Bypass filters and their effectiveness

[Weatherlite]

I've read numerous posts about bypass filters and whether they are really effective in keeping engine wear down because by their very design they are filtering out the wear metals themselves.

Has anyone ever done a study on this? I haven't seen any.

If not, then I have a possible solution. What about taking two samples from the same vehicle from two different spots? Take one from the supply line to the bypass filter and take one from the return line. Compare the two results and you "should" get an accurate indication of how much the filter is skewing your analysis results.

Granted, this is much too small of a test to be truely scientific but it would be a good indicator IMO. If this method was repeated enough times on many vehicles it should be fairly accurate I would think.

Any opinions?

Mikie

 

[Neil Womack]

Go to fleetguard.com. They have a downloadable PDF file in the company library concerning by-pass filters.

To be sure they would like to sell you one of their by-pass setups. But they bring up some interesting observations.

I'm still waiting on an independent evaluation of by-pass systems in an everyday application. Sure by-pass is probably great for removing soot from stationary, marine, railroad and long haul diesels. What good is it to me, Joe Q Public, who trades his vehicles at less than 200,000 miles. Or even my tractor applications does it make a real difference?

 

[RalphPWood]

Weatherlite,
You might check with Eglin AFB FL, Jacob Detwiler (MEEP) 904 882-4217 ext 226 Maintenance Equipment Evaluation Program. I believe I found that on a North Carolina website. North Carolina, Shell Oil, Chevron, Cummins and a bunch of others have been testing bypass filters for a long time. Some since the 1930's.
The problem is clean oil doesn't generate profits like dirty oil. Things are changing slowly. Right now most of the toilet paper and paper towel filters are going to Shell Oil, The Military, NASA, North Carolina Department of Transportation, etc. Most are made by Gulf Coast filters Inc. in Gulfport, MS.
I brought back the Motor Guard submicronic bypass filters of California because it is my personal favorite. It's the easiest to service. Run your filter 10,000 miles and send a sample to a lab. Don't change the oil. Install a Motor Guard M-30 and go another 10,000 miles. I'll furnish the filter if you share the results with us.
You will need to change the filter more often but you will get a lower wear rate. You also should not need to ever drain your oil.

Ralph

 

[Weatherlite]

Ralph, I'll see if I can get ahold of him. I say IF because in less than a week I'm moving to Idaho. Yep, the Air Force is transferring me! Of course I could probably just check with "trans" (now a part of the "Logistics Readiness Squadron") at Mountain Home AFB and talk to them.

Hey...just had a thought. If they don't have a bypass program in place I could refer em to this board I guess. That is actually how our base started using the Gulf Coast filters on our robots. Yes, I said robots. (Long story...if ya want to know though just ask)

Also, I already have an Oil Guard filter on my Excursion. A PITA to install because I bought it off of an individual who did not have the fittings any more. Got it to work just fine though. I was considering going the Gulf Coast or Motor Guard route but didn't like the thought of having to change the filter every 3000 like I would on a regular FF. I know that they are claimed to be sub-micronic but I guess convenience took the lead on this one.

I just had one thought though...why couldn't a GC or MG bypass be installed AFTER the Oil Guard? What I'm getting at is this: the Oil Guard would filter out all of the crap down to 3 microns and then feed the cleaner oil to the MG or GC bypass filter. Obviously the second bypass would clean down to...I think you claim .01 micron? Anyway, since everything above 3 microns would be filtered out beforehand wouldn't this extend the life of the paper filter? Would this be an alternative way to still get the effectiveness of the paper roll filter while gaining more mileage between changes?

I just had one more thought...in theory, one could even install petcock valves after each filter and then take an oil analysis from each so that their effectiveness could be compared on the same engine rather than trying to compare them when running on different test engines.

*phew* I'd better stop coming up with ideas! This is gonna get expensive soon!

If I do this I'll let you guys know the results!

Mikie

 

[RalphPWood]

Weatherlite,
Nothing is etched in stone. If you have some imagination you can do anything. A missionary in Mexico has a big Lubrafiner heavy duty diesel filter with a little Gulf Coast 0-1 jr down stream to finish cleaning the oil. You can get a big Wix element at O'Reilly Auto Parts to fit the big Lubrafiner for about 10.00. He has a Ford Powerstroke.
I have a list of military contacts from Gulf C0oast filters. It gets obsolete fast. If you know anyone that might be interested in talking to military users check with Charlie Sims at 800 398 8114 for a current list of contacts.
The Motor Guard is known as a compressed air filter but they started as a motor oil filter. Thus the name Motor Guard. They have always claimed to filter down to 1/100th of one micron.
I have mixed up lamp black that is supposed to average 1/20th of one micron and it removed all of the black in the first pass with either toilet paper or their special element. They use the special element for compresed air or synthetic oil in vacuum pumps. It's similar paper to what is used in pleated paper filters but it is rolled instead of pleated. The element has a 175 degree F limit. I remove the plastic core and install a TP core. I use them as is for gasoline or diesel fuel with a Viton O ring. I brought back the Motor Guard to use with a PermaCool sandwich adapter. Then I decided it was the only small filter I need. It does it all. I don't need a secondary filter for fuel. The fuel goes from the filter to the injection system. Probably go 100,000 between changes with gasoline.

Ralph