Jonnie Santos said:
...so this is not a typical relocation kid, rather a second filter, right?
How do you get pressure to the secondary filter?, a pump or some type of
splitter off of the oem filter? (just curious) Cool pic - like the gauge
too.
No problem, curiosity is good. It is a second filter that operates in
bypass of the original filter that is on the vehicle. The flow
through this filter is tiny - only 8-10cc (1 inch squared) per second
and thus the pressure can come from the main oil pump. It allows the
primary filter to do it's job of providing lubricant free from large
particles to the engine internals but squeezes out particles 1-2
micrometers in size 100%. The regular filters are made of pleated
paper and only filter down to 30 micrometers. To feed oil pressure to
the filter, you must use either a sandwich adapter or a tee. The
sandwich adapter acts as a sandwich between the engine block and the
OEM spin-on filter. The tee must be installed in place of the oil
pressure sender. You do not replace the oil pressure sender, just
relocate it (what the tee is for). FYI, the OPS turns on the light
that warns when oil pressure is low. You can get all the necessary
plumbing and hoses from hardware stores and automotive parts stores.
Use RTV for the thread sealant - I've found that it makes perfect
seals that are resistant to vibration. You also need to find a place
to mount the big filter. On large trucks it is a piece of cake but
with smaller cars you have to be more creative. With my Saturn, I
bought a battery relocation kit and relocated it to the trunk.
SAE had determined that the particles that cause the most wear in
engines come in sizes from 20 to 5 micrometers. They say that 70% of
engine wear comes from contaminated oil thus if you were to put on a
bypass filter that gets the crud out of the oil you will get almost
70% more engine life. And when the oil picks up the dirt deposits
(like sludge) in the engine the BP filter removes this dirt thus your
engine internals get cleaned up pretty good. Engine noise decreases
and you get better performance.
I was reading with some relocation kits it was critical to get the right
filter that either had the valve built in or not depending on the automaker,
and the concern was it would take a while to get oil flow on start-up.
With either the Frantz, Motorguard, or Gulf Coast filters, the
diverting of some oil flow is so minimal that it does not effect the
main filter or the amount of flow to the engine. In fact there is a
check valve in the oil pump that allows more flow when the engine
needs it. Unless you drag race your car the oil pump will not come
close to its maximum flow output.
When the BP filter is saturated with oil, you can basically neglect
its effect during startup. There is one exception however, when you
change the BP filter, the new filter isn't saturated with oil. The
oil flow through the inlet hose to the BP filter is higher when there
is air in the system because the air moves quickly through the filter.
But the BP filter is saturated in a couple seconds and then the oil
flows at the normal 8-10cc rate. For this reason I screwed on a
shutoff valve to it and only partially open this valve when a new BP
filter is installed. I then open the valve completely after a minute
of engine running. This is when I know the BP filter is saturated
with oil. A ball valve can be bought at a hardware store for a couple
of bucks.
In any case, it is a good idea for your OEM spin-on filter to have
what is called an anti-drainback valve. This valve closes when the
engine is turned off and keeps the oil that is coating the engine from
draining into the oil pan. It helps to reduce startup wear because
more oil is coating the inside of your engine when you turn the key.
A bypass filter will clean out your oil thus you won't have to change
either the OEM oil filter or the oil as often.
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