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Oil Filter Adapter for an RV-3

akabud

Active Member
The RV-3 I recently bought didn't have an oil filter on the engine. So I bought the filter adapter that Van's sells only to find that it doesn't work. The motor mount interferes. I looked at all the other available ones I could find and none of them looked like they would work. I considered a remote mount but still didn't have a good place to mount the filter.

The Casper Labs adapter that I bought has the filter leaning over about 45? so it clears the tach cable.
But I don't have a mechanical tach so I didn't need that feature. If the filter stood straight up it could work. But of course I couldn't find one like that so I decided to make one. After about a week of working on it I got installed today and it works perfect.

Pictures to follow.
 
Same issue. RV-3B with conical mount engine and electronic tach (dust cover screwed over tach drive).

So I would really like to see your custom adapter setup when you get the photos ready.

Jim
 
You need a spacer to make the 45 degree adapter work on the RV-3 mount. The spacer goes between the accessory case and the adapter - there are several different lengths available, and I forget which one we used. It is still a very tight fit, but it works.
 
+1 for custom made

The B&C spacer blocks just wouldn't work for me. So I machined a chuck of aluminum to hold the vernatherm, oil temp sensor and ports for remote hoses.

Mounted a Jegs filter bracket high on the firewall near the dipstick with filter angled down 45*. NAPA 1515 filter and TS Flightlines hoses. No problems and no drips at filter change with ziplock baggie.
 
Filter

I also have a conical mount on my RV 3 and have been trying to figure a way of putting on a filter.

Would like to see the pictures

Thanks
Rob
 
You need a spacer to make the 45 degree adapter work on the RV-3 mount. The spacer goes between the accessory case and the adapter - there are several different lengths available, and I forget which one we used. It is still a very tight fit, but it works.

I had to add this on the first engine (O-290d2) I installed in my -9. However, the adapter did not work with the accessory case so I had to change that too.

The tell was that the gasket didn't line up with the holes in the accessory case.

Good luck.
 
You need a spacer to make the 45 degree adapter work on the RV-3 mount. The spacer goes between the accessory case and the adapter - there are several different lengths available, and I forget which one we used. It is still a very tight fit, but it works.

I had a 1.25" spacer and I could make any size spacer but it still wouldn't work.
 
I had a 1.25" spacer and I could make any size spacer but it still wouldn't work.

Sorry - I should have specified I was talking a Dynafocal mount, and if its an older -3, it might very well be conical.

Paul
 
The Lycoming filter adapter fits my Dynafocal mount O-320, but requires a different shaped recess because the filter sticks aft of the plane of the firewall. Here it is shown with the firewall. With the engine hung on the mount, I temporarily attached the firewall so that I could verify that it all fit. And yes, there's room to remove the filter. I think.

PTLtgub.jpg


Here's a view of the Lycoming adapter.

J75DBoa.jpg


I do expect that I'll replace it with a remote filter for ease of maintenance. Gotta keep things easy, I'm not getting younger.

I seem to remember that Ironflight's spacer was 1.4". It's in one of his articles in the RV-3 section on VAF.

Dave
 
Here are some pictures. My engine didn't have a vernatherm so I didn't add it.
And I still didn't have room for a Champion filter so I used the K&N.

Filter-Adpt-s-2.jpg
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I fitted a B&C filter adapter with the 1.4" spacer (as per Randy Lervold's RV 3B build info) and found that the supplied Champion CH 48108-1 filter wouldn't clear the diagonal cross tube on the engine mount by about 1/8". I have had to find a filter with a slightly smaller diameter. There is also very little working clearance if you intend to fit a pad mounted alternator, which I have done. A remote filter setup would be better I think and could help out with magneto removal/installation too. Definitely very cramped behind the engine on the 3, all good fun tho.

Russell
 
Missing Oil Filter?

The RV-3 I recently bought didn't have an oil filter on the engine...

Are you saying it only had an "oil screen"? That's all the RV-3A (w/O-290G) came with that I did a restoration on; and to solve that issue I simply mounted an "Earls" oil filter mount on the firewall. It was simple to do, and racing filters were readily available that came with a hole on the filter body that allowed it to be safety wired.

Doug

RV-3A restored, flown (50 hrs.), sold
RV-9A / Mazda 13B FWF
 
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For those of you needing an oil filter for a conical mount RV3 here is what I did.

Thanks to AKABUD's photos and info I was then able to make an adapter with temp&vernatherm passages and here are the before and after photos from remote external mount and present filter adapter.
BTW, if anyone wants the external adapter I will make you a "real" deal on it. It mounts on the engine mount tubes and lines from the adapter run to it.
Also, I can use K&N HP1002 filters on either one and are smaller and do the job as well.
Thanks,TnMike
RV3B N931M


 
Good catch! It did, and I had to change the internal flow to make it work.
The last effort is working great now!
Thanks again,Mike
 
I have a longer spacer that I had to remove from my brand new Titan engine that I want to sell if that would work for you. It was too long for may application with my backup B&C alternator. PM me if you are interested.
 
I just put a remote filter on my RV-3B with conical mount. I have been saving up parts as they come up and ended up with an ADC screen adapter and an Air Wolf remote mount with bracket. I don't have a dish pan in the firewall it is flat and straight. I removed the original screen housing and screen and replace it with the ADC housing. I placed the Air Wolf adapter on the firewall. A couple of new -8 hoses and it works. It barely fit. I use a CH48108-1 oil filter (no way a CH48109 would fit). Between that and extending the dipstick tube and dipstick rod I have eliminated the only things that bugged me firewall forward.
 
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