DIY: Installing a Magnefine Trans Filter into a G50 Q45

[RustyBucket]

I could not find a thread on the specifics of installing a Magnefine filter into a G50, so for the convenience of future G50 owners I will document what I did yesterday. Installing the filter is not a difficult task (about on par with changing the oil, difficulty-wise). Unfortunately, I did not have any batteries on hand for my camera, so I could not document the entire process, although there will be pictures of the completed setup as soon as I get some batteries.

I installed the filter without replacing any of the existing lines, so the instructions will follow that procedure.

Supplies needed
- About 50cm (20") of 3/8" ID hose suitable for carrying transmission fluid (I used fuel line).
- 3/8" T-fitting for the hose
- Spare hose clamps
- Magnefine 3/8" filter (These can be found several places under a few different brand names. I bought mine from NAPA, part number 1-8514)

Tools needed
- 10mm wrench
- Phillips screwdriver
- Slot (flat-end) screwdriver
- Knife
- Pliers

The OEM filter is located between the battery and the radiator fan shroud. It is about the size and shape of an engine oil filter and all the hoses come out the bottom of it. There are three hoses that go to the OEM filter, one inlet and two outlets. This is why you need the T-fitting and the hose.

There is a 10mm bolt holding the mounting bracket closed around the filter. Remove this bolt and pry the bracket open enough to remove the filter. The rubber cushioning between the filter and the bracket may be stuck to the bracket at first, twist it a bit and pull and it will come. Once the filter is loose from the bracket, you can access the hose clamps better.

Now is a good time to get your outlet hose set up, before removing the hoses from the filter. Install the T-fitting on one end of the hose and set aside within easy teach.

When loosening the hose clamps, pay attention to which hose goes where. You will notice that there are 3 hoses going to the filter. The two that attach to the square block are the outlet lines and the other one is the inlet line. I found that removing the outlet line that goes in from the side first and then pulling straight up on the filter while holding the other two hoses stable worked well. Again, make sure that you know which hose is which before removing the filter. The effective marker for mine was that I removed the screw completely from the hose clamp on the inlet side. The inlet hose will more than likely leak some fluid once the filter is removed, so be prepared.

Now, once the filter is out, attach the two remaining ports on the T-fitting to the two outlet hoses dangling. Attach the other end of the hose to the outlet end of the Magnefine filter. The flow direction should be marked on the label. On my filter, the outlet was the end opposite the label.

Now that the outlet of the filter is attached to the two outlet hoses, the fun part starts. . Either the outlet of the filter was a little more than 3/8" or the OEM hose is slightly less than 3/8". I'm guessing it's the latter since the car was made in Japan and the hoses are likely a metric size. I used a file reduce the diameter of the first bit of the tapered section of the filter inlet by about a millimeter or so. This helped a lot in getting the filter to fit on the OEM hose. If you're feeling more ambitious than I was, you could replace the entire inlet hose.

Take the filter with the outlet hose attached and install the inlet hose to the inlet side. The filter will be installed with the outlet pointing up. The outlet hose that comes out of the filter tucks in between the upper radiator hose and battery perfectly. Installing the inlet to the OEM hose will take a lot of fumbling around, twisting, pushing and cursing, but it will go on.

Once the hoses are all attached to the filter, put the filter into the mounting bracket where the OEM one was, reinstall the 10mm bolt and tighten. Double check to make sure everything is tightened up properly and nothing will interfere with the fan and you're done!

In all it probably took me an hour or two do do, mostly because of how much I had to fight with getting the inlet hose to go on to the filter.

[qship96]

Great job! Much more cost effective than the overpriced OEM filter replacement kit, and a magnet to catch any ferrous metals as a added bonus! Magnefine does make a few different filters available to fit different hose sizes, not sure which size is correct for the Q- another way to tackle your issue of hose size is to use a heat gun/hair dryer to heat the hose end so it will expand a little and fit over the filter inlet!


********* just checked the Magnefine website, and they do offer the filter in a 5/16 inch inlet/outlet size, which probably would have eliminated the fitment issue with the 3/8 size !!!!!! $16 from their site, a bargain

[cientortas]

Good write up. I did something very similar, but used a perma-cool filter housing, which lets you use normal oil filters. The entire contraption can be clamped into the existing OEM bracket. I change the filter once a year or so...which is probably overkill...but it's cheap.

