Bypass Oil Filter

[Gros Ventre]

Today I installed a 1 µ bypass oil filter. Not too difficult. Required a sandwich adapter between the engine filter and block. Then some hoses and fittings. The bypassed oil goes back into the engine at the oil fill pipe.

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[Antimatter22]

Dumb question, but do you feel the smaller micron filter will do a lot for the life of the engine compared to normal oil changes? Of course the normal oil filters can only catch so much.

I guess I've never look too much into bypass filters, catch cans, etc. Perhaps it'll be beneficial under extreme use cases or if you plan on keeping the truck for a long time and putting tons of miles on it, but normal day to day I'm not sure. I'd imagine it'll be better than not having it.

 

[PPK]

in the ideal world we would have two pass filtering - maybe a 30 micron and 10 micon in series with each other. A turbine in a generating plant would be setup like that. Then again, that is a 100 million dollar engine. Shorter intervals for an oil change is the answer to a filter becoming a problem as well as lighter oil. I think a mobil 1 filter is 30 micron.. and the Fram ultra synthetic is 20 micron. I think best thing you can do is make sure your air filter is as tight as it can be.. that is where a lot of stuff comes in.

 

[Gros Ventre]

It all depends... If you're only thinking of getting to the next trade-in... not needed. Got it. I kept the family Suburban, a 1992 bought new, for 30 years. Not replacing it every few years, helped get three boys thru college... As to particulates: the clearances in some engine places are as tight as 8µ, so a 20 or 30 µ filter is nice but... I have put in an 8µ main full flow filter. Am I planning on keeping my truck for a long time? Yes. These are wonderful trucks, they have an aluminum body that'll last a really long time, the technology of engines means they will have a really long life, if cared for. The issue is what is the level of circulating "stuff." A good air filter is necessary, but that is not all of the "stuff" circulating. There are wear products from parts of the engine itself. As I see it, keeping the amount of "stuff" floating around in the oil as small as possible is a good thing for a long lived truck. ...And that makes a difference to family finances.

 

[Gros Ventre]

It all depends... If you're only thinking of getting to the next trade-in... not needed. Got it. I kept the family Suburban, a 1992 bought new, for 30 years. Not replacing it every few years, helped get three boys thru college... As to particulates: the clearances in some engine places are as tight as 8µ, so a 20 or 30 µ filter is nice but... I have put in an 8µ main full flow filter. Am I planning on keeping my truck for a long time? Yes. These are wonderful trucks, they have an aluminum body that'll last a really long time, the technology of engines means they will have a really long life, if cared for. The issue is what is the level of circulating "stuff." A good air filter is necessary, but that is not all of the "stuff" circulating. There are wear products from parts of the engine itself. As I see it, keeping the amount of "stuff" floating around in the oil as small as possible is a good thing for a long lived truck. ...And that makes a difference to family finances.

PS That Suburban is still on the original engine, a 350 cubic inch V-8, and still gets some 3-4,000 miles to the quart. It was a "Family Hauler." It made it from Charleston SC, to Omaha, NE, to Guam, Hong Kong, and Hawaii, then Puget Sound and back to the east Coast. Now in Wyoming since 2006.

 

[Uncorked]

That's interesting. I didn't know these existed.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Yes, they are a low flow, fine filter system. They're designed to have a small constant flow and reduce the "ash" in your oil. You use an orifice in the line to meter the flow to something like a quart per minute. Run it through a 1µ filter. It's a continuous flow filter finer than you can get with a full flow filter.

 

[powerboatr]

Yes, they are a low flow, fine filter system. They're designed to have a small constant flow and reduce the "ash" in your oil. You use an orifice in the line to meter the flow to something like a quart per minute. Run it through a 1µ filter. It's a continuous flow filter finer than you can get with a full flow filter.

yep i ran them on all my Powerstroke diesel trucks
kept factory filter and ran a by pass high filtration off a second oil feed.
in fact i have on the bus as well
keeps oil clean of the ash and other stuff, a bit longer in those engines
i ran oil samples to see when it was time to change oil
never thought about doing it for the gas powered truck.

 

[Buyer2021]

Yes, they are a low flow, fine filter system. They're designed to have a small constant flow and reduce the "ash" in your oil. You use an orifice in the line to meter the flow to something like a quart per minute. Run it through a 1µ filter. It's a continuous flow filter finer than you can get with a full flow filter.

