Oil Filter won't fit block!

[ADam J]

Are all filters on 4.0Ls oriented the same? My '99 had the filter horizontal to the ground, with the mount 'facing' the rear of the motor.

My new '98 block, with the '99 filter mount, mounted in the same way doesn't fit the same filter. The filter is too close to the block.

The '98 block's mounting boss for the filter mount sticks straight out of the block where as the '99 is angled down slightly ( hence spacing it out from the block a bit)

Looking at it, it doesn't seem possible to turn the filter mount down or any other direction to clear the filter?

Do the 4.0 blocks that have the filter mount coming straight out use a different oil filter mount???

Here is how it looks right now. Just not enough room for the filter.

I am using a AC Delco PF 13 filter. Is there a smaller diameter filter that would be comparable?

Pics and ongoing saga found at ( very crud… )
4.6L Stroker

Thanks for any help.
-Adam-

[Boz88xj]

Now THATS a purty engine.

[Tucker]

Definitely not all the same ... my '92 has the filter top pointing up and the body angled away from the block at about 10-15 degrees.

[ADam J]

Right.

I think I might have found that a '97 TJ filter mount is more of a nipple and will allow the filter to mount directly to the block instead of onto the angled mount.

I'm picking this part up tomorrow and we will see what happens.

I'm guessing your '92 block looks a lot like my '99 did. ( a little less clean than the one I'm putting in )



I'll post how it works out.

-Adam-

[RichP]

Interesting, I thought the only real difference was the year they redesigned the ignition system and the removal of the distributor. I just compared a Stock OEM mopar to a Mobil-1 M1-204, both filters are the same diameter. No AC or purolator handy to check those diameters. The mounting boss on the engine on my 98 comes out from the block about 4" or so and is angled down. It does NOT look like that engine you are putting in at all.

[ADam J]

Got this solved.

Ended up being able to take the filter attachment nipple out of the right angle adapter and tread it directly into the block.

Thanks for the input!

-Adam-

[Eagle]

Originally posted by ADam J
Got this solved.

Ended up being able to take the filter attachment nipple out of the right angle adapter and tread it directly into the block.

Thanks for the input!

-Adam-

Be very careful. I assume that you are still working on this engine out of the vehicle. I don't think what you did will work.

What you have done is go back to the way AMC had the filters when they first introduced this line of engines in their passenger cars, in the mid-60s. When they put the 4.0L version in the then-new Cherokee, they used the adapter described by Tucker, which lifted the filter and pointed it up rather than out/down. Chrysler then changed to the horizontally-oriented adapter. Whether or not you like automotive engineers (I generally don't), they sometimes have reasons for what they do. I seriously doubt that AMC and then Chrysler would have used an adapter if they could have just screwed the filter directly to the block.

Take a GOOD look at a few Cherokees with the filter installed, and try to visualize if you will have enough room to install an engine with the filter in place. Then think about if there's enough clearance beyond the end of the filter to allow you to unscrew and remove it.

I don't think there is.

I don't like and don't trust Delco filters, so I don't recognize the filter number. Is that the one listed for the XJ, or are you following some idiot's advice on what filter to use because he knows better than the engineers who designed the engine? I know there are people out there claiming you should run this or that filter because it provides more area or more volume or better sex, but the folks who have well over 200,000 or 300,000 miles on their engines generally seem to have managed that remarkable feat inspite of the inadequacies of the filter listed for the application. Imagine that.

[ADam J]

Eagle,

There is enough room behind the filter when sticking straight out of the block.

Dealer had a part for a '97 TJ that was more or less a straight through nipple.

So from this:

I removed this:

Screwed it into the block:

and mounted the filter:


Hard to tell in this picture, but there should be plenty of clearance on all sides.

The PF13 is the recomended Delco filter. Haven't heard of many who don't like Delco's. I have always used them and have never had any problems. I'm not one for 'substituting' oil filters either.

Thanks for the feedback!

-Adam-

[Fred]

We are having a discussion about this on the CO list.
Turns out at least one 98 XJ 4.0 also has no adapter on the block for the oil filter and is mounted with only a nipple.
This is also the way my 99 WJ 4.0 has the filter mounted.
There is boatloads of room mounting it this way. My only concern would be the sealing surface on the block for the o-ring on the filter.
I'm curious about retro fitting this to my 90 XJ since I have to take off the adapter to replace a motor mount anyway.

Fred