So, a hole opened up on my oil filter last night and is leaking oil when the engine is running. Is there any way to seal it up temporarily just so I can get to work and back once?
is it really worth the risk? I mean you could probably seal it but if it blows out while riding it could destroy the engine
Not the risk to engine think of where all that oil goes ā¦on road and back tyre
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It seems the answer is you probably can, but is it really worth the risk.
Welp, after calling a dozen places managed to find one that was open for a couple of hours today and they had 1 filter left in stock. Luckily, not too far off on public transport and fitted the filter just in time.
However, since we already have a thread going, feel free to answer the original question for curiosityās sake.
On a related note, they only had the āracingā oil filter which is like Ā£2 more hence the quotes. Will it be of slightly better quality or is there some other difference?
Although it was more expensive and may give better performance, my concern would be its lifespan.
Some things built for racing may only be expected to last a short time then be replaced.
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The hi flo racing ones have a hex head on the end to make it easier to taker off.
as for a temp fix, a blob of something like exhaust putty or chemical metal would probably work, but be filter is definitely better
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Is the old filter bubbling from rust? How long had you had it on there?
I used to change the filter with every oil change (i.e. once a year), but last time I skipped it, so itās about 18 months old.
It would take you far less time to change it, than to just clean it up, let alone repair it.
If desperate, you could try baking soda and super glue to seal it (plenty of youtube stuff of ābaking soda and super glueā), but would suggest you cut the bottom of a cola bottle to size, cover the whole filter and melt it to size with a heat gun as well.
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Not to mention cheaper by a mile.
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Quick answer. No no no no no no no.
You skimped on an oil change and now itās cost you. It could have written off you and the bike, or at the very least cost you an engine. A lesson learned, hopefully.
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apart from the hole fixing issue, Iād be more interested to know how did that happen in the first place? Iām not famous for cleaning my bikes although I never skip a service, and never seen or heard of that happening before?
Not sure how you deduced this from what the OP has said.
Heās said he changes the oil every year & whilst he normally also replaces his oil filter at the same time, he didnāt last time. From what i recall he has a Suzuki 650. The service schedule specifies an oil change every 4,000 miles or 12 months whilst the filter should be replaced every 8,000 miles or 24 months, so every 2nd oil change.
Therefore, if heās not exceeding 4,000 miles a year, heās followed the manufacturerās service instructions.
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Indeed, if you have one already handy. But buying the filter on a saturday which is also christmas eve presented some problems.
Good question. There is some random bubbling all over as you can kind of see in the picture. I do ride it in all weathers - when it was 40C last summer and when it was <0C this month. So, excessive heat/cold, road salt?
Couldnāt have said it better 
Youāve done the only sensible thing in replacing it, oil filters are not for repairing.
Looks like the oil filter may have corroded from the inside out, road salt or road fling corrosion would first remove the paint finish before attacking the aluminium canister. Or maybe it was simple pierced by something thrown up off the road. What brand oil filter is that?
Racing oil filters, apart from the drilled hex nut for attaching a safety wire, tend to have a finer filtration medium, on the one hand this traps more contaminants on the other hand it requires changing more often because it becomes clogged more sooner. Note - Failing to change a clogged oil filter will result in having no oil filtration because the bypass valve will do its job and allow the engine oil to bypass the clogged filtration media.
Iād suggest you change the āracingā oil filter at 4,000 miles and if you want to be changing your oil filter at the recommended 8,000 mile service interval Iād recommend Hiflofiltro standard OEM specification engine oil and air filters
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And maybe buy an oil filter to keep as an emergency spare.
+1 acemAn
Oil filters are as cheap as chips and cheaper when purchased as a multi pack. Iāve never needed one in an emergency but Iāve always had an engine oil and filter change on the shelf.
Typically youāll pay Ā£8 for an oil filter through the post, thatās Ā£5 for the filter and Ā£3 for the delivery. Iām doing around 16,000 miles per year (= two off oil n filter changes) and buying a pack of 4 saves me Ā£9 on the postage and gets my filter costs down to less than Ā£6 each, the savings far out weigh the 5% interest rate offered by a Barclayās Rainy Day Saver account.
Worth noting here engine oil is a different kettle of fish. My engine oil of choice is Motul 5000 which typically has a two year shelf life before the additives start breaking down which means thereās no point in me having any more than 6L hanging around.
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I normally use HiFlo standard filter. Seemed to be the one most widely available. The racing one I got from the garage this time was also HiFlo.
Hindsight 
The standard Hiflo HF138 is the most widely available for a reason and is what you need for an 8,000 mile service interval.