Loose valve in oil filter head

[Ropariva]

Today I removed the oil filter head from my 1970 Series 2 engine in preparation for its up coming overhaul. It's only done 60,000 miles and is running ok but is down on compression so its time to check it over

.
I was surprised to find this valve loose in behind the
pressure plate

.
There was no indication of any oil pressure problems. It was fine both at idle and at higher revs. I presume its a pressure relief valve ?
Its obvious where it came from, but it's not quite as obvious which way round it should be

.
I'm hoping someone can shed some light on how it should go back in and also whether I should use some sort of Loctite product to help prevent it coming out again. Also is there a possibility of some underlying reason for it to have come out in the first place?
Many thanks, Alan.

[norman m. macleod]

Hi Alan,
That valve goes into the recess with the spring facing "out". Re-stake it with a bit of Loctite, it'll be OK. That type housing was only used in the 1969-1971 Series 2's.....
It allows the full oil flow to continue (albeit partly unfiltered) if the filter is not changed at the proper interval....
I trust this assists.....
Best regards,
Norman.

[Geoff U]

Hi there. I found a similar issue. My S2 engine has been rebuilt recently, but sprung a leak around the filter head . When I took the canister off, that valve was missing completely. I'm assuming that this is a BAD thing, especially on a newly rebuilt engine. Also the element wasn't sealing on to the centre spigot because its a larger diameter (35mm) than the spigot (28mm), so even if the valve was there, the oil would bypass the element anyway. So, my questions are: 1)is that valve available as a spare part 2) is there a "special" element that has a smaller internal diameter to allow a decent seal, as the standard is too big?? Many thanks for any help/advice.(I have a nice photo, but not sure how to post the photo) Best regards.
I actually read the guidance on photos! Here is the item in question...

[M4rk]

I had exactly the same issue when I stripped my engine the valve was not in the hole where it was intended must be an issue with series 2 filter housing, I refitted and pinched it in the hole again with a punch

[mgcjag]

Hi Alan...there were 2 different head units..first type gasket has 3 sections & second has 4 sections...i just looked in the parts catalogue...upto engin 7R2297&7R35582 uses 1st type & from engine 7R2298&7R35583 uses 2nd
The unit you show is the later one as shown in the SNG catalogue http://www.sngbarratt.com/CatalogueProd ... 22&a=18199
The parts catalogue lists both a balance valve and a pressure relief valve for the first head unit... but only lists a relief valve for the 2nd type ..... so is there no part number becaus it is part of the head unit.....we need someone now that knows these units.. Peter?

[PeterCrespin]

There was a thread recently. Chris and I commented as I recall, because the larger base was also used on XJ Series 2 before the S3 spin-on filter head arrived.

[mgcjag]

Thanks Pete......think this is what you are refering to......still not sure about the balance valve....Geoff...this thread could help... viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9788

[Geoff U]

Thank you all for the advice. It is clear to me that this bypass valve MUST be fitted, otherwise all the oil will just bypass the filter element completely. I am fitting a spin on replacement assembly. What I'm going to do is blank off that hole and rely on the pressure bypass that's inside the spin on cartridge (not that it will be an issue, as the car will only do very low miles, and I change the oil filter annually anyway). Regards

[christopher storey]

I advise you strongly not to blank anything off without taking expert advice . Either Colin Ford or David Marks of the JEC are the ones I would go to. Making an assumption about the function of the missing poppet valves could be expensive. I know of two cases where the wrong gasket ( there are several types ) were fitted to a new engine before the oil filter base was fitted to the block, resulting in a wreck of the bearings because oil was not reaching the parts it should reach by reason of one of the apertures being occluded which should not have been . Incidentally, I am not sure why you think that no oil would be filling the filter element - usually the element has a felt seal attached to it - or are we not talking about the same part of the element ?