The oil filter is created to eliminate contaminants from lubricating, engine, hydraulic, and transmission oil. Many different types of machinery use oil filters. Our interest in oil filters is their use in internal-combustion engines in motor vehicles. In addition, hydraulic systems in vehicles like power steering and automatic transmissions often contain an oil filter. This article focuses on the Automotive Engine Oil Filter application whereby motor oil is filtered. However, the concepts are similar irrespective of which fluid is being filtered or the end use of the oil filter.
Uses of motor oil
- It helps cool the engine by transferring heat.
- It makes soot suspend that forms as a result of combustion
- Suspends wear particles
- Absorbs contaminants
- Seals piston ring – cylinder bore interface
- Lubricates internal parts
Some contaminants suspend while some chemically bond with additives. The additives make up to one-fourth of motor oil’s composition by volume. One reason filters are used in modern engines is to prevent the wear of internal parts due to oil becoming saturated with contaminants.
History
Automotive engine designs did not use oil filtration initially. This is because oil was discarded after every 500 to 2000 miles or the engine burned or oil leakage during normal operation. We used the new oil to compensate for the lost “dirty” oil. Pressure lubrication introduced the need for filtration to prevent excessive wear and damage to the oil pump. Initially, the oil pump intake used only screens or simple wire meshes. Some designs allowed removal and periodic cleaning, while others were permanent. We reused the oil filter after cleaning, often in kerosene in most cases.
In 1923, George Greenhalgh and Ernest Sweetland invented the modern oil filter and were granted a patent in 1929th. They named the new product “Purolator,” a combination of these words: “PURE OIL LATER.”
In the lubricating system, we included the new oil filter after the oil pump and before the oil moved into the pressure-lubricated bearings of the engine. The first pressure lubrication system with an oil filter was available on a high-volume production engine in 1924th. In the beginning, the oil filters we used had low performance and were ineffective. Most popular and successful engine designs like FIAT and VW didn’t use oil filters until the 1970s.
Some engines used oil filters only in “bypass” but were not used in the main flow of pressurized oil. In 1946, the first utilization of a full-flow oil filter occurred during the mass production of vehicles. In the 1950s, we introduced the “spin-on” oil filter design. In the 1960s, car oil filters that we reused were replaced with more efficient “spin-on” disposable oil filters.
From 1964 to 1967, improved full-flow oil filters were available. We made additional improvements from 1968-1971. we used the “spin-on” oil filters mainly in the US, Japan, and most European designs. Oil filtration became a must since engine build tolerances got tighter and faster revving of engines. Therefore, every diesel and gasoline automotive engine comes with oil filters.
How filter works
Engine oil system
An oil pump pushes oil from the oil sump via the oil filter and disperses it via the oil passages to the entire engine to the bearing surfaces that require lubrication. The less critical areas that don’t require pressurized oil lubed up and cooled by oil splashes, such as valve guides and valve stems.
Oil filter
The oil passes the oil filter under pressure via hollow spaces on the perimeter of the base plate. The contaminated oil then passes via the filter, where it is cleaned. Finally, the oil flows via the central tube and into the engine via a threaded hollow center mounting stud.
[two_third]The Base gasket
The base gasket prevents oil leakage and maintains a spin-on Oil Filter for the engine. Some vehicles such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and most motorcycles use cartridge oil filters whereby only the inner of a spin-on oil filter is held without an outer can.
The functioning of the filter is still the same, although, for the re-usable, the outer casing is held to the engine by mounting bolts. This is safer because the detainment of the casing doesn’t depend only on the base gasket tension.
Most engines pump oil at rates exceeding one gallon per minute. If you find out that the oil is under pressure from 5 PSI to 100 PSI, depending on the engine type and design, you should know that the base gasket integrity is lost, and all the engine oil will be lost in a few minutes. This could lead to a permanent or catastrophic engine failure, irrespective of how good your oil is. The engine will fail if no oil is left in the engine. Therefore, the base gasket is the most critical section of the “spin-on” oil filter design. The base gasket can spoil with time more than with mileage.
It may either soften or harden. In either issue, the gasket tension is relieved and grasps the filter to the engine. The material and quality of the base gasket determine how long the filter is used. The cheap oil filters used in quick oil change fits and sold in discount stores are not used more than the recommended 3-month/3000-mile interval no matter what oil is used.
