I was good, I searched dutifully, but found not, nay, nary a thread.
I see sage wisdom that Amsoil filters are spendy and xclusive.
I see hirsute heads nodding in sync that bypass filters are wise and good.

I remember the county fair with my dad. The rage in the 60s was toilet-paper-roll bypass filters. Is that still viable, or is it a crappy idea? Which bypass filter do you run, and are you as happy as the proverbial clam with it?

Where under the hood of your SD did you mount it?
Do you extend oil intervals?
Do you analyze, and how was that?

 

I've just been using the Fleetguard LF9207 spin on bypass filter. It's a bit spendy but makes my life easier, just screw it on. I don't drive a ton of miles anyway. My last Blackstone was a sample with 6K on it, came back very low on wear metals and still had a high TBN number, they suggested going to 7,500 next time. https://puredieselpower.com/ford/94-...il-filter.html

 

Pun intended?
I'll be pulling the trigger on that mod in the spring as well

 

Quite a writeup. But under the vehicle, my shoulder hurts just thinking about it. I get my sons to do that crawlin' stuff these days. And wouldn't the long lines drain out on you when you change filters? I'd hanker for a location up top.

 

I haven't done it yet, but I just don't see any way to fit it under the hood either. At least not with it right next to the very hot exhaust manifold. Lots of room near the TC on the frame rails tho. I'm debating a ccv delete to a catch can close to there tho, so may make my oil bypass even farther back than he did

 

BMW manages to mount a filter up on top of a V12, neat as a baby's butt.

I bet it can be done.

 

Don't purchase the Amsoil dual bypass for the 7.3. The full flow filter is way to small. I attempted to get actual flow numbers from Amsoil on the full flow they use and they simply say there filters won't cause restriction but it uses a 3/4 outlet VS 1 1/2 of the original engine mounted filter so you do the math there. After i emailed them back on that they never responded. I converted my dual filter to still use the factory engine mount filter in addition to the Amsoil bypass filter. That said I don't think the Amsoil filters are all that pricey at less than $40 for a filter that has a 70000 mile change interval.

 

That's also the stock filter, not a second bypass filter.

Granted as you say your sons do all the crawling around under the truck anyways, just hand them the parts and tell them to install it while you sit back with a cold drink and supervise
hand them filters n oil for the oil changes too

 

I initially installed the OilGuard system which is simply a re-marketed Racor Bypass system, and I don't know that OilGuard is even in business any more. Too much money. They use a wound element filter body, but what you replace is the internal wound elements which reside inside a very heavy duty and thick walled aluminum housing. I'm actually running the next larger size which is over sized for our engines, but I'm doing that because it gives the oil a reduced flow velocity through the element for higher efficiency filtration, and it also provides a huge extra oil volume for cooling. I've replaced the hoses once just because of how they get hard over time, but given where I mounted the unit, the hoses are each only about 18"-24" long which minimizes the pressure drop across the system so as to have minimal impact on the main oil flow so that the engine and turbo lubrication requirements are not compromised, and that is one of the downfalls of the early Amsoil 7.3 system design -- too much flow to the bypass reducing oil flow to the main lube requirements. I don't know about Amsoil's current design.

What I'm running used to be called the LFS-802 kit, but is now called the EPS-60 kit. Here is a link to an eBay seller for the kit >>> https://www.ebay.com/i/371760379296?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Elements can be found in multiple places where Racor filtration elements are sold.

Below is a picture of how mine is mounted -- Because of the length of the over sized unit, I have it pivoted up towards the transmission, but that has absolutely no impact on its filtration performance. Even as large as it is, the pivot bolt holds it in position nicely and it never drops down on me at all.

OCI's- yes, that really depends just as much on which oil you run as it does having a bypass filtration system. Until the recent year, I've always run the Schaeffer 9000 5w40 full synthetic, and base don Backstone testing and my "long run" driving habits, I was able to run about 15K-18K miles between changes before I saw the viscosity shear down to a 30w oil. Now, my drives are extremely harsh being only 4 miles each way to work and back and rare long runs any more, so I'm now changing the oil about twice as often. I'm also running either Rotella T6 or Mobil 1 5w40, depending on price and availability.

As for filter changes... main filter gets changed at every oil change and the bypass element every other oil change.

 

Here is what mine looks like. While the Amsoil filters are a little on the high side, they say you can go 60,000 miles on them before you need to change them. With that said, I spend the money and change mine out every 2nd or 3rd oil change just for the sake of changing it. The install was rather straight forward and it took about 30 minutes or so.

 

Also, I don't see where any of us have answered your question about the toilet paper filters. The most common name I see is Frantz, and they are still in business and sell a wide selection of filter kits which are advertised as helping you acheive 30K-100K OCI's, but you cannot believe that for our 7.3's. The HEUI fuel injection system and HPOP creates an enormous amount of shear on the oil, the even the best oils will shear down to excessively low viscosity well before you ever see 30K miles, and it doesn't matter how clean the oil is... it WILL shear down.

Why is shear so important? Because the single largest characteristic of having your oil lubricate properly is its viscosity (viscosity being defined as "resistance to flow", and it is a most critical part of maintaining the protective oil film between contacting surfaces). Too thick, and the oil won't flow to where it needs to go quickly enough to provide adequate protection and you will get premature wear... Too thin, and you won't maintain the lubricant film layer between contact surfaces and will get, once again, premature wear. The best window for our engines is a minimum of 30w and a maximum of 40w. The only reason some of us run 5w40 is that the 5w level of viscosity only exists when the oil is cold, and once it gets to operating temperature, the viscosity transitions to that of a 40w oil (unless it has bee sheared). Those few minutes of thinner viscosity allow the oil to quickly get into the upper regions of the turbo and engine top side and makes the engine easier to turn over on startup for quicker starts with minimum pull on the batteries.

Here is a link to the Frantz site... 7.3L Ford Powerstroke Kit - Frantz Filters Official Website

ADDITIONALLY... if you go this route, do not get premium toilet paper rolls as they have too many "fines" -- excess fiber fragments -- which may not stay with the element and you don't want small paper fibers running around in your engine. Use only the cheapest grades of toilet paper if you must use toilet paper because it will stay together much better. Personally, I would purchase the paper rolls from Frantz as they are made for this purpose while toilet paper is made for something a little different. Having received my BS degree in Pulp & Paper Science and Technology and spent my 30+ year career in the pulp and paper industry as a Process Engineer, I know what I'm talking about here.... even the paper made for filtration, though a few dollars more than regular TP, will by far better serve your engine. Even better would be the synthetic media sold by Frantz!

 

What kit is this?

 

I have an extra Amsoil filter head if you want to go that route. You might need some hose and a few fittings but it would be way cheaper than getting the hole kit.

 

I'm sorry... this is so infantile of me, but I couldn't let it go.

Our friend with a BS degree really knows his **** paper.

 

Sorry having a ****ty day at work and this just cheered me up. THANKS