MEP-003 oil filter spring and retainer needed

[amolaver]

Looking in my copy of the -12 manual, 'Change 8 4.36.1' (PDF page 150), figure 4-30 of the oil filter assembly, i am in need of parts 8 and 9 ('retainer' and 'spring' respectively).

I just picked this up from Meade and it is essentially immaculate - all new wiring, fresh air filter, clean fuel filter and oil filter cans, gauges all good (well, HZ meter seems to be a little wonky), but it appears to be missing the spring and retainer as shown in figure 4-30. I assume that without those pieces, the oil filter assembly is essentially acting as if it was in bypass (ie, little/no oil is flowing through the filter).

I somewhat recklessly fired the machine up after going through it per sewerzuk and other's checkout procedures and it builds and holds oil pressure, generates AC as it is supposed to and all seems well. But I think long term I want that spring+retainer... Anyone have a source? Delks?

ahm

 

[scrapdaddy]

I had the same parts missing, call Delk's they have them, not new.

 

[amolaver]

thanks - i'll give 'em a call tomorrow and see if i can get it from them. thanks!

ahm

 

[n1oty]

I picked up a completely reset mep-002a awhile back from Letterkenny Army Depot. Being completely refurbished, my generator came with all the tools and ground rods (brand new), but missing the oil filter, batteries and fuel filters. The fuel strainer was present. Like you, the oil canister was present, but missing the retainer and spring. You can obtain those parts, but I opted to purchase Speddmon's adapter kit here on SS and converted my generator over to a readily available spin-on oil filter. I installed his oil filter kit, two new batteries, a pair of fuel filters and I was in business.

BTW, my generator came with paperwork showing it had been refurbished by Dyn Corp, a big defense contractor, in 2009 and placed into strategic storage unused until auctioned off. Did those Ft Meade units have any paperwork with them??

John

 

[amolaver]

these have the refurb plate from letterkenny in early 03. no documentation beyond that. ours did not come with tools or ground rod - i don't think any of this group from Meade did. at least, all of the toolboxes were empty - i checked. i believe these were all handled the same way - refurb'd, then put in storage. the paint and wiring is all fresh, as is the motor (new s/n) and they only had about 2 hours showing on them and based on everything's condition, i believe that to be accurate (after the refit).

while i may eventually do speddmon's spin-on adapter, i'm not in a rush to spend a bunch more money the cartridge oil and fuel filters are easily available if a little more fiddly than a spin-on, but not really a big deal to me.

ahm

 

[coyote62ny]

use only fram filters in these units oil filter ch6pl fuel filters c1125pl cheap through race mart napa says there filters fit but they are one to short not much but enough so they wont seal properly and also the o ring for the oil filter is not the right onephone number for race mart is 1-813-319-5666 ask for paul the oil filters are 4.90 fuel filters 6.09 correct filters and gaskets

 

[n1oty]

these have the refurb plate from letterkenny in early 03. no documentation beyond that. ours did not come with tools or ground rod - i don't think any of this group from Meade did. at least, all of the toolboxes were empty - i checked. i believe these were all handled the same way - refurb'd, then put in storage. the paint and wiring is all fresh, as is the motor (new s/n) and they only had about 2 hours showing on them and based on everything's condition, i believe that to be accurate (after the refit).

while i may eventually do speddmon's spin-on adapter, i'm not in a rush to spend a bunch more money the cartridge oil and fuel filters are easily available if a little more fiddly than a spin-on, but not really a big deal to me.

ahm

In my case, all the normal accessories that are issued with the generator (grounding rods, slide hammer, bung adapter, extra fuel hose, slave plug adapter, technical manual, etc.) were all present either on the generator, in cardboard boxes or the waterproof bag that the TM is issued in. Like you, there was a brand new air filter and fuel strainer in the respective canisters. Like you, the pair of fuel filters and the oil filter were NOT replaced after servicing and I was also missing the spring and retainer from the oil canister.

One of the reasons for my interest in depot serviced generators is that I ultimately want to obtain a mep-003a for permanent mounting at my house, at which time my trailer mounted mep-002a will be used as a backup generator that is portable enough to be taken to other locations if the need arises.

In the case of the recent Fort Meade trailer mounted generators, I initially bid on one, but felt the prices were a bit too high. I'll wait until closer to Christmas/New Year's when most people are short of funds and prices are (hopefully) much more reasonable.

In comparing my reset generator to your reset generator, I am beginning to form the opinion that the actual generator will basically be set up in the same fashion (missing fuel filters, oil filter, batteries and the pesky spring and retainer) upon completion of the reset. This is apparently how the military stores these puppies after a rebuild. I also noticed in mine that the inside of the fuel tank was immaculate and the fuel system completely drained. I assume your unit was too. I am surprised that all of these units from Fort Meade were missing the accessories package. I don't know how to interpret that find. Either the trailers were previously scavenged by the military for the accessories or Letterkenny does not issue the accessories at the time of the reset. My generator was actually refurbed at ASLAC in South Carolina by Dyn Corp and subsequently moved to Letterkenny.

This is all good info to share when we look at other reset units down the road. I'm getting a much clearer picture of what to expect.

John

 

[Harleyd315]

All of the gen sets I have gotten from GL have been missing the oil filter spring and retainer. Not wanting to dump alot of money in them before knowing if they worked, I found a spring at the local hardware store and an SAE flat washer that seemed to work just fine. I maybe wrong but the purpose of the spring is to keep the oil filter in place and make sure the oil flows thru it before returning to the engine. I have removed the oil filter after we used the generator for the last power outage and it appeared ok. The spring and washer did not collapse the filter on either end. When the filter is in the cannister it protrudes above the top of the cannister about 9/16" above the top and requires moderate force to install the assembly. Total cost was about $2.00 at the store.

