before the oil filter
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I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
One minor correction. WIX invented the spin on filter in 1954, Fram and others then quickly followed suit.
I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
One minor correction. WIX invented the spin on filter in 1954, Fram and others then quickly followed suit.
Originally Posted By: OB4x4
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
One minor correction. WIX invented the spin on filter in 1954, Fram and others then quickly followed suit.
The Wix/Fram thing is debatable. They were all pretty much working on it at the same time. I should have worded it better.. Fram was first to get an OE to offer them on new cars... which was Ford.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
One minor correction. WIX invented the spin on filter in 1954, Fram and others then quickly followed suit.
The Wix/Fram thing is debatable. They were all pretty much working on it at the same time. I should have worded it better.. Fram was first to get an OE to offer them on new cars... which was Ford.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Originally Posted By: OB4x4
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
One minor correction. WIX invented the spin on filter in 1954, Fram and others then quickly followed suit.
The Wix/Fram thing is debatable. They were all pretty much working on it at the same time. I should have worded it better.. Fram was first to get an OE to offer them on new cars... which was Ford.
Wix, Fram, and puralotor were all working on spin on filters and even had some variations of them in the early fifties. I do believe that Wix was the first company to design, patent, and commercially market what we would recognise as a modern spin on filter whose basic design is still in use today.
Not trying to split hairs, just trying to be as historically accurate as possible; for posterity of course. lol...
Originally Posted By: OB4x4
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
I don't have specifics on the "Big Three" (though I likely have the research material to answer it, though not the time right now) but they all followed largely on the same path and timeframe, only a few years apart.
The first engines were splash lubricated and didn’t have oil filters. When pressurized lubrication systems appeared, filter screens were added. The filtration breakthrough came in the early 1920s when Ernest Sweetland invented the Purolator (Pure Oil Later) filter that consisted of twill cloth sandwiched between perforated steel plates. It extended engine life significantly and other new companies like Fram jumped soon onto the oil filtration bandwagon. By the ‘30s, many (if not most) cars had factory fitted oil filters.
Early filters were bypass types, meaning they filtered only a small portion of oil flow at any given time… between five and 15 percent. Filter media didn’t exist then that could filter all the oil flow. That changed in the early 1940s when the first full-flow oil filters were developed. By the late ‘40s, full-flow filtration began being integrated into new engine designs and by the ‘50s, it was predominant.
The first full flow oil filters were the cartridge type; a disposable filter within a reusable canister. At service time, you dropped the canister, chucked the filter, cleaned the canister, installed new seals, added a new filter element and reassembled. This worked well, though changing them was messy and the complexity lead to oil leaks. In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford. All the parts were contained in one disposable container. It didn’t take long for this idea to predominate and by the ‘60s, most engines used spin-ons.
Filter media also evolved and progressed through screens, cotton, paper and cellulose fibers from the earliest days into the ‘70s. From there, synthetic fibers, rayon, nylon, polyester, etc., became prevalent in high end filters.
One minor correction. WIX invented the spin on filter in 1954, Fram and others then quickly followed suit.
The Wix/Fram thing is debatable. They were all pretty much working on it at the same time. I should have worded it better.. Fram was first to get an OE to offer them on new cars... which was Ford.
Wix, Fram, and puralotor were all working on spin on filters and even had some variations of them in the early fifties. I do believe that Wix was the first company to design, patent, and commercially market what we would recognise as a modern spin on filter whose basic design is still in use today.
Not trying to split hairs, just trying to be as historically accurate as possible; for posterity of course. lol...
Back around 1950 I worked part time at local gas sta and I don't recall ever changing a filter on a customers car, nor on my 38 Ford Coupe!
Probably why the motors were worn out at 50K!
Probably why the motors were worn out at 50K!
as allways Jim has the info. good history lesson, if you dont know where you came from you wont know where you are going.
From Purolator's website:
http://www.purolatorautofilters.net/news/pages/purolatorhistory.aspx
"However, during 1943 Purolator developed the first “full flow” filter that was capable of filtering 100% of the engine’s motor oil. This led to the full flow lubrication system that is in use on today’s vehicles.
In 1948, Purolator developed the first original equipment (OE) “Block mounted” oil filter. This was an important milestone in the filter industry because now the oil filter had become a standard part of the automobile engine. Earlier oil filters were typically mounted on the firewall somewhere underneath the hood of the vehicle."
So 1943 is when Purolator developed the full-flow spin-on we know of today, and by 1948 they had the OE block mounted spin-on oil filter.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford.
Looks like Purolator beat FRAM to the spin-on OE filter by about 7 years.
http://www.purolatorautofilters.net/news/pages/purolatorhistory.aspx
"However, during 1943 Purolator developed the first “full flow” filter that was capable of filtering 100% of the engine’s motor oil. This led to the full flow lubrication system that is in use on today’s vehicles.
In 1948, Purolator developed the first original equipment (OE) “Block mounted” oil filter. This was an important milestone in the filter industry because now the oil filter had become a standard part of the automobile engine. Earlier oil filters were typically mounted on the firewall somewhere underneath the hood of the vehicle."
So 1943 is when Purolator developed the full-flow spin-on we know of today, and by 1948 they had the OE block mounted spin-on oil filter.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford.
Looks like Purolator beat FRAM to the spin-on OE filter by about 7 years.
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
From Purolator's website:
http://www.purolatorautofilters.net/news/pages/purolatorhistory.aspx
"However, during 1943 Purolator developed the first “full flow” filter that was capable of filtering 100% of the engine’s motor oil. This led to the full flow lubrication system that is in use on today’s vehicles.
In 1948, Purolator developed the first original equipment (OE) “Block mounted” oil filter. This was an important milestone in the filter industry because now the oil filter had become a standard part of the automobile engine. Earlier oil filters were typically mounted on the firewall somewhere underneath the hood of the vehicle."
So 1943 is when Purolator developed the full-flow spin-on we know of today, and by 1948 they had the OE block mounted spin-on oil filter.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford.
Looks like Purolator beat FRAM to the spin-on OE filter by about 7 years.
The original quote said Purolator developed the block-mounted full-flow filter. It didn't specify a spin-on. The new 1949 Caddy and Olds V-8's had block mounted cartridge filters. So did the Chrysler Hemis. The smaller Dodge Hemi had a block-mounted shunt filter, basically a full flow with a fixed bypass rather than a pressure relief valve. GM and Chrysler converted to spin-ons a few years after Ford.
From Purolator's website:
http://www.purolatorautofilters.net/news/pages/purolatorhistory.aspx
"However, during 1943 Purolator developed the first “full flow” filter that was capable of filtering 100% of the engine’s motor oil. This led to the full flow lubrication system that is in use on today’s vehicles.
In 1948, Purolator developed the first original equipment (OE) “Block mounted” oil filter. This was an important milestone in the filter industry because now the oil filter had become a standard part of the automobile engine. Earlier oil filters were typically mounted on the firewall somewhere underneath the hood of the vehicle."
So 1943 is when Purolator developed the full-flow spin-on we know of today, and by 1948 they had the OE block mounted spin-on oil filter.
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
In 1955, Fram introduced the first spin on filter which was adopted immediately by Ford.
Looks like Purolator beat FRAM to the spin-on OE filter by about 7 years.
The original quote said Purolator developed the block-mounted full-flow filter. It didn't specify a spin-on. The new 1949 Caddy and Olds V-8's had block mounted cartridge filters. So did the Chrysler Hemis. The smaller Dodge Hemi had a block-mounted shunt filter, basically a full flow with a fixed bypass rather than a pressure relief valve. GM and Chrysler converted to spin-ons a few years after Ford.
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