Oil filter bolt. . . strange?

I recently got this bike and went to change the oil filter. Im no expert but i read the manual and it had an image of a bolt here. . . on my bike there is no bolt just this thing. . . the oozee looking stuff is wd40 .. anyway i have no idea how to get that off of there. suggestions? Of course i am about the rustic circle in the middle of the cap. thanks guys.

 

The only suggestion i might be able to offer is to carefully grind the head off and replace, or is this some type of spin on adapter?

Ghost

 

My thought is that the PO screwed the bolt head & couldn't get it undone, so ground it flat & walked away. Follow the Ghost & grind it off.

 

Then, get the spin on oil adapter.

 

Practial but not aesthetic.

 

Well, THAT'S original.

I'd finish the grinding job, and simply fit the correct bolt, tightened to ONLY 11ft/lbs like it should be. The "bolt" is hollow, and contains the relief valve.

Wiz, it's not the aesthetics of the spin-on, I'm always worried about a well-placed rock kicked up at 60mph putting a tidy hole in it.

But I do like the Buck Rogers-esque filter housing.

 

This isn't a bolt that has been grinded / sanded down and rounded off. It is actually supposed to look like this. My thoughts are there is another way, a proper procedure, back door entry type of thing. Any other ideas would be great. I appreciate all the help so far and will do a grind job if no other advice pops up

 

What model is this? Fill out your profile with the model. It makes it easier to help you.

 

I assume way too much but, this could be a fabrication by the POs that allows a through bolt on the inside of the cover making the cover itself a screw on type quick change for the filter.

 

Be easy to tell, BillB, if the lug (that stops the housing from rotating) has been removed.

 

You can clearly see the retaining lug in the pic.

Ghost

 

Another option I just thought of would be to drill out the top like you would a rivet. Just be carefull not to go to deep.

Ghost

 

surprised no one has said this... just take a larger nut of any type and weld it on from the inside of the nut... then use a wrench to take the mamma jamma off

 

The bike is 81 xj 650 Maxim. explain the lug remains please. I like the weld another bolt on top, i will consider. I am thinking that the cap itself might rotate off. . as some have suggested this, but its not budging. Here is another pic if it helps.

 

Actually it is not supposed to look like that someone ground the head off the bolt thats all no mystery, its to late for the proper procedure, and there is no back door method. The filter housing wont spin if the locating tab is still intact and the bolt is probably way over torqued so it will be pretty hard to get the filter housing to budge anyway, maybe a strap wrench on the housing might do it. Your best bet is to have someone weld a nut on it however you could drill it or take a chisel to it and try to get the bolt to turn or simply grind it some more. It it were mine id weld a nut to it

 

The little tab protrusion on the top of the housing. It Locates the housing and keeps the housing from turning while tightening the bolt.

Ghost

 

Welding a nut to the bolt is is viable option. My concern is that there isn't a whole lot of material of the original bolt left. If you aren't really experienced in this process, I would have it done by a professional. If you burn through the bolt material you risk damaging the filter housing. This isn't a big deal if you are going to replace the filter with a spin on conversion. If you want to keep the stock configuration, grind the rest of the head very carefully. Once the housing is released, it will lift off and then the bolt can be removed, probably by hand and if not, using locking pliers.

 

The only downside of welding a nut (or in my case, a socket) to the bolt is an inexperienced welder would "heat soak" the spring, giving you a different bypass pressure.

You would want to make sure there is oil inside the housing to cool the spring, or, for those welding off the bike, wrap the bolt with a wet rag in the vice.

 

TIME, the bolt itself is already ruined so heat-soaking the bypass valve spring inside the part you're going to throw away isn't really a concern.

I don't think anybody was suggesting welding a nut onto the hacked bolt as a permanent solution, just a way to remove the wrecked part.

 

They might have hacked off the tab.

 

The tab is still quite visible in the picture. Somebody ground down the head of the bolt is all.

 

Wanted to update ya'll= totally unsuccessful. Cap and bolt thing both totally ruined and it still remains on there, lol. No idea what is going on.... Is this okay to do... Slice it in half like a tomato ..obviously will need new pieces. any down side to that? ? ? thanks for the help

 

I have a spare bolt and cover - - PM sent

Use Dynamite !! :lol:

 

If you're going to replace the bolt and cover, simply keep grinding down the remains, and it will fall off.

The "bolt" had a permanent washer machined as part of its head; what you're looking at is that "washer" part, ground most of the way through; if you grind it down far enough it will vanish and the cover will pop off.

 

TtoR, you are a gentleman, thanks for being so generous!