Oil Filter Removal?
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Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 10,750
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From: Douglassville, PA
I poked two, one up as far as I could reach on the side and one dead in the bottom to let air in so it would drain better. I did have an air chisel which made it easy. I had the luxury of being able to let mine sit overnight before taking the filter off and it was pretty dry by then. I then put more holes in it and toss it on my bonfire.
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Joined: Dec 2011
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They don't recycle oil filters in Alabama? Out here they do.
They even provide a quality zip lock bag to put them in for curbside pickup. Well, we pay for it, to be sure, but at least the state mandate for a garbage company to win a franchise requires that they facilitate the recycling of oil filters to keep them out of the general garbage.
I sometimes suspect that the garbage company just tosses them in the garbage anyway, but at least the community can feel like we did our part.
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Joined: Dec 2011
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Ha ha! That will have to be taken up with the state Legislature and EPA law enforcement. I can't control what the garbage company does. If I could, the first thing I'd do is fire the driver who smashed his robot arm into the hood of my car. Then I'd fire a couple more drivers for the outrageously negligent things they've done. With fewer drivers on the payroll, I'd lower the rates. Eventually, I'd probably go out of business.
No, the only thing I can control is what I do personally, and I'm more than happy to bag up used oil filters to send to recycling. I've considered the Racor LFS 718LS full flow oil filtration system that spins directly onto the existing oil filter head and replaces the "throw away" filters with a cleanable stainless steel wire cloth filter... which would eliminate not only having to dispose of the used filters, it would also eliminate the problem that this entire thread is discussing... having to use tools to remove said disposable filters.
However, then the problem becomes what to do with all the fouled solvent needed to clean the "reusable" stainless steel mesh when the indicator called for it. The system would be trading a small disposal problem for a much larger one, unless a sizeable fleet of vehicles were all using the system.
No, the only thing I can control is what I do personally, and I'm more than happy to bag up used oil filters to send to recycling. I've considered the Racor LFS 718LS full flow oil filtration system that spins directly onto the existing oil filter head and replaces the "throw away" filters with a cleanable stainless steel wire cloth filter... which would eliminate not only having to dispose of the used filters, it would also eliminate the problem that this entire thread is discussing... having to use tools to remove said disposable filters.
However, then the problem becomes what to do with all the fouled solvent needed to clean the "reusable" stainless steel mesh when the indicator called for it. The system would be trading a small disposal problem for a much larger one, unless a sizeable fleet of vehicles were all using the system.
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Joined: Dec 2011
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Hey Pete... on the bypass filters, we have a choices in media. Some examples include a ball of string (LFS 802), a roll of paper towels (FS2500), and a roll of toilet paper (Racor's newer Absolute Bypass Oil filter set up that superseded the older LFS 801/2 series). When you decided on the 802, where you aware of Racor's Absolute Series, and if so, what swayed you toward the older set up? I'm leaning toward the older 802 set up myself, but I'm curious if the Absolute was released when you made your choice, and why you didn't go for it.
Hotshot
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 11,286
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From: North of Greenville
Instead of punching two holes, I let the first one on the bottom drain for a minute and then just loosen the filter so it can vent from the top side.
I'm not aware of oil filter recycling here in Birmingham. I do, though, collect all my oil and take it to Autozone for recycling.
I don't recall seeing the Absolute series at that time. In fact, after looking for some info on their website, I see where they announced the Absolute series in a brochure type PDF document which was dated in March 2014, and this leads me to believe it simply was not an option when I did mine. After thinking about it, even though I have come to believe that the paper roll may well be a better filtration media, where would we install this kind of animal on our trucks so that we could R&R the elements from the top the way they do in the demonstration video? If it is not oriented with the screw handle on top, it's going to be a huge mess when it's time to change the element.
The only paper element systems I was aware of when I did mine was the FS2500 and the Frantz systems. The FS2500 was too expensive for me to consider at that time, and the Franz offered a similar install situation I mentioned above in terms of element change-outs. The filtration specs on the Racor wound yarn element were more than adequate for my taste, and the ability to swing the housing straight down is much more manageable.
Now, IIRC, the 801 setup has a threaded plug in the bottom of the housing to facilitate draining the canister before removing the element, but I know for certain that it is NOT present in the bottom of the 802 canister. However, you can drill and tap to install your own plug in the 802 housing, and that's where my own personal intentions have resided... "intention" without "implementation"... but it works just fine for me, especially since I started using a rectangular plastic 10 gallon "drywall mud mixing tub" to drain my oil into (I can orient it at an angle to catch the sump pan drain, the main flow filter, AND the bypass element ALL draining at the same time.
