Ok, OK, I admit it...from where to where does one measure...what is canister depth??? I have been just looking at the white O-ring to see if it's squashed somewhat like Matt Parkhouse showed us once from the BMW Owners News mag.
Any one care to make a simple drawing for dummies like me?
HI Sue,
I used a tire depth gage. The distance is from the edge of the canister to the outer machined surface of the engine case (where the oil filter cover gets bolted on. You have to remove the oil filter cover to measure the depth. If you are going to use the paper gasket, then lay the paper gasket on the outer surface of the case an include it in the measurement to the lip of the canister.
Anotherway to think about it is the top of the oil filter "can" (mounted sideways in the case) is recessed from the outer edge of the case. This is the distance you want to measure.
Adding shims adds pressure on the o-ring. Using the paper gasket
takes away pressure on the o-ring. If you take away enough presure, the O-ring leaks!
I'm not good with graphics so perhaps someone else can draw or photograph what is being measured.