a "while you're in there job" since it requires removing the alternator, but it's simple enough to do when you have the coolant drained and a bunch of other stuff out the way (at least on the transverse cars). I did have a heck of a time separating the thermostat housing from the lower hose at the plastic connection. Removed the clip but that did dick all lol--absolutely could not get the parts apart. In the end I removed the entire lower hose there and then had to really pull on the two parts to get them separated--I didn't expect plastic parts to be seized together so was a headache for me, but YMMV. There's also three o-rings you'll probably want to replace when doing the thermostat job (the new thermostat/housing will come with it's own new o-ring/seal to the block but there are three other points you disconnect here so recommended to change those too to avoid any leaks on reassembly).

Anyway that^ side-job aside, once everything was back together it all seems good

I'm just going to leave these final notes about the job/using this aftermarket alum housing and people can take them FWIW--where one wants to "mod" anything to fit or not, use anything aftermarket or not, or whatever, I'll leave that entirely up to them.

-No air/oil/coolant leaks from the housing and it doesn't seem like the PCV connection is leaking any air either after the "mods" done to get the part to fit--will get to that in a minute. It's probably going to be another month or two until I actually put the car back on the road but everything seems fine idling it at the house and getting it up to temperature. I think I will spray some starting fluid near the cloverleaf PCV connection to make 100% sure not leaking but as it is there is no rough or odd idle nor any hissing or indication it's leaking.

-Note that I did use the gaskets included with the housing, for better or worse only time will tell! It was going to cost me over $50 CAD to get a hold of the Elring gaskets here (and the gaskets from the stealer even more money) so I just said forget it given the responses here that the included gaskets have held up okay at least for a couple years?

-What I did NOT use was the oil filter that came with the housing. Now I don't know about anyone else but no way I was trusting that lol. I think I will keep that as a "waste filter" if I ever run an engine flush through or something but otherwise never going to see use for an entire OCI. I also didn't use the cap since I'd just replaced that recently (less than a year ago) on the original housing since the valve in my original one started leaking--yeah yeah I should have just replaced the whole thing at that time but is what it is. So now I have a second spare cap :)

-I did get a leak at first...an oil leak but not from the housing (thankfully)--from the filter cap! I followed the advice mentioned above to only tighten it that "certain amount" (and that was pretty much as far as I could get it by hand anyway); but, that instantly gave me about a half litre of oil spilled out by the time I started the car and then looked underneath it. I did have to then use the socket/ratchet to tighten it more and to the torque spec. So I guess YMMV if the "lining the marks up" method is going to work for you or not--it certainly didn't for me.

-With regards to the "mod" on the PCV connection. I cannot go back in time to be sure but I'm pretty sure I did not need to grind/sand down the first lip or modify the housing at all. In retrospect it seems all I really needed to do was cut about 1/4 inch off the tip of the original pipe and use the smaller o-rings. As said I can't "ungrind" that lip but I have a feeling it wasn't necessary at all, meaning you can just use a hacksaw on the original/OE pipe (2 min job), use the smaller o-rings, and Bob's your uncle. If you are buying this housing and doing this job, I'd go ahead and give that a try before bothering to grind the lip in the port. If that doesn't make it work I guess then go ahead and grind the lip down/off as necessary...or go with the ECS hose solution of course. As said with the different o-rings (I mentioned the #s out of the HF metric kit in above posts) it seems to be fine. I'll update again if there's any issues when the car is actually back on the road for the summer but seems everything is good right now.

Anyway that's about all I'm going to say on this one and will leave it at that; hopefully this info/experience helps people! And of course thank you to the ppl that started this thread/posted before I did for info on the alum housing and the job

[Lev16gt]

Has anyone seen the aluminum MITZONE (Amazon) version that includes the oil cooler? They started offering it in November 2023. I think I’m going to try it; even if I don’t use the cooler for some reason, I’m only out an additional $10. Link: https://www.amazon.com/MITZONE-compa...0CMXMVL79?th=1

[Jayz691]

Has anyone seen the aluminum MITZONE (Amazon) version that includes the oil cooler? They started offering it in November 2023. I think I’m going to try it; even if I don’t use the cooler for some reason, I’m only out an additional $10. Link: https://www.amazon.com/MITZONE-compa...0CMXMVL79?th=1

Yeah, thats the one this thread is referring to. It has 2 options. Except the cooler is preinstalled, with thread locker, which makes no sense..

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[Lev16gt]

Yeah, thats the one this thread is referring to. It has 2 options. Except the cooler is preinstalled, with thread locker, which makes no sense..

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Yeah, I was just curious if anyone had actually seen the version with the oil cooler since I saw no mention of it in this thread. It sounds like you have since you know it has thread locker on the bolts, which I agree makes no sense and could make it a hassle to get the bolts off in the future if/when the gasket needs replaced. Any other concerns? I was planning on using Elring gaskets, so I suppose I could remove the cooler from the new unit, put the Elring gasket in and obviously not use thread locker when I reinstall. Thanks for your insights!