Plasgad Medium Mixing Tub-887101A - The Home Depot
I'm not aware of oil filter recycling here in Birmingham. I do, though, collect all my oil and take it to Autozone for recycling.
I don't recall seeing the Absolute series at that time. In fact, after looking for some info on their website, I see where they announced the Absolute series in a brochure type PDF document which was dated in March 2014, and this leads me to believe it simply was not an option when I did mine. After thinking about it, even though I have come to believe that the paper roll may well be a better filtration media, where would we install this kind of animal on our trucks so that we could R&R the elements from the top the way they do in the demonstration video? If it is not oriented with the screw handle on top, it's going to be a huge mess when it's time to change the element.
The only paper element systems I was aware of when I did mine was the FS2500 and the Frantz systems. The FS2500 was too expensive for me to consider at that time, and the Franz offered a similar install situation I mentioned above in terms of element change-outs. The filtration specs on the Racor wound yarn element were more than adequate for my taste, and the ability to swing the housing straight down is much more manageable.
Now, IIRC, the 801 setup has a threaded plug in the bottom of the housing to facilitate draining the canister before removing the element, but I know for certain that it is NOT present in the bottom of the 802 canister. However, you can drill and tap to install your own plug in the 802 housing, and that's where my own personal intentions have resided... "intention" without "implementation"... but it works just fine for me, especially since I started using a rectangular plastic 10 gallon "drywall mud mixing tub" to drain my oil into (I can orient it at an angle to catch the sump pan drain, the main flow filter, AND the bypass element ALL draining at the same time.
Plasgad Medium Mixing Tub-887101A - The Home Depot
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,508
Likes: 87
From: North Carolina, Raleigh
great post pete.. see someone "poked the bear" and got the stick. I have heard from others and in reading on FS2500's website installing a good bypass filter system will save you money and help help keep you engine going longer that going with regular OEM filter only route.
Plus, extending the oil change periods helps, in a small way, reduce america's oil usage. Can you image is all cars and trucks both gas and diesel had bypass filters and oil changes went from 5000 mile but to 7500 miles?? that would reduce the amount of oil used in engines by 1/2 I would guess.
The 2008 GM Impala we owned had a oil change indicator on the display. If we took trips to florida from NC,( 1500 miles), the indicator would go 7500 miles more or less a couple 100 miles. If we did more around town, head the the beach, 300 miles, it would come on in appx 5000 miles.
I think EVERY car and truck coming off the manf line should have oil change indicators like most every GM GMC has along with daytime running lights again like every GM GMC coming off the line.. (my 1997 Astro work van had DRL's for god sake. Where is ford and the other on this.. lacking!)
another comment on this thread was installing a new filter. someone said to get it tight as possible by hand.. do that and you will need a impact driver to get it off..
best way i have found.. oil the seal, spin filter on till it contact housing, turn 1/4 turn more, back off and repeat that process, then when you get ready to change filter you will have to grab it with both hands and turn with a good deal of might and it will spin off.. heating and cooling cycles caused the filter to actually tighten a bit over time. I do check mine after a week of so just to make sure all is good.
you jack it on hand tight real hard and you will have to bear to get off.. been doing it that way on 6 vehicles for the past 10 yrs.
most oil change place jack them on tight to eliminate the min wage worker stupidness that allows the filter to spin off and engine seize.
Plus, extending the oil change periods helps, in a small way, reduce america's oil usage. Can you image is all cars and trucks both gas and diesel had bypass filters and oil changes went from 5000 mile but to 7500 miles?? that would reduce the amount of oil used in engines by 1/2 I would guess.
The 2008 GM Impala we owned had a oil change indicator on the display. If we took trips to florida from NC,( 1500 miles), the indicator would go 7500 miles more or less a couple 100 miles. If we did more around town, head the the beach, 300 miles, it would come on in appx 5000 miles.
