Amsoil Dual Remote Bypass Install & Grand Prix

[SyntheticShield]

I wasnt quite sure where to post this so I'll start here and hopefully I got it right.

I have an Amsoil dual remote bypass set up that I yanked from my previous vehicle before trading it in and would like to install it on my Grand Prix GTP (2001). Does anyone have any pictures of one installed in a 1997 or newer Grand Prix? I have an idea of where it may end up, but I would like to see some other options if anyone has some pics. I got Amsoil in the motor and tranny and would dearly love to get my bypass filters installed.

At any rate, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, I don't know the internals of the Grand Prix ..but if you can physically lay it inside the engine compartment ..and as long as it isn't going to hit any rotating parts ..then just tie it fast with zip ties ..and leave enough slack in the lines to allow you to place a drain pan under it for servicing. It's done by more than a few.

 

[SyntheticShield]

Now THAT I would not have ever thought of. I would have been extremely reluctant to 'zip tie' something like a bypass system, LOL.

First it aint light and secondly if that sucker ever let go, there goes my oil and most likely my engine.

 

[deepsquat]

quote:

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Originally posted by SyntheticShield:
Now THAT I would not have ever thought of. I would have been extremely reluctant to 'zip tie' something like a bypass system, LOL.

First it aint light and secondly if that sucker ever let go, there goes my oil and most likely my engine.

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not really ..if it let go ...and I have had mine zip tied for over a year to the master cylinder for the tranny and 4 years to the radiator shroud for the engine ..but if it were to let go were will it fall to ...I bet you you can't MAKE it hit the ground ..beacuse it just can't fit past the hoses and wires ..not to mention the under-pan plastic thing that most car have between the engine and the ground ....go for it !

 

[SyntheticShield]

Yeah, you are correct in that it probably wouldnt fall far. The Grand Prix has a couple of shrouds or whatever you want to call them between the radiator and the front grille. There were air ducts from the front two grilles directing air flow directly to the radiator in what seemed like a restrictively small area. Then it has one other that served only as a mount for the outside air temp sensor and probably just added support. I removed those and left the lower shroud that would keep things such as the bypass system from falling completely to the ground.

I suppose what I could do is spin on the filters and mount it without actually hooking it up and use the zip ties and see how it does over a week or two. I did that with the Focus when I had it mounted to it to make sure nothing was going to vibrate loose as it would have fell to the ground and under the drivers side front wheel had it ever fell off on that vehicle.

I'll give it a shot, though, not to be combative, Im hesitant. I'll get some heavy duty zip ties and some small strips of rubber foam to keep the zip ties from making contact with any edges that would eat into them. Its not how I would normally do things, but hey if it holds up who am I to complain.

The OLM says I have about 20% life left on the oil (Amsoil 10W30) with about 5500 miles on the oil so I'll pull a sample then and if the bypass mounting holds up I can hook everything up then and keep on going.

 

[SyntheticShield]

By the way, just in case there was any question, the location I have picked out is behind the front bumper between it and the radiator. There is plenty of room there to do that and it would allow me to put the bypass on the passenger side of the car which is the side the full flow filter is and would keep the hose length as short as its gonna get as there isnt anywhere else to mount it that I can find. Changing the filters wont be totally simple but I shouldnt have to mess with it all that often so it wont be a big deal.

 

[Lance]

I would trust zip ties. We use zip ties to hold heavy wiring harnesses to landing gear struts on our regional airliners. These are huge zip ties, that don't need doubling up or anything, 3/8" wide. The only place you don't see them is inside the engine nacelle (heat) or in fuel tanks (fuel solvency). There are hundreds of them holding wiring in place. The BLACK ones are usually UV resistant, the white ones not.

 

[SyntheticShield]

When I get home from work tomorrow I'll spin on the filters and mount the thing up. I know you guys are giving the zip ties a thumbs up, but I'll just drive with it mounted and not connected for my own peace of mind, at least until the OLM says its time to change at which point I'll just pull a sample for analysis.