[Phil Audi B7]

Looks like there’s a new season plastic version available on Amazon for $45

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQSP28YM...WxfdGhlbWF0aWM

[80sGuy]

Latest revision should be 06F 115 397 'K'

[Jayz691]

Yeah, I was just curious if anyone had actually seen the version with the oil cooler since I saw no mention of it in this thread. It sounds like you have since you know it has thread locker on the bolts, which I agree makes no sense and could make it a hassle to get the bolts off in the future if/when the gasket needs replaced. Any other concerns? I was planning on using Elring gaskets, so I suppose I could remove the cooler from the new unit, put the Elring gasket in and obviously not use thread locker when I reinstall. Thanks for your insights!

Its dumb cuz you need to remove the cooler too install the filter housing...
Seen mention of its somewhere.

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[Jayz691]

Looks like there’s a new season plastic version available on Amazon for $45

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQSP28YM...WxfdGhlbWF0aWM

No. No cheap plastic version is any good.
Either genuine or the aluminum one..

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[Phil Audi B7]

Ya the oil cooler is attached to the oil filter housing with 4 bolts.

[Audi'sRevenge]

Well sorry to bring this one back up but I'm having a slight problem with the oil filter cap and it leaking lightly.

After I installed the new [aftermarket alum] housing I tried to go only "hand tight" on the cap as suggested elsewhere (to avoid putting torque on the housing and introducing a leak at the block), and that was a miserable fail as oil leaked out--mentioned this in an earlier post. So I had to use the socket/ratchet to tighten it up which stopped the [big] leaking.

However going under the car afterwards for other reason I noticed there is...some small amount of oil leaking. I've thoroughly inspected and it is definitely not leaking from the housing to block area--that much is fine. What's leaking, very slowly/lightly, is the cap where it's screwed into the housing.

What I did so far was:
-First I tried tightening it more, though I still didn't want to over do it, but just made sure it was quite tight--definitely over the "25 Nm" printed on the cap. It still leaked just the same 🤦

-Thought okay maybe the rubber seal ring in there was bad, so I drained the filter, pulled off the housing and replaced the seal with a brand new one (I have a few spares). Tightened it up again pretty good but not like a maniac. Guess what? Still the same damn thing!

Then I remembered I used the cap from the old housing, with which I'd replaced the original Audi one since the drain valve was leaking (not the threads). I'd replaced it with a Rein one and that one looks absolutely identical to the one that came with the alum housing, which is why I used the existing one. I still have the unused one that came with the housing though. Because I can't get this to seal, I'm going to have to try using the cap that "actually came with the housing" to see if that fixes it, even if it does look identical to the Rein. Another filter drain and about half-litre of oil wasted but is what it is--the leak is not bad and is just minor dripping but I'm a bit perturbed by it nonetheless!

Question though... I've noticed some aftermarket oil filters for the EA113s come with two o-rings. One is the flat one that goes in the filter housing "before" the threads. The other, a circular o-ring...it always seemed to have no purpose and it does not come with the Mann Hummel filters from what I recall. I'd never used that one and thought it was superfluous but I'm wondering now...does that actually fit on the housing somewhere? And I'd just never replaced it before and was just re-using the old one again and again inadvertently which was providing a seal I'm now missing? I looked up some videos/how-tos online to check my sanity but yeah they all only mention the one seal, so I think I have it right.

[80sGuy]

I've always tighten the 'filter housing cap' with a 36mm socket but just enough when it stops and not overly done. When I received my new Filter Housing unit from the dealer the cap was so tight I was having a hard time opening it. Took me a very long time but eventually got it off. It also came with an original Mann VW/AUDI Oil Filter enclosed and ONE seal/gasket, yes just only one and it should be use around the cap before threading in. Subsequently the same MANN oil filters I purchased separately have always came with the seal/gasket. Have you double-check and see if the seal was laid differently? If not then maybe you need to replace the Filter Housing, perhaps a genuine part if all else fails, it's probably your best option. I've never had any problems with the old one (besides the leaky mess on block caused by aging gasket/seal failure), and so far so good with the new one since March of this year.

[Theiceman]

there are alignment marks for tightening factory filter housing on oe unit. not sure about aftermarket alum..

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[heateris]

Any new installs or updates on this MITZONE aluminum housing? I’m considering getting one since I’m getting some leakage.

Also, does anyone have a link for the specific ECS silicone hose in case of the lip issue?

Thanks!


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[Flygman]

Any new installs or updates on this MITZONE aluminum housing? I’m considering getting one since I’m getting some leakage.

Also, does anyone have a link for the specific ECS silicone hose in case of the lip issue?

Thanks!


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Mine is still 100% dry since install in August. I also got the oil cooler. No complaints so far.
Replaced the filter last week and everything is still great.

I am using the ECS hose also.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...023473ecs02~a/

[RickV]

Hey guys. I was the first to try this aluminum housing out (I started this thread). I installed the aluminum housing over 2 years ago and have put almost 10k miles on it with 2 oil changes. It's still solid with no problems at all. No leaks, no coolant mixing in and it still looks the same way it did 2 years ago. Just make sure you don't over tighten the bowl when you screw it on. Snug it up until the marks line up and stop. No wrench is needed. I'm still very happy with it.