I have just fitted a twin filter Trans-Adapt remote oil filter to the 347 Pontiac in my Modified. The old cartridge filter has a bypass valve for when the filter gets blocked or oil pressure is very high (cold starting etc). The trans-adapt unit doesn't have such a valve and I am told it relies on the bypass valves in the filters. Is this correct? The filters are Fram PH8A. Can anyone tell me if they actually do contain a pressure bypass valve before I cut one open to find out (which would be a pain as they are a special order item over here).
I believe some of the new filters do have a by pass in them now. My truck takes a AC PF1218 this filter has also replaced the PF 25 and 35 which were common small block oil filters in the past. It seems I read that it repllaced them because the only difference is that the 1218 had a by pass and the others did not. I have noticed that the last few AC filters I have bought seem like they are getting cheaper built. I will probably from here on switch to Fram the last one of those I bought seemed to look like the AC filters used to. I checked the Fram and it has the same bypass passages the AC did.
FRAM ALERT.....WE HAVE HAD AND HEARD OF NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS OF FRAM FILTERS CAUSING OIL PRESSURE PROBLEMS. THIS IS FACT. They will come apart and block up passeges...Don't use em. Try a Balwdin or Wix. Mark
I can only speak on AC Delco stuff that I'm most familiar with. None of the currently available filters have internal bypass. The changes made from the PF25-35 to the PF1218 were in the drainback valve which is to keep the oil filter full when shut down.....sort of an anti-siphon rubber flap internal to the filter. This drainback thing wasn't a problem until the OEMs started using alot of external engine oil coolers. I'd make sure that if your oil filter system is a "full flow"....you need a bypass or eventually you will blow off a filter, if your system is a "bypass" type (oil to the filter is bleed off from an oil passage like a flathead) then you have no cause for concern.
Just found some spec sheets and I see that many modern filters do have a bypass valve as well as an anti-drain back valve. In the Wix equivalent to the FRAM PH8A the bypass valve is an 18 - 22 psi differential pressure relief valve designed to provide sufficient oil flow should the media become plugged or clogged. I have heard about the FRAM quality issue and will swap them for Wix filters after a short mileage.
Fwiw - NAPA store brand filters are made by WIX. Look on the back of the box to see the "Made by WIX" info. Along those lines, does anyone know who makes Carquest filters?
I sell Wix filters and have never had a quality problem in 12 years. The Wix number for PH8A is 51515. You can use a 51068, it is a little shorter. You can also use a 51773, which is longer and has more surface area for increased capacity.
I also retail the Wix filters and have never had anyone complain about them. Not just on new vehicles either, one guy that comes in has a '32 plymouth, another has a late 40's ford (never seen it hes just told me and i forget the year) and a few guys with mid 60's triumphs. Ok, heres a quick rundown on who makes most filters.... Champion Labs makes: AC Delco, Bosch, Car and Driver, Deutsch, Mobil 1 and STP. Various names from various retialers (kmart, walmart, Autozone etc) all made by champion labs (in a few diff versions, ie premium etc). Fram makes: Fram (duh), some MOPAR, Penzoil and Quakerstate, Purolater makes: Purolater (once again, duh), MotoCraft, Powerflo and Proline. WIX (aka Dana) makes; WIX and NAPA (all Silver, Gold, and Nascar Select Series). In my opinion the best. .... ok ya so im a lil biased since i work at NAPA but even withouth that fact there still my favorite filter.
Over here most of those makes (including wal-mart) are unavailable. We can get FRAM and Wix recently appointed the UK motor factor Quinton-Hazell as their UK agent so it is now possible to buy those. Just shows how hard you have to try to be a rodder here - you can't even get an oil filter for a Small Block Chevy without ordering it up from a specialist.
WIX (aka Dana) makes; WIX and NAPA (all Silver, Gold, and Nascar Select Series). In my opinion the best. .... ok ya so im a lil biased since i work at NAPA but even withouth that fact there still my favorite filter.[/quote] Wix also makes all CarQuest filters (Red line, Blue line, and Nascar Select). I'm a CarQuest jobber so I agree they are the best. I can't talk trash about NAPA filters, they are excellent.
I think there's always a bypass in full-flow system, but some engines have it in the engine and some in the filter. Fords and Chryslers (talking 1960's stuff, here) have bypass within the cartridge, Chevy V8's had it in the casting beneath the filter. These things open at a specific pressure drop, in other words when filter is significantly blocking flow, as in cold engine, high RPM/high flow, filter clogged with dirt. I seem to remember 7lbs as the magic number for Chevy?? The hop up books used to say that on a Chevy you could block the bypass on a race motor if you had good parallel duals or the huge truck filter.
How about using a quality oil filter such as a Mann or VOLVO oem filters for your ride. ........ Do not use Fram, Wix, STP or any discount house generics: they lack either quality filtering media or a working anti-drainback valve.........H
I use WIX, Hastings, Purolator Plus and Motorcraft only. My one try in a pinch on a Sunday evening with a WalMart Fram resulted in a 15# pressure drop.
You can buy 'em either way, just go to a legit autoparts and not a supermarket, and tell the counter guy what you want.
Most factory replacement filters are equipped with a bypass. Fram Filters collapse. IMHO,Wix is the best filter on the market for the average Joe at this time.
Snapper, you refer to a "generic" filter and then name wix etc.... i really think most filters are "generic" since the majority of them are made by either wix, champion labs, purolater etc. Second....a Volvo oem filter? 1. why thehell would you put a volvo part on an old american motor? and 2. theone time i have ever delt with a volvo filter went like this; one of my wholesale customers calls and orders a filter, we send him the computer recomended filter from our stock....turns out his was a mid-year model of that vehicle so we look up the other filter, and itsnot in stock. This guy is one of our biggest customers and was frustrated. So we do a paid-out and gethim a Volvo filter on us, as kinda an appology/ammends. We send it over and an hour or so later he calls ranting. The f*ckin filter was defective. Ya, the expensive dealer filter we bought for him was defective... the screw in opening was cross-threaded. (this filter was BRAND NEW in unopend box, so it wasnt messed up by somebody else). I have and always will support my "generic" filter.
I use K&N on my hot rod. I have never heard either pro or con about them but they have a hex knob on the bottom that is handy to get the filter removed, especially in a tight place. I always used a WIX or NAPA gold on my race motors.
Sort of OT but related. Anyone here use a Motor City Flathead - flathead - oil pump? (sends oil out the BOTTOM of the pump, through the side of the pan, through a filter and back into the engine at the original oil pressure gauge outlet) The filter was missing when I got this setup. What filter should I use? Do I need a filter with a by-pass? And should I consider the possibility of drain-back; maybe a filter with a check valve ability?
I modified a new oil pump like the one from Motor City and set up an oil filter inside the stock cannister housing. (I'm gonna get some pics together and write a tech thread about it) You HAVE to run a filter with a bypass if your filter base doesn't have one as the system is full flow and ANY blockage will have a bad effect on your engine. Check the filter websites, they tell you what models have a the bypass, or take the base to a parts place and get them to match one up. Flatman
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