I think I can clear up the confusion. The filter that the CAT mechanic may be talking about is probably a Racor LFS or Oberg type filter that is cleanable, and normally full flow, but if blocked, goes into bypass, as Aidan describes. With the consequence that all the trapped gunk gets shot through the engine - not a good thing.
This is a different animal that a stand-alone bypass oil filter such as an Amsoil, Franz, OilGuard, Gulf Coast, etc. which is installed *in addition to* the stock oil filter (which, on most vehicles, is a full-flow spin-on cannister type - which also have a bypass valve - all filters have to have a bypass valve, otherwise oil flow and pressure to the bearings would be lost when the full-flow filter media no longer flowed.) So, a stand-alone bypass filter wouldn't ever toast an engine in the way you've described. And in fact, having a stand-alone bypass filter could prevent engine damage in the event the stock full-flow filter went into bypass mode - at least some of the oil (that being bypassed to the bypass filter) would still be getting filtered. Add to this the fact that a bypass filter would be filtering the oil so well that the stock filter would probably not clog. But the CAT mechanic is correct in advising against the cleanable disc Racor or Oberg filters - my opinion is that they should only be used as an adjunct to the stock filter. They were designed originally for race cars, so they could be disassembled and checked, post-race, for bits of bearing, etc. They were never designed as stand-alone filters. Craig A Wilkins wrote: > Martin, Todd, and Alan: > > The filter that is used is supposed to be a cleanable filter > element. Full flow filter which has a bypass valve to allow the oil > to continue flowing if the media becomes blocked from contamination. > In this case the mandate is to burn some of the oil in the fuel system > (vapours) and replace the oil as needed. The other idea is to clean > the cleanable filter element, instead of buying a new filter each > time(cost savings). The problem is that when the filter goes into > bypass and no longer removes the contaminates from the oil, the fuel > system becomes compromised by the contaminates. After speaking with > the CAT mechanic, I was given the impression that any contaminate over > a given size would have negative effects on the fuel system. This > would leave me to believe that if any amount of oil is allowed to > circulate through the system without being filtered as in a deep media > type system it would not be wise. > > The failure is in the oil system itself. In this particular > engine the oil is used to create the injection pressure. > > I hope this clears things up a little. > > Alan, I would like to give you the details you ask for but I am > sure that you can understand I am not able to comment on the vehicle > or the particulars due to it being a military vehicle. > > > Aidan > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Martin Klingensmith > To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 9:14 PM > Subject: Re: "Bypass Filtration" was Re: [biofuel] Engine oil > choices > > > "The contaminated oil after the bypass has kicked in destroys the > fuel > system ..." > I'm not sure what that means, do you mind rephrasing that? > Does that mean that the bypass system contaminates the oil, or > doesn't > remove some contaminates? > > -- > -- > Martin Klingensmith > http://infoarchive.net/ > http://nnytech.net/ > > > A Wilkins wrote: > > >Todd, > > > > Your statement of government using bypass filters has lead > Caterpillar to no longer warranty their engines for the military (in a > particular vehicle). It has been found that the contaminated oil > after bypass has kicked in destroys the fuel system of the cat engine > rather quickly. > > > > Clean oil is very, very important. Especially in an engine > that uses the engine oil and oil pressure to create the injection > pressure. > > > > > >Aidan > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuels list archives: > http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel > > Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. > To unsubscribe, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > Yahoo! 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