Kamis, 02 September 2010

Motor Oil Filters What Happens When They’re Plugged


Glosariumku

www.sayap.us

Here’s a scary picture to put yourself in…you’re driving down the highway like any other day and suddenly the oil quits flowing inside your motor…can you imagine that?  Your motor oil couldn’t get through the filter.  It’s kind of crazy to think of how much we rely on that little idiot light to tell us that there’s something majorly wrong with our engine.  Disaster happens fast at 2100 rpm and highway speeds!


Once your oil ceases to flow to the engine, the lubrication and cooling that are so vital to your motor is gone.  Catastrophic seizure is imminent.


Oil filters are designed to handle so much contamination loading before they need to be replaced.  ‘Designed’ is a word I use with some hesitation since I think there are those less than honorable companies out there who pleat some paper media, stuff it in a can and say they have a decent oil filter.  I personally want more for my engine.


In any case, if the paper or synthetic media does get plugged oil filters have a bypass valve which is spring loaded.  This bypass valve opens at a specific pressure differential that varies between vehicles.  If the media does get overused and blocked then oil will flow through the bypass valve.  The problem with that is the oil is no longer getting filtered.


Provided all your bulbs in your dash are working, this problem may show up as an oil light coming on telling you that there’s low oil pressure downstream of the filter (and keep your fingers crossed that your bypass valve isn’t stuck!).Sometimes an indicator of this problem will present itself using that little light bulb, you know…the one we have so much faith in, that says your oil pressure downstream of the filter is low (and hope that your oil filter bypass valve is working properly!).  It’s pretty safe to say that the decrease in pressure may not be enough to turn your oil light indicator on.


The bypass is also prone to open on startup when your motor oil is cool and thick.  The pressure drop through the filter media is too high to let all of the thick oil pass through, so some oil has no choice but to travel through the bypass filter.  Again this causes unfiltered oil to pass up into the engine.  Don’t worry too much though it has been like this for years and engines have done pretty well.


The problem occurs when an oil filter is not changed for extended periods of time and becomes blocked for long periods of time.  That’s when you’ll be circulating unfiltered oil through your engine and causing unnecessary wear.


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