Questions on adding a coolant filter

[natenkiki2004]

(TL;DR is underlined)

I've already taken the leap to buy a coolant filter and housing (Wix 24019 & 24070) to install on my 1991 Ford Explorer. I realize that it's overkill and some people might consider it unnecessary. However, I'm doing this because after yanking the engine out and in the process draining the radiator, I was surprised to see the amount of debris floating around, including the better part of a bottle of stop leak. Fast forward a few months, I still see debris floating in the radiator and overflow tank. I didn't flush the radiator or heater core when I removed the engine. I was on borrowed time at a borrowed place and wanted to get everything back together. Plus, I was naive in thinking a simple drain would get everything out. Long story short, I got the filter so that I don't have to waste the new coolant I put in or spend a lot of time doing flushes.

Anyway... both the filter and housing have a small diameter outlet. I've read online that this type of filter is meant to be a bypass style. This means that you'd split the heater line coming from the engine and have it go to both the filter and the heater core, then both lines re-join back into the water pump. That's not how I want to set this up. I want to run it from the engine through the filter, out to the heater core and back into the pump.

The problems I see with this, or have read about, are that some cars have a heater control valve that slow/block coolant from moving through the heater core. I'm pretty sure that feature was added in later years of the Explorer and in mine it flows constantly. The other issue would be that when the filter clogs up, I'll lose heat. That's not a big deal since we're approaching summer.

I want to run the filter in full-flow mode to get maximum filtration. If it happens that the filter plugs up quickly then I'll just replace it. I'd rather get the crud out quickly. Running the filter in bypass mode means many more cuts and adapters in the coolant lines which adds cost and raises the likelihood of leaks, not tons but it's something to think about.

So, finally, my question;
Is there any negative that I'm not thinking of to enlarge the hole in both the filter and housing to get more flow to the heater core?

If it turns out that I really do need to run the filter in bypass mode to get enough heat, I can always get a new filter and re-configure the hoses.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Don't. Don't even think about it. Plumb the filter in parallel with the heater core and you're done. The filter requires a slow flow to work properly. That's how it's designed to work.

If you put it in a full flow situation you'll toast your motor in short order no matter how large you can make the passage to the filter itself. If your goal is to fail your motor it would be a lot more fun to over rev the engine for an extended period and wait for it to come apart. It would certainly make a better YouTube video.

 

[AlaskaMike]

I don't really have any advice about configuring it as full flow. I'm curious what other folks might say about it though.

I did mine as a bypass. It was about as simple as it gets--just tee into both the heater core lines, and that's it.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with their experience installing as a full flow configuration since that's your preference.

 

[abycat]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Don't. Don't even think about it. Plumb the filter in parallel with the heater core and you're done. The filter requires a slow flow to work properly. That's how it's designed to work.

If you put it in a full flow situation you'll toast your motor in short order no matter how large you can make the passage to the filter itself. If your goal is to fail your motor it would be a lot more fun to over rev the engine for an extended period and wait for it to come apart. It would certainly make a better YouTube video.




+1000
also if that filter plugs your done! I also find that the heater core collects most of the junk anyway. I think it would be better to do a full flush every time you change coolant Instead of the filter.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Why would it kill the motor? I'm not plumbing the filter into the upper or lower rad hose, that'd be insane. What about cars with clogged heater cores, surely the engine doesn't die from that... What about cars with control valves that shut off or slow coolant flow to the heater core, they don't die either...

What am I missing here?

 

[rslifkin]

Especially if there's a secondary bypass other than the heater circuit, running the filter as full flow in the heater lines will be fine, provided the filter flows enough to not hurt heater output (and ideally has a bypass in case of clogging).

 

[GregGA]

I'd try some flush and fills with plain water/cleaner before I added the filter. Why spend $7 per filter trying to get it clean? That's how I did it on my Jeep 4.0. They are designed to run in by pass off the heater hoses. I used the Wix base and filters from FLEET Filter. I used Pex brass tees from Home Depot. No leaks.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Originally Posted By: GregGA
I'd try some flush and fills with plain water/cleaner before I added the filter. Why spend $7 per filter trying to get it clean? That's how I did it on my Jeep 4.0. They are designed to run in by pass off the heater hoses. I used the Wix base and filters from FLEET Filter. I used Pex brass tees from Home Depot. No leaks.