Learning something new here, please post details on the components / sources / installation and expected maintenance for your 3.5EB/Powerboost application.

This captures its small oil flow after the OE filter, or is it effectively in parallel to the OE filter?

How does this avoid affecting the engine oil pressure?

TIA

 

[Gros Ventre]

Oil Filter Spacer from Pegasus Racing made by Setrab (M22x1.5 thread), this provides two 1/8" NPT holes as the place to tap into for oil source, this then bypasses the engine but because of the orifice it is quite low flow rate also it is parallel with the main filter flow not after it; An Oil system orifice from JEGS, -04AN x 1/8" NPT, used usually to meter flow to certain oil system components (Jegs Item Number 231-10289, it'll come with several size orifices to thread into it, I used the smallest one); various push on hose end fittings: all -04AN; -04 AN oil system hose; A filter from Canton Racing Products (cantonracingproducts.com), one of their inline fuel filters with a 1 µ filter element, I modified one I had on hand to use -04 AN Hose & fittings, so make your stuff consistent; I got a standpipe used with a Ford Escape Hybrid oil filler cap to extend the oil filler and provide a place to return the oil to the engine (this fit right in at the oil filler cap); I had on hand a threaded male tap plug with a 1/8" NPT female end to put the line to on the standpipe & get a rubber washer/grommet between this tap-plug and the standpipe. I'll get some pictures tomorrow. I also used a -04AN 90º double female to turn the line from the spacer toward the filter. I also used a -04AN fittings fuel line shutoff valve so that I could isolate the line in case of a hose problem, you probably don't need this but I had a bad experience once and so am jittery on this. You could do this more simply with a 90º -04 AN hose end at the orifice fitting and then direct line to the filter from the orifice at the spacer, I just chose to include that shutoff valve. I'll get some pictures and draw a sketch of it tomorrow for you. The engine oil pump provides plenty of flow, but the orifice fitting is important as that's where pressure is dropped and flow limited.

 

[Buyer2021]

Thanks, got it.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Pictures... And a sketch. The area at the main filter is so tight as to make taking pictures really awkward... With regard to using the Canton Racing 1µ fuel filter, I exchanged emails with the Canton Racing folks and they said it'll work just fine for oil, particularly at the lower flow intended in a setup like this. Note the axis of the valve body in the sketch. The hose needs to be led forward at an angle. The Setrab Spacer can be rotated to any position desired. I chose to put one tap at the pax side horizontal thus putting the second tap at the bottom. The "Standpipe" used to mate with the oil filler neck is a Ford Part for the 2006 Escape Hybrid. That engine uses the "Standpipe." It was serendipitous having this. It mates to the filler neck and the filler cap properly. I drilled a hole in its side and threaded in a self threading fitting with a 1/8" NPT female. I then put in a 1/8" NPT to -04AN Male fitting to mate up with the -04AN Hose end coming from the bypass filter. Don't forget to use Hi Temp thread sealant on the 1/8" NPT threads.

 

[Gros Ventre]

How does this avoid affecting the engine oil pressure?

The way the oil pump works is it is a positive displacement pump. It's output is proportional to engine rpm. Then the oil pressure is regulated by a spring loaded bypass valve to a design pressure. Without that valve the oil pressure could go very, very high at higher rpms. A small amount of oil tapped off the main flow makes no difference in flow or pressure. But, the orifice in the line to keep that flow low is important.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Here are two pics of the sandwich adapter with the Orifice fitting, the 90º Double female, and the shutoff valve attached. I had to take these out briefly for other work.

 

[amschind]

The way the oil pump works is it is a positive displacement pump. It's output is proportional to engine rpm. Then the oil pressure is regulated by a spring loaded bypass valve to a design pressure. Without that valve the oil pressure could go very, very high at higher rpms. A small amount of oil tapped off the main flow makes no difference in flow or pressure. But, the orifice in the line to keep that flow low is important.

I think this also answers one of my main questions: will a finer, therefore higher resistance, filter just decrease oil flow and therefore have a net negative effect? It sounds like the pump has the ability to put out far more flow/pressure than the lubrication system needs even at redline, such that a higher resistance filter would simply result in less use of the bypass valve. Is that correct?

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