Article written by Chris Adams of Four Ashes Garage Ltd, please don't copy or reproduce it without my written permission -   If you don't agree with this article please close it & email us to tell us why,   for use of this information page we would like you to purchase something, even as trivial as an oil filter                                                                                   

Four Ashes Garage Ltd  © 2011 this version written in July 2017, with a small revision October 22 & again in June 23

Please read all as there are more notes at the bottom, 

Stop Press - we now keep the thin flat metal upper locating washer, the rubber sealing ring that fits above the metal upper locating washer & the wire clip that fits / holds them on to the cast in metal stub (where the bolt fits) in the Purolator filter head on a DB5/6/S6, the rubber ring needs replacing every 2 or 3 years as they go brittle or renewing as it has gone brittle & broken up meanig there is a less effective filter top seal, the wire clip & metal washer never needs replacing unless they have been lost !!

Often we come across incorrectly assembled Purolator type oil filters as fitted to Aston Martins (the giveaway for Tecalemit oil filters is the bottom dished plate is welded to the filter bowl or the dished plate is integral with the bolt, if you have a Tecalemit filter please mention this on any enquiry), missing or wrong parts fitted, even by other garages, as this style of element filter is not common now.

This often involves not fitting the bottom sprung loaded filter plate (it sticks to the old filter element & people don't realise) or just not assembling it right, especially if the horse shoe shaped clip is missing.

We keep all of the parts for the filter assembly  in stock,:  very high quality oil filters at a reasonable price with correct sealing rings (please note that AM part numbers 75828 & 75829 come complete on the oil filter as shown), filter head nut (top picture, circled by the oil filter ring) filter centre bolt, outer bowl, dished pressed bottom washer , bottom seal for dished washer, inner filter locating plates(top & bottom), rubber seal for bottom locating plate, steel washer for bottom locating plate & horse shoe shaped wire locating clip which is easier than the round wire clip.

So here goes:

Remove the old rubber O ring with a pick (pick & hook set on Ebay for less than £5.00) or the wife's large sewing needle 

The filter bowl should be clean outside & inside with no grazes or scratches to the rim, and a flat face where the filter bolt & dished washer locates, if it is bent inwards it needs straightening using a round flat ended form tool of about 7/8" or 22mm on the inside & a press or vice.

Once the bowl is flat at the base make sure the bolt still goes through the hole.

The bowls on an Aston are painted a very pale green which we have made up for us, this should carried out if required before fitting.  (we offer exchange filter bowls painted in the correct shade of green in 2 pack paint)

From the big photo for DB2 to DB4 & illustration no 2 with all of the parts  (DB5 to DBS 6 in small photo with the bolt & bolt parts) - The 1st item fitted on the bolt (6) is the dished steel washer / stiffening plate (a pressed part about 3 to 4mm thick & 47mm dia. on a DB2 to DB4 or a machined disc of about 31.8mm dia. on a DB5/6/S6), then put the thick rubber O ring (7)-  this should be a square section rubber ring which is now available from us, the next item to fit to the bolt (6) is the filter bowl.

Inside the bowl fit the spring (5) 1st, this is just a little bit larger than the ID of the bolt, then fit the 3/8" x 7/8" OD steel flat washer (4) & then the flat rubber seal (3), this presses up against the next item, the lower filter locating plate (2) (there are a few variations on the theme) which is a pressed out top hat washer.

Carefully fit the little horse shoe clip if there is one to the filter bolt, it fits in the groove on the bolt, you an do this with a piece of small bore plastic electrical conduit tube, sometimes there isn't a groove for it to locate in but fit it anyway as it keeps all the parts you need within the casing the next time you change the filter.

If the wire clip is fitted it makes it very much easier to align the bowl to the oil filter head, especially important on a DB4/5/ 6 or DBS where the bowl is on an 45° angle or more, using the piece of tube 

Put a thin smear of clean grease on the rubber ring to help locate the ring in the filter head & stop it snagging & tearing.

The oil filter element fits in the bowl next or last, when fitting there is no torque figure but hold the bowl still to stop it rotating whilst refitting it, then tighten until firm, not too tight as it will deform the bowl, too loose and it will leak.

On advice from Richard Latcham we have changed the next paragraph.

Jack the car up & put a stand under the chassis in a safe place (not under the centre of the alloy cross tube) or the 2 ribs on the alloy cross tube with the chassis directly above.

From underneath change the filter rubber ring in the head using a sharp point to flick it out, make sure that you have the correct filter ring - the thin rectangular one fits DB5 to DBS 6, this is often marked with xxx paint, the slightly thicker one marked with xxx paint is for DB2 to MkIII.

Put a thin smear of clean grease on the rubber ring to help locate the ring in the filter head & stop it snagging & tearing.

The oil filter element fits in the bowl next or last, when fitting there is no torque figure but hold the bowl still to stop it rotating whilst refitting it, then tighten until firm, not too tight as it will deform the bowl, too loose and it will leak

Shown in the 1st photo is how they should be assembled from the head on the top left to the the bolt on the mid right.

The last photo of a DB5 to DBS 6 bolt assembly includes the snap ring & upper locating ring but not the rubber ring that fits between the upperr locating ring & the filter head.