Has anyone with an H3 (2007) with the 3.7L i5 engine attempted to or has successfully removed the oil filter bypass valve? It's this little thing, about the diameter of a dime and about as long as a tootsie roll, is pressed into the oil filter housing. It's supposed to allow oil to bypass around the filter should it become clogged. Kind of redundant because most screw-on oil filters have their own bypass system built in.

Anyways, mine has gone bad. I know this because I've been getting oil pressure warnings on my dash at low RPMs, and everything else is fine (been through literally everything). The shop guide suggests this thing low on the list of stuff to diagnose and when I pressed it with a narrow screw it offered almost no resistance compared to a new one.

Problem is it's stuck in there really good and there's barely any room to work. So I'm wondering if anybody else has had this problem, and how you were able to get the damn thing out. Really considering just nuking it out with a torch. Pretty sure it's made of aluminum, and the block (filter housing is cast into the block) is steel so I think I can melt it out before the block gets damaged.

 

Per the shop manual, use a "suitable tool" to remove it .......... and pop the new one in. It is in there via a close tolerance fit, just needs a yank

Find a bolt (coarse thread) that you can sort of force thread in a couple turns, and wiggle while pulling out. Do not run the engine without a new one in its place, or a delete plug if you can find one to fit.

BTW, I would never rely on an Oil Filter Bypass alone, they are sketchy at best. In your free time, read about the rate of built in filter bypass failures.

 

I had an oil pressure issue that comes mainly when the engine is hot (usually startd beginning of summer when I start using ac). Did everything possible and when finally had the engine out to replace the oil pump it turned out an oil non return valve inside was stuck open when it should close after the oil warms up. Cleaned it, closed up and 3 years later no issues.

 

I hate when the shop manual is that vague. What the hell is a suitable tool anyways. I like your idea with the bolt. I think I might try that but with a twist. Have the bolt go through a socket that's sitting on the metal of the filter housing. Then tighten a nut on the bolt that impacts the socket. Socket won't move, and the end result should be a significant pulling force on the stuck by pass. Similar process with how to get the pulley off of a power steering pump.

Solid advice on not relying on the oil filter's bypass alone.

 

​​​​​​Thanks for the advice. I'll check there if the issue still exists with the new bypass. Although, I hope I don't have to pull the engine. I'd likely oil flush it first to see that'll clean things up enough.