Because then I'd have to toss my current coolant (or filter it outside the vehicle) that I bought. Yea, it's not expensive but why waste it? I don't even know what to do with the coolant I pulled out 3 months ago, let alone adding another 3 gallons. Beyond that, I don't want the crud that comes out to be dumped on my property. Proper disposal is the issue here so I don't mind paying more for filters that are easier replaced than disconnecting lines and flushing and burping the system again.

I'll give in and say that maybe the engineers intended for the filter to handle a slow moving and little amount of coolant, maybe that's the reason for the bypass. I'm OK with that, I'll eat it and hook it up 'properly'.

What I still don't get is why couldn't it be hooked up as a full flow, aside from how the filter's built. Why couldn't it filter all the coolant running through the heater core. The only negative I see is that if it clogs, you won't get heat. It shouldn't kill your engine.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Originally Posted By: natenkiki2004
Why would it kill the motor? I'm not plumbing the filter into the upper or lower rad hose, that'd be insane. What about cars with clogged heater cores, surely the engine doesn't die from that... What about cars with control valves that shut off or slow coolant flow to the heater core, they don't die either...

What am I missing here?


IF you stay away from an inline installation in the upper or lower hoses that connect to the radiator then you're not plumbing the filter as a full flow filter, which is good.

When you put it in parallel with the heater it's a bypass installation. It can plug up and not effect the engine cooling system at all. It can, hooked up in this manner, take the coolant a bit at a time and filter and condition it at a slow pace, which is what you want to do. It won't hurt your heater's ability to warm and defrost the car. If you notice in many vehicles the slow flow carries crud and dumps it right into the heater core. No amount of flushing will get it all but a filter will prevent if from happening and/or eventually erode most of it away and keep the core clean including any control valves. Not having to crawl under the dash and becoming a blood donor to get the core out and replace it or a valve could be worth the price of a coolant filter system.

A long time ago I customized my cooling system with a bypass filter that also contained an additive package. I use a sacrificial disc and a water pump lubricant. I also used distilled water and zinc chromate with no anti-freeze because I never saw temperatures below 40F. The engine was disassembled at 250K miles and the cooling system looked like it was assembled yesterday, and the same for the inside of the original radiator, original heater core and original water pump.

I can't do this any more because the EPA won't let me use zinc chromate in the coolant.

 

[Fordtrucktexan]

I'd just do a chemical flush. I ran the IPR Research coolant filter on my F250 for 1.5 years before I tore it down for headgaskets and even after a chemical flush with Restore and Restore Plus, I still found a little crud in the cooling jackets.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I've done it with our NPR trucks. It won't kill the engine. The filter, in full flow, flows more than your heater hose will deliver. At least that is true of the NAPA 4070 I use.

 

[philipp10]

it would be easier to just drain and flush, then take your drained coolant and filter it with a coffee filter. Why go thru so much trouble for some crud that can easily be flushed?

 

[DoubleWasp]

Crud sometimes keeps coming back, even after a flush.

 

[philipp10]

where is it coming from?

 

[DoubleWasp]

Sand from original casting, crud from neglect by PO, abuse by same, etc. In my case, it was both of the latter.

 

[philipp10]

still releasing sand after 24 years? I guess the car being 24 years old, it could be coming from a leaky gasket??

 

[natenkiki2004]

In my case, I doubt much casting sand is left. I will say though, when I pulled the engine, I replaced some of the core plugs. The backsides had built up corrosion. I know the coolant system was long neglected so I'm betting there's a decent amount of crud in the system. My may issue/beef is getting out the stupid flakes of stop-leak. I also have a coolant leak in the lower intake manifold which will be fixed when I tear the top end apart. Not to mention, the radiator was replaced but the current one is probably 10-15 years old and could have corrosion in it.

Basically, I'm just trying to do every bit I can for this vehicle and while I have no cooling issues, why not do the best I can?

The reason for not doing flushes is that I don't want to drain that crud all over my property or have to hassle filtering out the new coolant I just put in there. I bought a NOS filter housing that will outlast the vehicle and I can move it to another vehicle at that point. Weighing the amount I have invested vs the hassle of flushing out the system, I'd rather go the spin-on route.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: philipp10
still releasing sand after 24 years? I guess the car being 24 years old, it could be coming from a leaky gasket??


General examples.

 

[philipp10]

I hear you, sounds good.

 

[widman]

I agree with putting on the filter, especially since you bought it. I doubt that it will fill up. Make sure it is one without SCA (as you have with the 24070).

If you really wanted to do a full flow (overkill) you could put on Donaldson P568664. It can handle 65 gallons per minute down to 20 um at 2000 beta.