Anatomy of an oil filter ~

[UncleErnie]

Never seen a bike like this.  That's OK- a learning experience.  Learning may slow down my Oldtimers' (I now brush my teeth with my left hand).
So- first oil change.  Do I need a license for that gun?!  "Honest- I was just cleaning my gu- I mean changing the oil, officer.  I didn't know it was LOADED?"   > audience chuckles knowingly...<  So I get in there and there's the filter that I can't get out.  So, like any red-blooded American, I drive a nail in there in order to pull it out.  Well, what I THOUGHT was the filter was actually a plate that I guess positions the spring.  ? So now this plate has a hole in it.  I sanded the edges off, intalled new filter, and put everything back together using a nylock nut because my acorn nut is circling the earth.

Question;  is this plate going to blow the engine up now that it has a hole in it?  Is oil going to- well, where could the oil go?  Am I good to go?  Do I need to get another plate, or did I just shave some weight?

[t120rbullet]

Worst case scenario is it will pump some dirty oil into the clean oil. The first time I changed the oil on an Electra I had a heck of a time getting that plate out and ended up tearing part of it. I ordered up another and sanded the OD of a tiny bit so it would slide in and out. The older models it comes out real easy with a magnetic pickup tool.
You could try soldering the hole up and smoothing it up or just order another one and install it the next time you change the oil.

[UncleErnie]

After a 5 mile test run, there is some oil around the filter cover lid.  So- I'm guessing in combination with the myriad o-rings and such, that plate may indeed help contain the oil.  Soldering sounds like a brilliant idea.  Thanks.

[t120rbullet]

After a 5 mile test run, there is some oil around the filter cover lid.  So- I'm guessing in combination with the myriad o-rings and such, that plate may indeed help contain the oil.  Soldering sounds like a brilliant idea.  Thanks.

That plate and the spring are actually a filter by-pass. If the filter element were to get plugged up it would push the plate forward and allow oil to continue to flow.
The first time I took that cover off of an Electra I was amazed at how much more spring pressure it had over the older ones.
Cap, nut and spring shot halfway across the garage.
Must be the newer oil pumps have that much more pressure and volume that it needs the heaver spring to keep the bypass from bypassing.