If you plugged your Oil Filter Bypass, what oil filters do u use ???

[SwaveDave]

Im going to plug the Oil FIlter Bypass , but want to be sure i use the best oil filter available that is strong and seals well. What filter are you using if you plugged the bypass ? Have you had any problems after doing this modification ?
Thanks,


SwaveDave

 

[Vette/Berlina-coupe]

-have you checked with Lunati/Hyd.Roller-cams to see what their wisdom is on this critical alteration? Would be afraid the lifters might pump-up at hi-rpm's! Are you loosing oil-pressure at idle or what... ~Bob vH
:eek

-OK Dave, now see (below) what you are up to, ---how about just increasing the relif-valve opening-pressure to say about 90% of your hot-oil idle-pressure, so more of the oil is directed through your filter; --but not really sure this is correct either. The K&N-filter you located sounds plausable, but see what their Tech-reps. advise, and let us know what they think about your FullTime-filter notion. Recall finding a german high-pressure oil-filter for the high-output oil-pump I installed on the hi-performance VW-bug 1835cc air-cooled engine in my old Bradley-GT2 kitcar...

 

[SwaveDave]

Bob,

No. Not loosing oil pressure at idle. IN fact, with the new Melling HiFlow oil pump, im getting 65 psi at idle and 70 plus at 2000 rpms and above.

I simply want to have ALL my oil filtered all of the time and offer the greatest amount of particulate protection to the newly rebuilt motor. As a precaution however, i plan on installing an oil pressure switch to stop the engine in case pressure should become unsafely low (say...15 psi). This is a common modification with Racers and many Street Rods do it too. The key is to use a high burst/ low restriction oil filter that seals well. K and N is rated at 500 psi and flows 12 gpm , so , im going to give it a try.

Not worried about pump up at high rpms, since i never go beyond 5,000 (and that is rare). Street use only.

Dave

 

[cruzer99]

I would think that if you are that concerned about "dirty" oil that you simply change the oil more often. I think you need to look at the dirty conditions a lot of race engines are exposed to.
The bypass is there for a reason and I always try to think of the billions of $ Detroit spends on R & D and figure maybe they know something I don't.
I think of some of the "magic additives" that some companys sell to extend the life of your engine to a million miles like the one they add to a car and drive around on a race track without any oil for an hour. Do you think that if that was true Detroit would wait more than 5 seconds before putting it in every car they sold?
Sorry if I rambled on about this.........

 

[vettepilot]

Dirty oil is better than no oil... I wouldn't eliminate the bypass for a street car. Remember, true race only engines are torn down every few runs, or more often.
vettepilot

 

[JohnZ]

The bypass valve is there for a reason - I'd leave it alone; just change your oil on a schedule that makes you feel comfortable.

 

[MaineShark]

A backup filter would make more sense than a direct bypass. Maybe someone has already done this, and I just haven't heard of it, but shouldn't it be possible to add a second filter which would normally be unused, but which would recieve the oil if the main filter got clogged. After all, if the filter suddenly gets clogged, that probably means there was a mechanical failure in the engine, and you probably don't want that crud getting sent back to your bearings.

Makes sense to me, anyway, but maybe there's something that makes it impractical. I would think that a pair of those filter-relocation kits, along with some creative machining and plumbing, would do the job.

Joe

 

[SwaveDave]

Cruzer82,

I hear what youre saying and i used to think that Car Manufacturers were on top of everything that they built ; but...take for instance your radiator and a/c condensor --- if you look at virtually ANY car, y oull find a huge air space on the sides (and sometimes top and bottom) , where alot of air is being bypassed around . Wouldnt you think that thier R an D could design it tighter so the radiator and condensor would receive better cooling ?? On every car i buy , i seal up those huge gaps.

Ive been told , that, in actual operation...the oil filter bypass is bypassing oil not only on startup when the oil is cold...but continues to cycle even after the motor is warm. I read recently that, GM uses only a 4 psi differential setting for the bypass valve - this means youre in bypass mode much of the time.

I do , in fact, change my oil with filter every 2500 miles and use synthetic . But i want to offer my newly rebuilt motor maximum protection from dirt, etc... To get around any chance of a plugged oil filter... i shall keep an eye on the pressure guage and will have a backup oil pressure switch to shut off the engine .

