drain hole oil filter housing?

[sneaky_pete]

on the oil filter housing beside the mounting face for the oil filter there is a small hole which I believe to be a drain hole to take away any oil spilt when removing the filter.

is it a drain? and where does it go?

I ask this because whenever I do an oil change I am super careful not to have any oil spill onto the front aluminum undertray when I take out the drain plug. but every time I change the oil I have to clean up oil from the topside of the undertray after driving it for a couple of hundred km's. Once it is cleaned up I don't get any more oil there until the next change.

I pre-fill my filters before installing them so I spill a small amount of oil - I am assuming that it goes down this drain hole and gets left on the top of the undertray.

I have googled but can't see an answer to this.

[Capt Spaulding]

IN terms of where is goes, just look directly below the hole. It serves an alternative purpose, however. When you install the body of the Subaru XT/WRX oil to water oil cooler there is a small tab on the bottom mating surface that fits in the hole and serves to locate the cooler body with the hoses in the correct place.

[sneaky_pete]

OK - thanks for that info, will have a much closer look in the morning. Cheers!

[EndlessAzure]

It's pretty common for the FA20 engine to have oil leaks in various places.

I don't believe there is any thru-drain on the filter cup.