Can you tell if filter is in bypass mode?

[ZZman]

Such as a high oil pressure guage reading that suddenly drops and stays at the lower setting?

How common would it be for a filter to go into bypass mode?

I assume it would be almost never if you changed your oil at a reasonable time.

 

[ZZman]

I assume no one would want their filter working in bypass mode.

Might an Auto-RX cleaning plug one up and cause this?

 

[dargo]

but how would you tell? Back to the org question.

 

[Gary Allan]

You won't, normally. You can "reason" that you're experiencing higher PSID if you're starting up and watch the needle swing up at a given rate and watch it slow as it finally settles at or near the relief limit (your peak pressure). The engine should be at a fairly stable speed, hence the oil pump output should be flat (otherwise). The initial upswing will be the empty/unpressurized passages filling up. The final settling will be where the PSID retreats a bit from peak.

You don't know if it's in bypass or not, but you know that there's a differential.

 

[INDYMAC]

I don't know why it would be bad for your oil filter to go into some degree of bypass if your engine needs it to. I think it would be bad if it didn't bypass the filter element if the engine needed it to.

 

[ZZman]

Good: It gets oil instead of quickly damages the motor

Bad: It gets dirty unfiltered oil circulating in the motor to slowly wear it out.

 

[INDYMAC]

Bad: It gets dirty unfiltered oil circulating in the motor to slowly wear it out. [/quote]

I guess you are assuming that the oil never passed through the filter element before it had to bypass some oil? If that's the case, then all you have to do is change your filter...it's clogged.

 

[ZZman]

Yes...but how would you know it is clogged and in bypass mode?

( I also understand from reading some more that the bypass valve can be open for a while if the oil is too thick due to cold temp. )

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
Good: It gets oil instead of quickly damages the motor

Bad: It gets dirty unfiltered oil circulating in the motor to slowly wear it out.


Worst: Filtering media ruptures, breaks loose and goes where only oil is intended.

Joel

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
Bad: It gets dirty unfiltered oil circulating in the motor to slowly wear it out.


As INDYMAC says, it's just like when the original oil filter study perceverated on leaking ADBV sending "dirty" oil back to the sump ...exactly where it came from ..in exactly the condition that it was in. One pass is just about as good as another. You're in a continuum.

Quote:
Yes...but how would you know it is clogged and in bypass mode?


You won't, not without a mount that can manage differential gauages. I've used these on 9k old filters ..but don't take my word for it, just figure that the OEMs would be really jo's if they spec'd the 7500-10,000 mile OFI for various engines when mileage is used ..and 6 months-1 year otherwise.

You would need a very dirty engine to have a bypass valve open due to loading, imo.

The bypass valve and the pump relief valve are there to put slack in an otherwise solid transmission of fluid.

 

[INDYMAC]

Some say they can tell if a filter is clogged and bypassing oil, rather than filtering, just by touching the filter after shutting the engine down. They say when the filter is hot to the touch, the filter is still filtering. But it feels cooler to the touch when it is using the bypass valve frequently. This seems to be coming from the ARX users who often find considerable debree and crud in their filters during the clean and rinse phases.
I can not confirm the "by the touch method", but it might be one tool you can use that makes some sense.

 

[PW01]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
I assume no one would want their filter working in bypass mode.

Might an Auto-RX cleaning plug one up and cause this?


It's possible in the "rinse phase", I suppose. If you suspect that you engine is that gummed up, change the filter mid-way through the application.

 

[Gary Allan]

Auto-Rx can surely have a filter totally packed with goo if the engine is loaded with softer sludge. I've had friends have it happen to them. The newer evolutions of sludge formation tend to be tar like and not the massive pudding like deposits that take years to form with stuff like too long an OCI and too short a trip interval over a decade or more of usage. This is the stuff that lea to the myths of "QS is made of wax" "PZ is made of wax" are made from. With the soft stuff, you can pack it in a short time frame. The harder stuff is more stubborn ..and will probably not saturate the filter in either phase.

In either case, the cleaning is better for the engine than any incidental insult that a bypassing filter may produce. It's sorta like Redford and Newman on the cliff. Redford is looking anxious and Newman asks "What's wrong?" Redford says, "I can't swim!" Newman laughs and says, "Ya daM fool! The fall will probably kill you!". Worry about getting the sludge condition rectified - it's the killer condition - just like the chasing posse; not the bypassing filter.

yes, if worried, changing out the filter is a good thing.

 

[Pete C.]

Long story short.....

NO you can't!!

 

[ffhdriver]

Several years ago, on a Pinto, the way I told the filter was being bypassed was that after driving I had a quart too much oil. I took off the Fram and it was almost dry. Put a Motorcraft on, oil level went to normal and I've never used a Fram since.

 

[Pete C.]

??????????????????????????

 

[Tempest]

Classic...

 

[Gary Allan]

It's a good catfish story