Dave

 

[lucky76]

Blow a seal

If you block the oil bypass (somehow, I don't know how you plan to do this unless you do it at the filter) you will probably blow a seal somewhere, rear main or somewhere when you hit about 5000 rpm's. I don't see how a filter could get clogged during regular oil changes.

Cruzer82,

I hear what youre saying and i used to think that Car Manufacturers were on top of everything that they built ; but...take for instance your radiator and a/c condensor --- if you look at virtually ANY car, y oull find a huge air space on the sides (and sometimes top and bottom) , where alot of air is being bypassed around . Wouldnt you think that thier R an D could design it tighter so the radiator and condensor would receive better cooling ?? On every car i buy , i seal up those huge gaps.

Ive been told , that, in actual operation...the oil filter bypass is bypassing oil not only on startup when the oil is cold...but continues to cycle even after the motor is warm. I read recently that, GM uses only a 4 psi differential setting for the bypass valve - this means youre in bypass mode much of the time.

I do , in fact, change my oil with filter every 2500 miles and use synthetic . But i want to offer my newly rebuilt motor maximum protection from dirt, etc... To get around any chance of a plugged oil filter... i shall keep an eye on the pressure guage and will have a backup oil pressure switch to shut off the engine .

Dave

 

[Twin_Turbo]

The bypass is a bad design IMO, it lets unfiltered oil through when the engine is cold, this to keep the oil filter from bursting at very high pressure. The bypass can also bypass oil when the engine is warm, it depends on what wieght oil you use, the pressure spring & potential of the oil pump and the restrictiveness of the oil filter (a plugged one). I have always ran without the bypass. The trick is to use a long style filter, preferrably with a tough case. I run wix fitlers exclusibly now but have used System 1 cleanable filters in the past, that's about the toughest case out there because the filter is an aluminium case, very strong.
You can plug the bypass by easily by replacing the screw on apater with a non bypassing type. Most oil filter sandwich adapters for running oil coolers are also non bypassing. With the blocked bypass and a high capacity filter there's no chance of any damage. You can NOT blow out a seal because the bypass is in front of the oil system, apart from the rear main.

This is what I use now:

Swave, just get a non bypassing adapter, I have always liked it and you will like it also.

As for the racing engine comment, read comments above, any serious engine will be equipped with a dry sump system or at lest a hybrid systems. They will almost exclusibely (in case of hybrid or wet systems) run a non bypassing adapter.

 

[vette75406]

USE A ac delco pf932 or gm 25010754 , this is a 2 qt full flow filter that i have used on my car with a blocked bypass , btw it does not have an internal bypass either, this filter requires plenty of room under your filter mount as it is long , it comes down even with the bottom of the oil pan , it was factory on medium duty big block trucks with 366/427 tall deck motors , good luck , james

 

[geekinavette]

I've been running without a bypass for over 2 years now...and it's seen 5000+ several times. I have the high-volume oil pump but swapped the springs to the lower pressure one that came with the pump.

Bill

 

[goingballistic]

I'm in the process of building a 383. The racing guys that I'm working with are suggesting that I block off the bypass as well, I plan to do this. They suggest a long type filter and change the oil religously, every 1000 miles!!!

The thing this does save, as many have said before, is that you do not allow unfiltered oil into the engine under any circumstances and with a new engine, I'm not willing to run that risk. Oil relief valving was designed to compenstate for people who do not change their oil. If you are serious about doing this, change the oil regulary, period................you're going to have problems if you don't. As twin turbo stated, the bypass is a bad design but there for a reason, the average every day driver......not for more serious drivers who care about the car.

Cheers.

 

[patsnitrovette]

Dirty oil is better than no oil... I wouldn't eliminate the bypass for a street car. Remember, true race only engines are torn down every few runs, or more often.
vettepilot

Our circle track race motors ran all season without a tear down with the bypass blocked and no wear at all on anything,i also run my street motors with bypass blocked too.Use a good race filter like frams hp series or wix racing.

 

[motorman]

Im going to plug the Oil FIlter Bypass , but want to be sure i use the best oil filter available that is strong and seals well. What filter are you using if you plugged the bypass ? Have you had any problems after doing this modification ?
Thanks,


SwaveDave

i have blocked the oil filter bypass on many SBC and BBC engines with no problem and i use AC filters. the bypass is there in case you for get to change the filter and it plugs up. if you check older chevy engines you will see more scratches in the rear main bearing insert than others because the by passed dirty oil gets to the rear main first