DANMAS wrote:
>
> One last question about filters and bypass valves, and then I'll shut up -- I
> promise!
>
> I am not trying to say that anyone SHOULDN'T use a filter with a bypass valve,
> I am only asking if it is NECESSARY to use one.
Yes, it is, and many of the filters produced for modern cars, trucks and
heavy-duty diesel vehicles are bypass filters, whether one specifies
that or not. The reasoning is fairly straightforward--dirty oil is
better than no oil at all. A filter which plugs with dirt and will not
pass oil after it plugs is dangerous. Low oil flow translates to low oil
pressure, which is, as most people accept, death to any engine.
> I understand that the purpose of the bypass is to allow unfiltered oil to
> reach the block if the filter becomes clogged, and I understand that
> unfiltered oil is better than no oil at all.
A good understanding.
> My question is this: If I maintain my car well, changing oil and filter on a
> regular basis, no less often than, say every 5000 miles, is there any
> reasonable probability that the filter will become clogged to the point that
> the bypass is needed between oil changes? Is it possible that sludge will
> build up on the interior of the block over time, and then be dislodged - from
> hitting a pothole, or something like that - such that it will be sucked into
> the filter, clogging it? Or is there some other means I just don't understand
> to clog the filter, if changed regularly?
The problem, as far as the manufacturer of the filter is concerned, is
not whether _you_ obey strict oil and filter changes, but whether the
largest portion of the public does so. <g>
> Right now, I use a PH3600, and I have never worried about whether or not it
> had a bypass, because I never thought it to be important, as I change the oil
> and filter about every 1500 miles or so.
And you will likely never encounter an oil-related engine problem for
doing so, on that schedule. <g> The general public, however, is not so
sensitive to those needs. (!)
I work for a company selling heavy-duty transit buses, and you would be
amazed at the lengths to which transit agencies go to require all sorts
of bells and whistles to their buses to compensate for their mechanics
writing off oil and filter changes they have not done. There's no
substitute for filter changes. Oil? Hmmph. One could leave it in for
ages if the filter were changed frequently, without significant damage,
as compared to the damage inflicted if the filter were infrequently
changed. The only downside to that is the oxidation of the oil
additives, and cumulative carbon inclusions in the oil....
Long and short, frequent oil and filter changes will keep even a British
engine alive for a much longer period than if nothing were done, or not
done on schedule. <g> The bypass in bypass filters is a means of keeping
an engine running, rather than a means of keeping the engine in top
shape in the absence of regular prescribed maintenance.
> If it doesn't involve electrons, I get confused easily!
<smile> Oil has electrons, too... they aren't flowing through wires,
however. <g>
Cheers, Dan.
--
My other Triumph runs, but....
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