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no oil filter.?

nigel burrows

Enthusiast
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16
Location
bedfordshire
Hello all possibly old hat, but after a quick hunt. i realize there is no oil filter. i though perhaps it was behind the circular plate. its a 1979 850 r4. should i fit one.? its survived this long without. any advice. would be gladly .


all best. nigel.
 
Most odd as oil filters came in on R4s in the mid 70s. To fit one, remove the blanking plate, screw in a special spindle which is threaded to take the filter on the other end. There are two sizes of spindle, one for the TL and one for the GTL.

Given that the earlier R4s got along quite happily without an oil filter (except for the very coarse mesh attached to the oil pump) you're probably OK so long as you are assiduous about changing the oil frequently.
 
I'd install an oil-filter asap if at all possible.even with larger tolerances inside the older motors it is crucial for longevity
with ever rising costs of quality oil you'd easily be in the black again in a year.. -Reid.
 
I just bought my 1963 r1123 about a month ago. Last weekend started a basic service, plugs, points..then I spent an hour going around the motor cussing feeling dumb not finding the oil filter. Contacted Renault guy here and he asked if my engine was 800-01. Yes. Then there's no oil filter. 800-02 there is an oil filter. By the way thanks for letting me join in. American living in Sweden. Always worked,renovated owned American or Swedish cars so this is a whole new adventure for me buying a Renault and my French is very limited ;) Hope to learn and restore my car.
 
Well done on getting such a beautiful looking R4! Fantastic photo :) Welcome to the forum!
 
Thank you! (Apologize for barging in on someone else's thread)
Bought mine for 12000krowns. Was another one, beautifully and completely restored for sale here, but then you don't learn anything or make any nice contacts with like minded people so what's the point in that..? Mine needs a lot of love but it's a long process and fun to have a project you can already drive as is.
 
Happy to be butted. does anyone know who i could get the oil filter adapter threaded tube from. its a 850 TL. 1979 but no filter.

many thanks.
 
I was advised by Simon (Renault Reborn) not to convert mine to a filter. He reckoned it would mess with the pressure as intended by the factory and just recommended that I change the oil very frequently. As my usage and mileage is low, I didn’t mind doing that. The cost is low
 
Not at all saying Simon is wrong,but isn't every brand name "modern" oilfilters equipped with a valve that on start-up bypasses the
filter-element itself
and directs oilflow into circuit to lube all needed parts and producet that needed cushion between metal surfaces and only after
motor is warmed up and pressure secured actually runs
the oil through the filter ? If you were to test-fit a filter you could easily check b4 and after how long it takes b4 the oil-pressure
warning-light goes out... Of-course you'd had to fill a bit more oil into the system in accordance to added volume of (new) filter
-I might be Too hung-up regarding dirty oil with particles of allsorts floating around mucking up things in there,but if at all poss
I'd go for a filter any day... -Reid.
 
I know from experience rebuilding Willys jeeps that the guys converting from canister filters to modern filters had all kinds of issues regarding oil pressure to overcome.
 
Oil changing : suggestion : my procedure is to buy cheap 20/50 in 205-litre drums. This works out at about GBP £1.50/litre. At that price I (you) can afford to change the oil every 1500 miles — at which point its lubrication qualities are still good as new (cheap oil only falls off in quality after about 3000 miles, apparently). I reckon this has the additional advantage of having a certain de-sludging effect. I've run several R4s under this régime and the last one has so far done 155000 miles.

I'd suggest this is the best approach if your R4 has no oil filter.
 
I'm glad you've found a regime that works for you benchseat.
But: 155000miles : 3000 = You could'we been an oilsheik with always newly sharpened trunk-shoes by now if you sold all that oil! :whistle:
-Then again:You'd probably be livin on a pile of sand in the Saharas,so all in all you'r better off as is... -Reid.
 
I don't quite see that. 155,000 miles with oil changes every 1500 miles (say 1550) is 100 changes x the sump capacity (say 4 litres) = 400 litres @ GBP £1.50/litre = GBP £600. I've had the car for 20 years so that represents GBP £30 per year on oil. Filter changes at 5000 miles = 31 filters @ GBP £4 = GBP £124. Approx GBP £6 per annum. Hardly onerous.

But you're right in that it's probably better to live in Europe (in the geographical sense rather than the political, of course).
 
I've just changed oil after 15000km (a bit over the 5000km in the book) and it looked and smelled ok. Remember that the thread/diameter of the filter changes in 1984, thus filters for cars before/after aren't interchangable.
I run it with 25/50W valvoline mineral, and it doesn't use any (its now at 129800km).
It has just returned from a 3700 km trip round Europe, including a spin on Nürburgring, without any particular troubles :D
 
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