 

[amolaver]

harleyd315 - the problem with just using a hardware store spring is in its purpose. the spring is intended to compress when oil pressure is too high, bypassing the filter. as i understand it, the bypass is a safety mechanism to prevent the filter from essentially exploding under high pressure. typically, this occurs with cold oil. if the spring rating (typically expressed in lb/in at least for larger springs) is markedly different, yours may either a) bypass too early, at 'normal' oil pressures, or b) not bypass in a state where the filter may be at risk. in the case of (a), you aren't filtering the oil. (b) *may* be a problem when you go to start the gen in cold weather.

the other purpose the spring has is to locate the filter on the central rod. is your spring the same length as the original? longer/shorter? the oil is passed through the central rod, out through holes in the rod and through the filter, then out of the housing to the engine. if your spring locates the filter in the wrong place, you may be blocking some of those holes or locating the filter 'above' the holes, causing oil the pass unfiltered back to the engine.

believe me, i don't want to pay delk's prices for the spring/retainer (thanks dad!) but having the right one is probably fairly important. once i get mine, i'll be able to provide free length and compression rate numbers so you can pull your spring and compare it.

this isn't terribly complex and your spring probably is fine, but i didn't feel comfortable doing the same without having an original to compare to. once someone posts the details of them, the community will probably be able to find easily available and cheaper alternatives.

n1oty - i wish ours had the accessories (ground rod etc), but i can live without. none of it is particularly expensive to replace although it obviously would be preferable to have and not need... i do wish we had the bung adapter/fuel hose as i intend on feeding it from a drum during any extended grid outage. concur on what reset status 'should' be. a physical inspection of the lots should confirm/deny all of that and i think is necessary before bidding. pulling a fuel filter bowl is a one bolt operation, as is oil filter, and checking the tank for rust is fairly easy (both mine and my father's were rust free - i checked during inspection). this was one of the few things that separated the units - some DID have rust in the tank/filler neck. it is curious that NONE of this last round from Meade had the accessories - i wonder if GL took that stuff although i doubt it as i don't see it listed as a separate lot. your reasoning (one depot does include, one doesn't) makes sense to me.

ahm

 

[PeterD]

harleyd315 - the problem with just using a hardware store spring is in its purpose. the spring is intended to compress when oil pressure is too high, bypassing the filter. as i understand it, the bypass is a safety mechanism to prevent the filter from essentially exploding under high pressure. ...

Not wishing to get in to a long debate regarding bypassing filters, at least the units I work with (MEP-004As) the filter bypass is built into the 'bolt' that runs down the center of the filter. Look carefully at that (hollow) bolt and you will see that there is a spring and a valve which serves to bypass the filter.

Think about which side of the filter the 'dirty' (and therefore higher pressure) oil is... It is on the outside of the filter, not the inside. The pressure, such as it is, is relatively uniform, top bottom and sides, and the filter element should never move based on that pressure. To move the element would require some serious redesign of our universe's laws of physics!

That and the fact that oil pressure would never exceed the oil pump's regulator value (typically 60 PSI) make the idea that the filter might 'explode' a bit far fetched, IMHO. Sure you might blow out the gasket, but that filter can is rather heavy duty.

Again, I'm writing based on the MEP-004's filter, but I imagine there is little difference in this respect.

 

[amolaver]

not sure what the story is now - peterd your post made me go look through the manuals and i found some things i'm unclear on. 1st, not sure about the direction of oil flow (from 'bolt' through filter or from canister through filter into 'bolt'). i don't see a diagram or description of flow.

wholeheartedly agree that a filter 'exploding' (or collapsing from outside in) is unlikely, but regardless, i want the oil to flow through the filter and i believe not having that spring in place allows the filter to be moved outside the flow. regardless of if the flow is inside out or outside in, there is pressure drop across the filter, and if it can move, the differential will cause the filter to be pushed out of the way and eliminate that restriction, or so i believe.

based on my -12 manual, 'change 8 4-34' figure 4-27, there is an external bypass valve - i don't believe there is a spring inside the 'bolt'. when i get the spring/retainer (and remove the filter cup to install) i'll take a closer look.

i've never seen it personally, but have seen pictures of a filter that has come apart - i definately don't want that media being pushed into oil galleys! making sure that spring is in place per the original design just seems like good sense...

ahm

 

[PeterD]

To help figure out which is in to the filter, and which is out, on your next oil change do this.

Fill the engine with oil. Using a breaker bar, spin the engine over in the same direction that it normally runs. Watch the oil filter, and you should see oil come up one of the filter lines. My MEP-004 would, when spinning over by hand, put a surprising amount of oil into the filter can.

AFAIK, all cartridge filters feed in from the outside to the inside. That way, when you drain the filter prior to replacing it, you are draining dirty oil, and that prevents dirty oil from getting past the filter during the change.

 

[coyote62ny]

my mep-003a has the original spring and retainer when you start my set the oil pressure gauge goes above 50 pounds and when hot to runs at 40 pounds my filter can has never blowen or the gasket i run rotella 10/30 in the winter and 15/40 in the summer only thing i can see giving out is the oil pressure gauge

 

[storeman]

I just gave up on a MEP-002a today and have a can complete with rod and spring for $30 if anyone needs it.
Jerry