I think EVERY car and truck coming off the manf line should have oil change indicators like most every GM GMC has along with daytime running lights again like every GM GMC coming off the line.. (my 1997 Astro work van had DRL's for god sake. Where is ford and the other on this.. lacking!)
another comment on this thread was installing a new filter. someone said to get it tight as possible by hand.. do that and you will need a impact driver to get it off..
best way i have found.. oil the seal, spin filter on till it contact housing, turn 1/4 turn more, back off and repeat that process, then when you get ready to change filter you will have to grab it with both hands and turn with a good deal of might and it will spin off.. heating and cooling cycles caused the filter to actually tighten a bit over time. I do check mine after a week of so just to make sure all is good.
you jack it on hand tight real hard and you will have to bear to get off.. been doing it that way on 6 vehicles for the past 10 yrs.
most oil change place jack them on tight to eliminate the min wage worker stupidness that allows the filter to spin off and engine seize.
Excellent question, but because I'm an engineer, I would NEVER consider being an accountant, not that being an accountant is bad, it's just not ME.
COST ANALYSIS
Base Case = OEM filtration PLUS Bypass filtration with Extended Oil Change Intervals (OCI's) using high value full synthetic 5w40 oil (Schaeffer 9000)
My OCI has been roughly once yearly for the past eight years, so that is a total of 8 oil changes.
Cost of Bypass System = $230 (one-time expense)
Cost of Bypass filter element = $20, which I now change every other change interval (roughly 35K miles per element, and this is because I installed the HUGE element canister which is nearly twice the size of the smaller one which is recommended for our 7.3's, and that decision was done at virtually the same cost for the system as well as almost the same cost per filter element)
Oil Analysis was done for the first several years (total of 6 times), but is no longer being done since I established the baseline performance. It IS time, though, for a recheck since the engine has more miles and since it's been about 4 years since the last checkup. Consequently, this regular cost is not really a "regular" cost for me. The same goes for the shipping for the oil samples.
Cost of Full Flow element = roughly $20 each
Cost of soap for tightening element every 1K miles = $0 (I know how to stay out of the line of fire from a simple drip).
Cost of Oil = 8 x 4 gallons x $22/gallon
Total Annual Cost with my Extended OCI's and Bypass Filtration over 8 years (roughly 150,000 miles)=
$230 + (8 x $20 / 2) + (6 x $25 per Analysis with free shipping) + (8 x $20) + (8 x 4 gallons x $22/gallon) =
$230 + $80 + $150 + $160 + $704 = $1,324 over 8 years, OR
$165.50 per year for oil changes
ALTERNATIVE = OEM oil filtration only (no bypass), using conventional NON-synthetic oil at typical oil change interval cycles (say, 15w40 Delo).
The "conventional" change interval of 3,000 miles requires for 50 oil changes over the same 8 year period, and that seems a little extreme to me, so let's make the OCI 5,ooo miles instead to account for realistic forgetfulness and periodic laziness in meeting the interval frequency... that means there would have been 30 oil changes in those same eight years).
$0 for Bypass System + $0 for Bypass Element + (30 x 4 gallons x $14/gal) + (30 x $20 for the full flow elements) =
$0 + $0 + $1,440 + $600 = $2,040 in 8 years, OR
$256 every year for oil changes
So, let's review the math... which would YOU rather spend?
$165.50/year, or $256/year.... (and don't forget the impact on your TIME for 30 oil changes versus 8 oil changes)??
OK... all jesting aside, I know that you already understand the above math or you would not be considering a bypass filtration system. Either that, or you really don't care about the cost. Either way, that tells me you were just trying to pull my leg a bit, and I certainly don't mind and take absolutely no offense whatsoever at the poke in the ribs.
I'm using a home built system made up of Racor components (exact same as what OilGuard uses, but less costly if you piece it together yourself as opposed to buying the kit from OilGuard).
OilGuard recommends the EPS-20 kit (now is $320) for our engines (same as the Racor LFS-801 which can be had for $162 from Fisheries Supply). I am using the equivalent of the Racor LFS-802 system on my F250 ($279 from Fisheries Supply, but that's only $25 more than the regular price for the LFS-801) and then to accommodate the extra canister length, simply swing the longer canister up at a 45° angle to eliminate a low hanging protrusion towards the ground. Might be worth it right now, thoufh, to just get the LFS-801 because that's a killer price.
What would I do today? I would probably stick with the LFS-801 (which is what I'm running on my less-frequently used Excursion), especially given the sales price available at the moment because their regular price is like $92 more, and the flexibility of being able to pivot the mounting position is really good, and it's designed with a lower than typical bypass flow rate limiter to help ensure that you never rob excessive flow/pressure from your primary oil flow path.
