> In fact, I proably ruined the threads by overtightening the canister
> bolt, and it still didn't pull it up tight enough for a seal and it leaked
> out even more!
Paul, just to amplify a bit on Andy's comments ... there is a groove in the
filter head that the edge of the canister must fit into. It won't always go in
by itself, you have to lift and guide it as you tighten the bolt. Sounds to me
like you don't have the canister in the groove.
There also needs to be exactly one gasket in the groove, even though it's deep
enough for two or three. The old gaskets tend to be very hard and so frequently
get mistaken for aluminum ... many of the TR3s that I've owned over the years
came to me with two gaskets installed. (No, I won't admit to not having removed
one gasket, but I have sometimes failed to notice that there were two of them.)
A sharp "dental" pick will usually get the last old seal out. Clean the groove
until you can see white (aluminum) at the bottom to be sure there isn't
something else down there.
> Even though I've never had this Triumph running much, I'm
> overdue for one of those regular oil filter conversion kits, but, if I
> happen to find out that I did strip the canister bolt, can I still convert?
Nope, the canister bolt reaches deeper into the hole than the conversion does,
and that one threaded hole is all that holds both the conversion block and the
new oil filter to the engine. However, it could probably be repaired with a
Helicoil, or used oil filter heads shouldn't be too hard to come by.
> It is worth it, right?
IMO the conversion is actually harder to keep perfectly sealed than the original
canister was. The filter is easier to change, but more prone to leaks (at least
partially because now there are two big seals to leak instead of just one). And
since the conversion block seals to the filter head exactly the same way as the
canister does, you're still going to have to make that joint work. I fiddled
with my conversion several times over the years and never did get it to stop
dripping after a run.
There have also been rumors that some of the conversions sold don't fit right,
and need to be remachined.
Randall
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