I dont think the holes in the mount are big enough for zip ties 3/8" wide, but I suppose I could open them up some. I can see a 3/8" wide zip tie being able to hold quite a bit. I guess my concern then would be vibration up against a metal edge or something that would eventually cut through.

Thanks for the idea guys, I definately wouldnt have considered such a thing on my own, but it isnt going to do any harm in trying it out. Any special considerations or procedures I should use or just get some good zip ties and be done with it?

 

[johnd]

I've done a couple of installations using long oil lines to coolers or filters. My rule is inspect yearly and replace hoses every other year. Depending on how hot it gets where you live and how safe you need to be, you might be able to go longer. I'd stay away from emissions and heater hose too. Get real hydraulic line it's expensive but it is worth the peace of mind. My son used emissions hose on the remote full flow filter on his VW Beatle and blew up the high side line on a test drive.

 

[SyntheticShield]

Im in Oklahoma, so its gets pretty toasty here as Im sure it does in Austin as well. The bypass system came with hoses and all needed to complete the installation. The hoses 'I believe' are rated for 500 psi or something like that. I still have the same hoses from the last vehicle the bypass system was on and they are in great shape so Im not concerned about them.

I dont doubt the zip tie being able to hold the bypass unit in place, my main concern would be just vibration that would cause and edge or something like that to rub into or cut into one of the zip ties, though Im going to get some heavy duty ones and use a couple of them and hopefully if one should get cut then the others will hold long enough.

The other issue the full flow oil filter and the hoses feeding it. The full flow filter is literally a half an inch or so from the crank pulley (Nice engineering GM). Which means my lines are going to have to be relatively close to the crank pulley too. Im hoping the route Ive looked at to run the lines will allow me to secure them well enough that wont be an issue. It should be okay it just doesnt make me feel none comfortable where that full flow filter is. Though thousands of Grand Prix's have been sold and I know of no full flow filter that has been damaged being in that location, I dont like it nonetheless. I really wish there were and after market product that would turn the oil filter mount from its angle towards the crank pulley to a straight up and down position. Its bad enough GM put it as close as they did to the crank pulley but they went one step further and angled the sucker towards it so its even closer.

The filter adapter and the hose fittings I have should allow me to turn the feed and return lines enough to keep it safely from the crank pulley, we shall see though.

I'll stop ranting now.

 

[Shaman]

Special considerations? Does your GP have the full fan mounting stuff between the nose and the radiator area? Earlier GP’s didn’t have all the plastic in there. It would help direct air better, drop temps some, and be more plastic to keep the Bypass from falling if it didn’t. Might just look into the lower because the upper would keep you from the filters, unless you are considering changing them through the front grills.

 

[SyntheticShield]

It did have all the plastic in there. I pulled all but the lower plastic piece that spans the front end, which is how I came up with the room to mount the bypass, otherwise there would have been virtually no other options that I was able to find.

I'll have to pull the lower shroud to change the filters and it will be a little hassle to do so, which I wish werent the case but for now it will have to do. It isnt ideal but for as little as I will have to mess with changing the filters it wont be too bad.

Maybe if I can fit one of Amsoils new Ea air filters on the intake and keep dirt from getting in I'll have to mess with it even less. We shall see. Oil analysis will give me the info I need to know for sure.

 

[Shaman]

DId you think about the rig by Drew I showed you?

 

[SyntheticShield]

You'll have to refresh my memory. I think I know what you refering too, but Im not 100%.

 

[Shaman]

The truck conical air filter on the end of the stock pipe.

 

[SyntheticShield]

Oh yeah. I did consider that. I couldnt tell too much about how it was put together from the picture you sent, but I think what I went with is close to that with the exception I modified and used an Amsoil TS191 cone filter. I figured if that showed high levels of Si then I would go with the paper filter. But now Amsoil has come out with the Ea filters that according to the information they have up would still allow excellent airflow but be on the level of a paper filter in filtration.

I hope they dont do away with their foam filters as I like them and have always had good success with them.

My OLM says I got 23% oil life left, so I figure by the end of the month or so I should be pulling an oil sample and we'll know whether the foam filter has done its job or not.