Do I need to fill the oil filter with oil first before installation?

Joeinnewjersey

TJ Enthusiast
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I’ve seen videos where folks have put a dab of oil on the outside part of the filter but I’ve also heard that you need to fill the filter with oil first before install?
 
I fill my filter, not all the way up, but a decent amount. I can still get it on without spilling any.

You smear some oil on the rubber seal on the filter, prevents it from sticking to the oil housing. Always double check your old filter to see that the rubber seal is still on it. One time in a hundred oil changes I had the old seal stick to the housing without realizing it…. What a mess!
 
Lube the seal to prevent it from deforming when you tighten the filter. Even on horizontal applications I fill it just enough that it won’t spill out. This reduces the time it takes for the oil pressure to build up. But I’m a little OCD when I do my oil changes. Started when I did not check to see if the old gasket came off with the filter and ended up having a double gasket. Worked fine until I put a load on the engine.
 
I fill my filter, not all the way up, but a decent amount. I can still get it on without spilling any.

You smear some oil on the rubber seal on the filter, prevents it from sticking to the oil housing. Always double check your old filter to see that the rubber seal is still on it. One time in a hundred oil changes I had the old seal stick to the housing without realizing it…. What a mess!
Great minds think alike.😊
 
Spin-on oil filters aren't my favorite thing, but Jeep's horizontal lashup is just dumb. Yea, smear oil on the gasket, and pour some into the filter before installation. You'll get the feel for how much oil to pour into the horizontal filter after a time or 2.
 
See, this is really when we need that little guy rolling around on the floor blowing snot bubbles because of how hard he is laughing.

Ya'll are worried about oil in a filter on a piece of shit motor with a 12 psi oil pressure spec at idle? (hysterical laughing guy here)
I can fart that hard, put the filter on and fire that bitch up, won't hurt a damn thing.
 
See, this is really when we need that little guy rolling around on the floor blowing snot bubbles because of how hard he is laughing.

Ya'll are worried about oil in a filter on a piece of shit motor with a 12 psi oil pressure spec at idle? (hysterical laughing guy here)
I can fart that hard, put the filter on and fire that bitch up, won't hurt a damn thing.

even on vehicles with a vertical mount where I could fill it up in advance, I've never been able to see a significant difference in how long it takes for oil pressure to show up on the instrument cluster.
 
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See, this is really when we need that little guy rolling around on the floor blowing snot bubbles because of how hard he is laughing.

Ya'll are worried about oil in a filter on a piece of shit motor with a 12 psi oil pressure spec at idle? (hysterical laughing guy here)
I can fart that hard, put the filter on and fire that bitch up, won't hurt a damn thing.
Listen here forum asshole, Oil in the filter or not, I’m more concerned about lubing the filter seal. It only took one time for the seal to stick to the block and me not realizing it to ever make that mistake again!!! Im sure you know the mess that made.

I say this in jest, I don’t think you are an asshole, more like the soup nazi.
 
See, this is really when we need that little guy rolling around on the floor blowing snot bubbles because of how hard he is laughing.

Ya'll are worried about oil in a filter on a piece of shit motor with a 12 psi oil pressure spec at idle? (hysterical laughing guy here)
I can fart that hard, put the filter on and fire that bitch up, won't hurt a damn thing.
Agreed...people worry too much and do things the way grandpa showed them which is fine and doesn't hurt a thing but is extra steps. I think about my wife's jl with a cartridge filter...it doesn't have any oil at startup correct?
 
That's my method for horizontal filters. Smear a little oil on the seal and screw it on. Full, half full or dry - doesn't really matter. Haven't lost a motor yet.
And I've run oil for 20k miles before changing without losing the motor, doesn't mean it's a good idear.

I've watched the gauge on startup comparing a full vs empty filter, and empty does take longer to build pressure. Is it enough to matter? Probably not if the motor was ran shortly before changing. Engines can lose all oil pressure and run for a surprisingly long time under no load.
 
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