Lighter oil color after changing filter

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Messages
3,941
Location
Ohio
Here's an interesting one.

I did a long-awaited oil change on the original Louisville Sludger, a 1996 Toyota Avalon with the legendary 1MZ-FE "Sludge Commander" motor.

To this day, people on this forum whisper in hushed tones about the sea of sludge this motor unleashed upon the pristine driveways of America's motorists.

So when I did the oil change [MaxLife 5w30], I didn't have a filter wrench handy and had to put the filter change off for a day. The old filter, which I will cut open and post about at some point, seemed to have been installed with an impact wrench.

The oil color on the dipstick was a little darker than I expected with the new oil and the old filter.

When I changed the filter and ran the car for a couple of days, I checked the oil level once more and, surprise surprise, the oil color had lightened considerably!

Since I still have the old oil filter I can do a blot test of the oil that is in the canister and compare it to the output of the dipstick. But this is a subjective observation right now: The oil color had lightened with the new filter installation. Very bizarre! The old filter had no doubt been loaded up to its absolute maximum with sludge and golden bottom end bearing glitter.

One thing to note was that I ran Wal-Mart's Seafoam equivalent 'motor treatment' through the brake booster and also in the sump, immediately before changing this oil, so there will have been more crud in the old filter than in a normal case.

Has this ever happened to anyone here?

PS I found a 1MZ-FE valve cover gasket among my stash of miscellaneous engine stuff. Just one cover out of two. But its the perfect excuse for me to yank off the front valve cover and take a photo or two of the dreaded varnish that is to be. This car was criminally neglected before it fell into my hands, so I expect to see a mess of varnish and sludge when the cover comes off. 246,000 miles on this motor.
 
Oil looking cleaner after installation of a new oil filter?

Nope. Never heard of that one ...
33.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Running your new oil through what was likely a horribly filthy filter must've hurt.
it sucked bad.
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
Did you add make up oil?

No, I didnt add anything. I put my whole jugg of max life into the sump with the old filter still installed. I actually need to add oil to get the level back up to fool!
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Maybe- after installing a new BYPASS filter...

That would make so much more sense. Besides, I used a $0.75 (Walmart super blowout) Bosch filter originally supposed to be fitted to a 1980s BMW. All I cared about was matching diameter and threads, which this one did.
 
L_Sludger, there was a thread here a while back which basically proved that oil filters do NOT get more efficient with age. This is what you saw. The old oil filter was opening up, allowing tumble-through, and allowing more dirt to circulate. The new oil filter caught it. Its consistent with known effects.
 
^^^ Makes the most sense. The old filter could have had some teats in the media too.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
L_Sludger, there was a thread here a while back which basically proved that oil filters do NOT get more efficient with age. This is what you saw. The old oil filter was opening up, allowing tumble-through, and allowing more dirt to circulate. The new oil filter caught it. Its consistent with known effects.
nice post Sir. Good food for thought. That old filter was down for the count. I just need to figure out how to open it!
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
L_Sludger, there was a thread here a while back which basically proved that oil filters do NOT get more efficient with age. The old oil filter was opening up, .


Proof of this, please.
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

That would make so much more sense. Besides, I used a $0.75 (Walmart super blowout) Bosch filter originally supposed to be fitted to a 1980s BMW. All I cared about was matching diameter and threads, which this one did.


Let me guess - - D3421?
Same as D3422 but with a different bypass setting.... looks like a longer FL400s

I grabbed about 10 of them, as well!
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

That would make so much more sense. Besides, I used a $0.75 (Walmart super blowout) Bosch filter originally supposed to be fitted to a 1980s BMW. All I cared about was matching diameter and threads, which this one did.


Let me guess - - D3421?
Same as D3422 but with a different bypass setting.... looks like a longer FL400s

I grabbed about 10 of them, as well!

Congratulations my man!
cheers3.gif

The one I have started using has really blown my mind in how well-made it appears to be at first glance. And the motor of the car is just as happy with this excellent new filter. I only managed to get three. And those three were a risk as it was because I didnt have the time or inclination to stand there in the oil aisle and look up bypass setting differences between the PH3614 and the D3421.
I had already bought a Fram for the car but I couldn't resist the thought of using these nice FL400S length filters.
Now I have a Fram OCOD PH3614 that I won't ever use. Wonder what to do with it..
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top