More Thoughts...
801 vs 802... The 802 has a larger volume, obviously, so there is better oil cooling, but it also requires nearly one more quart of oil for every oil change interval. At the same time, the larger element, at least for our engines, will have a lower pressure drop and lower oil velocity through the element as compared to the smaller 801 unit, and that means even more "pressure protection" for the primary oil flow path.
COST ANALYSIS
Base Case = OEM filtration PLUS Bypass filtration with Extended Oil Change Intervals (OCI's) using high value full synthetic 5w40 oil (Schaeffer 9000)
My OCI has been roughly once yearly for the past eight years, so that is a total of 8 oil changes.
Cost of Bypass System = $230 (one-time expense)
Cost of Bypass filter element = $20, which I now change every other change interval (roughly 35K miles per element, and this is because I installed the HUGE element canister which is nearly twice the size of the smaller one which is recommended for our 7.3's, and that decision was done at virtually the same cost for the system as well as almost the same cost per filter element)
Oil Analysis was done for the first several years (total of 6 times), but is no longer being done since I established the baseline performance. It IS time, though, for a recheck since the engine has more miles and since it's been about 4 years since the last checkup. Consequently, this regular cost is not really a "regular" cost for me. The same goes for the shipping for the oil samples.
Cost of Full Flow element = roughly $20 each
Cost of soap for tightening element every 1K miles = $0 (I know how to stay out of the line of fire from a simple drip).
Cost of Oil = 8 x 4 gallons x $22/gallon
Total Annual Cost with my Extended OCI's and Bypass Filtration over 8 years (roughly 150,000 miles)=
$230 + (8 x $20 / 2) + (6 x $25 per Analysis with free shipping) + (8 x $20) + (8 x 4 gallons x $22/gallon) =
$230 + $80 + $150 + $160 + $704 = $1,324 over 8 years, OR
$165.50 per year for oil changes
ALTERNATIVE = OEM oil filtration only (no bypass), using conventional NON-synthetic oil at typical oil change interval cycles (say, 15w40 Delo).
The "conventional" change interval of 3,000 miles requires for 50 oil changes over the same 8 year period, and that seems a little extreme to me, so let's make the OCI 5,ooo miles instead to account for realistic forgetfulness and periodic laziness in meeting the interval frequency... that means there would have been 30 oil changes in those same eight years).
$0 for Bypass System + $0 for Bypass Element + (30 x 4 gallons x $14/gal) + (30 x $20 for the full flow elements) =
$0 + $0 + $1,440 + $600 = $2,040 in 8 years, OR
$256 every year for oil changes
So, let's review the math... which would YOU rather spend?
$165.50/year, or $256/year.... (and don't forget the impact on your TIME for 30 oil changes versus 8 oil changes)??
OK... all jesting aside, I know that you already understand the above math or you would not be considering a bypass filtration system. Either that, or you really don't care about the cost. Either way, that tells me you were just trying to pull my leg a bit, and I certainly don't mind and take absolutely no offense whatsoever at the poke in the ribs.
I'm using a home built system made up of Racor components (exact same as what OilGuard uses, but less costly if you piece it together yourself as opposed to buying the kit from OilGuard).
OilGuard recommends the EPS-20 kit (now is $320) for our engines (same as the Racor LFS-801 which can be had for $162 from Fisheries Supply). I am using the equivalent of the Racor LFS-802 system on my F250 ($279 from Fisheries Supply, but that's only $25 more than the regular price for the LFS-801) and then to accommodate the extra canister length, simply swing the longer canister up at a 45° angle to eliminate a low hanging protrusion towards the ground. Might be worth it right now, thoufh, to just get the LFS-801 because that's a killer price.
What would I do today? I would probably stick with the LFS-801 (which is what I'm running on my less-frequently used Excursion), especially given the sales price available at the moment because their regular price is like $92 more, and the flexibility of being able to pivot the mounting position is really good, and it's designed with a lower than typical bypass flow rate limiter to help ensure that you never rob excessive flow/pressure from your primary oil flow path.
More Thoughts...
801 vs 802... The 802 has a larger volume, obviously, so there is better oil cooling, but it also requires nearly one more quart of oil for every oil change interval. At the same time, the larger element, at least for our engines, will have a lower pressure drop and lower oil velocity through the element as compared to the smaller 801 unit, and that means even more "pressure protection" for the primary oil flow path.
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