[Infinitiguy19]

Any difference in transmission performance or fluid (Smell, color..)?

[TBrack]

Great! Always wanted a cheaper option.

[RustyBucket]

Any difference in transmission performance or fluid (Smell, color..)?

I've only been driving it a few days so I really haven't noticed anything different than before. The fluid coming out of the old filter was the colour of red wine so I think I'll be doing another drain and refill sometime soon.

[maxnix]

I think someone posted the Fram FT1124 was a direct swap out for the OEM filter. Don't know its filtration characteristics, though.

[qship96]

I think someone posted the Fram FT1124 was a direct swap out for the OEM filter. Don't know its filtration characteristics, though.

Quick goooooogle search shows that fram part number to be a in pan type filter {screen}, NOT an external filter like the magnefine or oem external inline type filter.

[maxnix]

Wrong number then. I know someone used a Fram as a direct replacement.

[RustyBucket]

I had to get in at the filter again this past weekend because I had a loose hose clamp cause a serious loss of fluid. My pain is your gain because I have pictures.

Here is the brass T-fitting installed on the outlet side. The hose coming up toward the camera is the outlet hose from the filter and the two hoses on the rear by the engine and going down away from the camera are the OEM hoses:


This is the filter in place using the OEM mounting bracket:


This is the view from a bit further back showing the routing of the hose on the outlet side:

Loking at it now, it might be a good idea for me to ziptie it to the radiator hose so it won't get in the way when I need to remove the battery.

[RustyBucket]

As a follow-up to this filter install: Make sure that you know for sure which direction the flow is going when you install the filter.

I had a rather unpleasant surprise over the weekend about my hose routing which is making me question what the markings on the OEM filter really mean.

I had overfilled my transmission, so I unhooked the outlet side of my magnefine filter and attached a length of hose to it leading to an empty ATF jug. I put my thumb over the outlet hose going to the transmission in case of suction issues and I had an assistant crank the engine. As soon as the engine was cranked, the entire front end of the car was sprayed with ATF from the hose I had my thumb over; the hose that I had previously believed to be the outlet hose.

What I'm wondering is maybe the "OUT" and "IN" on the OEM filter actually mean Out from the transmission and In to the transmission instead of out from the filter and in to the filter.

I unhooked the magnefine filter and turned it around so that it is now oriented the other direction flow-wise. After I did this, I put the hose that had previously sprayed into the oil jug and drained some ATF off by cranking the engine. While oil was flowing out of this hose, no ATF came out of the other end of the re-oriented magnefine filter, which leads me to believe that I now have the outlet of the magnefine filter connected to an outlet hose and the inlet is now connected to a supply hose.

The one possibility I am thinking could have happened is that I accidentally connected together the inlet and outlet hoses in the T-connector, but that would not explain how much it sprayed. Plus, with the magnefine installed in its current orientation, the hose on the outlet side of the magnefine gets warm after a drive, which would indicate that ATF is flowing through the filter.

Is there a diagram anywhere in the FSM that indicates which way the fluid is supposed to flow through the coolers ant the filter?

[twoeightythreez]

I installed a derale performance spin on filter in my 1994. I took off factory filter and bracket, bolted new filter housing to frame rail with one 8mm bolt.
I also installed a 20x10 external trans cooler and bypassed both factory coolers.
Here is how I plumbed it. I didn't bother with a 2nd tee.
1) the hose from transmission line under ps pump that has a red band (the one without the T in it) goes to the inlet of the filter
2)the hose that originally went to the driver side factory cooler goes from outlet of new filter to the external cooler inlet (the one with a white band, I think)
3)external cooler outlet goes to trans connection (fluid return) under ps pump.
4)I left the yellow band hose that originally teed off to go to the passenger side factory cooler attached to the tee on return line intact, I just shoved a 3" long 5/16 bolt in the end and double clamped it. It will be fine, there is no pressure there as it is the return line to the trans after the filter and cooler, the fluid simply flows past the tee. Eventually I will replace the hard line with one from a Re4r03a that doesn't have a tee built in.
The only thing this does is there is no longer a bypass should the filter ever clog, but it's so easy to change now, I will change trans filter every other oil change.