Designers and engineers; field service, first?

For those of us who enjoy – sometimes it is more like, tolerate – doing our own repairs, we are often left wondering, “Did the person who designed (or engineered) this thing, ever have to work on one?” Regular readers and subscribers have read some Posts of my own experience in this regard. I am sure you have your own share of stories and related scars or injuries.

In preparation to work on a mystery oil leak, on one of our cars (1996 Jeep Cherokee), I chose to cruise the Web looking for the experience of others, and a few clues at to what it might be. I was confident of the area of the leak; it was the source that was hiding. The usual suspects were quickly ruled out, and the amount was quite small; a dime-size spot would appear from time to time on the driveway – with 156,000 miles, that’s not much.

I finally narrowed it down to a couple of culprits; one was the oil pressure sensor/sending unit, and the other would be the oil filter adapter. Looking closer, everything was pointing to the O-ring(s) on the oil filter adapter. Even though I have had three Jeeps – two of which are still in service – I have never run into this before. The Wrangler never gave me any trouble, nor has this surfaced on the Grand Cherokee.

It turns out that the problem is not that uncommon. Thanks to a good write-up, I could get the steps down in my mind as to the tools, parts, and repair sequence. All you have to do is pull the bolt that holds the adapter, replace the O-rings, and you are good to go. Well, sort of.

The ideal time to do this would be the next oil change; you have to pull the oil filter before you can remove the adapter. Since I changed the oil not too long ago, I would just pull the filter and replace it with a new one – the new, clean and clear oil also made it harder to see the source of the leak. The bolt takes a T60 Torx bit – think large, and you probably don’t have it in your Torx set – along with two of the three O-rings. I bought the O-rings (as a set) at the dealer for under $8, and a T60 Torx bit with a socket driver for about the same amount of money. Low cost of parts, high burden of labor.

Here’s where the fun begins. The adapter is mounted so that the oil filter hangs horizontal; during an oil change I fill the cavity around the frame and fixtures with newspaper in hopes of keeping oil in one place, or if the filter drops out of my hands. A very tight space it is. So much so, to get at the bolt, there is no room for the T60 bit that is usually mounted into a socket driver – it’s too long to fit between the frame and the bolt. This is where I joined the chorus of those who say something like, “I think the people that design (or engineer) this stuff should do repairs in the field for about a year, first.”

I have read some creative solutions to the problem. The most common seems to be to knock out the bit from the socket driver with a punch, then use the bit with something else to turn it (e.g., wrench, Vise-Grip, etc.). Since the spec apparently calls for 75 ft. lbs. of torque, it won’t budge easily, and should be a bear to get it tight again. The spec is about the same for lug nuts – get the drift? I planned on some Loctite® Blue during the reassembly, too.

I am going to leave you hanging for a bit on this one. I have decided to be sure this was the place of the leak by doing a thorough cleaning,  then run it a few more miles. I am left shaking my head about the design and uttering the phrase, “Did the person who designed (or engineered) this thing, ever have to work on one?”