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The base gasket on a cheap oil filter is not intended or designed for long-term use. It is prone to both high and low-temperature extremes. OEM or more expensive premium oil filters are utilized for the maximum oil filter interval specified by the OEM.
Oil filters such as SynLube™ and MicroGlass™ have a long life and are engineered to be used from two to five years without change. Unfortunately, the Viton base gasket used in a long-life oil filter is expensive compared to a typical complete spin on Oil Filter.
Primary oil filters
They are standard on the majority of modern engines. They are known as full-flow reasons being a hundred percent of the engine oil passes via the oil filter in normal operation. Filters must function without many restrictions on the fluid flow; otherwise, oil won’t flow inside the engine during cold start-ups. The full-flow filter permits the passage of small contaminants since trapping everything will restrict the flow of oil or make the filter very large. If filer media blockage happens in the filter, a “bypass valve” opens at specific differential pressure. This permits the oil to pass around the filter media and back to the engine. In such a situation, lubing with unfiltered oil is better than none.
Bypass filters
Since primary filters don’t eliminate tiny particles on engines designed for functioning in harsh conditions and for long service, another Bypass Filter is installed. They are also known as Secondary Filters.
Bypass Filters usually take a small portion of the normal flow of oil, often less than ten percent, and usually about one percent, and additional cleaning. This is because bypass Filters function separately compared to the primary filter, and the reason is not that bypass valves are part of the primary oil flow.
Originally, bypass filters were used as a way of extending the life of an engine. Nowadays, it is used to assist extend oil-drain intervals. Anyone can easily fit secondary filters on most existing engines since they plumb into engine block fittings or can be attached remotely from the engine. They can be attached to or close to the engine block if they are compact enough. Engine builders often do this in case they want to include Bypass filtration. They can be remotely attached by using hoses or other hardware.
Various kinds of aftermarket bypass filters exist. For example, secondary filters are standard on several Heavy-Duty types of diesel but optional on others and available as aftermarket products. You will discover both advantages and disadvantages when comparing the various types of Bypass filters. For example, suppose you are a conservative and replace oil at recommended intervals from engine manufacturers. In that case, you should not worry about the aftermarket products since the standard for engine filters will be adequate.
Conventional Secondary Filters
Bypass filters that use conventional filter media like cellulose are known as traditional. The reason is that the actual filter media is not different in function or materials from primary filters. The difference is that it’s designed to filter tiny particles as small as one micron. Often more efficient filter media removes tiny contaminants but restricts the oil flow. This is why only a small portion of oil flow is directed via the secondary filter. Spin-on appears similar to standard full-flow filters.
Every product has a different filter media, from cellulose, synthetic or fibrous materials to the tightly wound cotton string. These secondary filters do not have moving parts, and some have high efficiency. However, similar to the primary filter, the element is changed frequently and at certain intervals.
Unconventional Secondary Filters
Unconventional Secondary Filters are huge stationary canisters with elements ranging from fibrous strands to paper toweling. Some filters can hold one gallon or more of oil. This is great since the larger the volume of oil, the longer it remains in the engine. One gallon of fresh oil is added every time the element is changed. Modern vehicles have little room in the engine, which makes this filterless.
The famous Bypass filter of this type is the Frantz Filter and is still available. Unfortunately, the amount of money for a complete system after the addition of installation costs can exceed $400.
At times, thermal or mechanical action boils or spins out contaminants. There is a never-ending list of Bypass filter patents and designs available. However, just a few filters have been commercially produced over the years. The reason is that the cost of the unconventional secondary filter is often more expensive compared to the cost of the conventional secondary filter. The conventional secondary filters are produced in large volumes of several thousand at a time. The extra cost and, at times, the hardship of installing in engine compartments with little available room makes unconventional secondary filters impractical.
The thermal chamber types not only pass oil via a filter media but also heat the oil until it boils off specific contaminants. The manufacturers state that this re-refines the oil. It consumes power because it uses electrical power.
Spinner filters utilize the centrifuge action whereby it slings out soot and deposit it in a container. The truck’s compressed air system powers the centrifuge and revolves on a bearing. Therefore, this container must be cleaned periodically and monitor the spinner’s condition.
Combination Filters
The latest oil filter designs combine secondary and primary filtration in separate chambers but the same housing for Heavy-Duty engines. They have been used in the latest introduced diesel.
