Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
What exactly is the purpose of this other than to waste time and carb cleaner?
I like perfection and knowing something is right where it counts - and because I can.
I've found crud and paint overspray in the base gasket grooves more than once. Oil filters are not made in a clean room. The threads in the base plate mounting hole are usually pretty dirty too, so they also get cleaned.
I'm preemptive, not going to wonder if the gasket might leak while out on the road. I'd rather ensure it's right when installing, and it takes a whole 2 minutes to do, and a little squirt of carb cleaner on a Q-Tip goes a long way in this case. Try it, you might like it.
I understand where you are coming from, but in my 50+ years of changing oil many hundreds of times I have never seen a filter leak where you describe. I had a late 70's Pinto blow out a filter when I started it one winter morning in St. Paul, but other than that no leaks. I always check to make sure the old gasket came off before installing the new filter.
But then I guess most of us are OCD about something.