Oil Filter Gasket Failed... New Drift Car!

[Quinten33]

Adam LZ's GT350 had an engine bay fire on track. Adam is a YouTuber and Formula Drift driver, but his friend and professional driver Collete Davis was the one driving the car. The gasket pushed out from the oil filter on her third stint of the day, and the engine bay melted to the ground. As he says in the video, the car was dealer-serviced. He apparently reached some sort of an agreement with Ford on compensation for the accident, but he's under an NDA on that. The interior and the rear end are fine, but it's going to be a drift car for the rest of its life. Has this happened to anyone else in the past?

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[proeagles]

Bummed to see what happened to your car. As a side note, that is why I wear nomex gloves when I drive on the track. Perhaps the hood could have been opened sooner and the fire extinguishers could have done their job better.

 

[Epiphany]

Yes, this has happened before. First time I saw it was when I was in Utah for the Track Attack in 2016. One of the cars started smoking out on the track and the driver pulled over as instructed. Filter either isn't torqued properly or vibrates loose which then allows to rubber seal/gasket to relax. When that happens the oil pressure overcomes the ability for the gasket to remain in place and it blows out which results in a loss of oil pressure and a potential fire such as what happened here.

I have not heard of the newer style composite canister filter coming loose like this older filter did.

 

[Tank]

The dude seems pretty cavalier about checking the filter if this is his second go around with the issue....

Sorry to see it happen. Glad all are OK.

 

[UXXR]

Just saw this and watched the video. It's a damn shame to see that car go down in smoke, have been following that car since OG videos, and partly the reason I bought my beast.
I'm glad I have the canister type filter, which is believed to be less issue-prone.

If you have the old filter type, check your filter before pushing the car people

 

[el-guapin]

is it just me or Collette Davis is Hot AF?!!!

 

[DrumReaper]

is it just me or Collette Davis is Hot AF?!!!

Lol... hard for me to concentrate on women when such precious metal burned.

Owner could double as a Freddie Mercury look-a-like.

 

[volcanogod]

WOW.... I kept thinking they would save it. Man that was hard to watch.
I do my own oil changes and do use a torque wrench on the spin off filter. For those of us looking to keep these cars > 15 years should we pony up for the cartridge filter solution? Honestly for critical stuff like this good ole wire twist pliers wire seems to be the right option. It works on aircraft. I'm not a fan of dealerships at all and would much rather tend to my rides than take it in and hope they follow spec.

 

[Tank]

WOW.... I kept thinking they would save it. Man that was hard to watch.
I do my own oil changes and do use a torque wrench on the spin off filter. For those of us looking to keep these cars > 15 years should we pony up for the cartridge filter solution? Honestly for critical stuff like this good ole wire twist pliers wire seems to be the right option. It works on aircraft. I'm not a fan of dealerships at all and would much rather tend to my rides than take it in and hope they follow spec.

Cut and pasted from another thread. Band clamp so much cheaper...

Or you can just tighten it like a normal oil filter and add a hose clamp for anti-rotation - McMaster Carr P/N 5416K23

 

[loco_GT350]

Cut and pasted from another thread. Band clamp so much cheaper...

Agreed! I torque the filter to the proper spec and use a band clamp. No issues in three years of doing my own oil changes.

 

[BeastAR]

That's crazy. Glad all are ok. Atleast the car isn't going to waste and will still have a purpose.

 

[ameapm2000]

This car was owned by Matt from Obsessed Garage.
Check the first comment here.

 

[Alain]

This car was owned by Matt from Obsessed Garage.
Check the first comment here.

I can't wait to hear Matt's reaction ! I follow him on youtube, not religiously. But he is the epitome of meticulous when it comes to taking care of his cars........ part of the reason why I follow him. I'm the same way.

 

[TDC]

3rd vote for the band clamp, lightly oil the gasket, use proper torque and do it yourself oil change. I must have changed my oil at least 10-15 times in the 4 1/2 years of ownership (primarily a track car) and never had an issue.

 

[Alain]

I just want to be sure of something here.
Those metal oil filteRs are the ones that come loose correct? NOT the plastic canister filters.

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