Narrative:

Air return back to [departure airport]. Leveled off cruise altitude; 'right oil strainer clog' light illuminated on oap. Complied with QRH procedures. Light did not extinguish. Engine oil temp reached 129 and fuel temp peaked at 38. Contacted company; spoke with both dispatch and maintenance control; and returned without incident. Both oil temp and fuel temp decreased during descent. As a note; [this aircraft] had the same issue 3 days prior. The aircraft had been flown only about 10 hours until we got the light again. When these issues occur; replacing a part or 'ops check normal' is not the best course action. Many times there is more than meets the eye. We need to stop fixing the symptoms and fix the real problems. If you ask me; [this aircraft] does not just need a new oil filter; but needs to be looked at much closer. Also; I believe the right engine is the one on the mto program. As the technicians were finishing up putting on the new oil filter; scheduling was informing me that they were thinking of launching us back to [destination]. (Note: they informed us that hotel rooms were very hard to find.) I shared my concerns and proceeded to talk with maintenance control. Flight was finally cancelled.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD-83 Captain reported 'R OIL STRAINER CLOG' light after takeoff. He returned to departure airport and noted this was a recurring problem.

Narrative: Air return back to [departure airport]. Leveled off cruise altitude; 'R OIL STRAINER CLOG' light illuminated on OAP. Complied with QRH procedures. Light did not extinguish. Engine oil temp reached 129 and fuel temp peaked at 38. Contacted Company; spoke with both Dispatch and Maintenance Control; and returned without incident. Both oil temp and fuel temp decreased during descent. As a note; [this aircraft] had the same issue 3 days prior. The aircraft had been flown only about 10 hours until we got the light again. When these issues occur; replacing a part or 'Ops Check Normal' is not the best course action. Many times there is more than meets the eye. We need to stop fixing the symptoms and fix the real problems. If you ask me; [this aircraft] does not just need a new oil filter; but needs to be looked at much closer. Also; I believe the right engine is the one on the MTO program. As the technicians were finishing up putting on the new oil filter; Scheduling was informing me that they were thinking of launching us back to [destination]. (Note: they informed us that hotel rooms were very hard to find.) I shared my concerns and proceeded to talk with Maintenance Control. Flight was finally cancelled.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.