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I would really be nervous about the amount of metal on that filter if it was my motor. While the filter has a good micron rating, there’s also a 20psi differential valve. Oil pressure is pretty high when cold due to viscosity, and like most motors, for me there’s no reason to believe under cold start conditions that the bypass valve doesn’t open and circulate unfiltered oil.
Yes, the regulator have have stuck more open during a cold start, but I can see where a high contamination of oil pulled up from the pan could jam the regulator. I’d pull the regulator and see if it’s contaminated to start.
It is a shame that the oil suction tube in the pan doesn't have a finer screen. I assume the needle bearings fit through the screen lengthwise instead of tearing or deforming the screen.
That said, I suppose that if they did make the screen much finer, you might "suck in" the screen on cold mornings since thick/viscous oil can result in a lot of resistance to flow.
There was a recent thread on PSN that discussed the possibility of a tip of an injector hold-down bit getting through the suction screen. I guess the metal in the bit was defective and the tip cracked and fell into the head. The OP fortunately found it on the windage tray, but the discussion was interesting.
A diesel mechanic on that forum took the position that it absolutely couldn't pass through the suction tube screen, but obviously needle bearings can and so can injector spring clips. He also took the position that the screen is strong enough that it wouldn't get "torn".
I wonder if anyone has a dimension for the screen openings on this oil suction tube?
Just to relate a fear of mine, my son dropped a tappet from the mechanical fuel pump of a 7.3L into his engine. We rocked the front of the truck and I heard it drop t the pan. Lots of people said it couldn't pass through the oil pickup screen. That said, I put rare earth magnets on the pan anyway, and when I did, I heard the tappet move to the magnet (so I know it was in the pan and that the magnet had a hold on it). Haven't had any issue and it was a few years ago.
Ever since this experience w/ the 7.3L, I installed magnets on my oil pan for this very reason. Who knows if the magnets could grab hold before the needle bearings got "sucked up", but it makes me feel better anyway.
Last edited by bismic; 09-14-2018 at 04:40 PM.
Reason: add pic
Sometimes there's an advantage of taking a god awful time to work through a motor with only the pistons, rings and con rods left in the block.
The unmodified version.
And I already have some rare earth magnets purchased to install within the motor at certain points. Ya know, if a valve cover screw and fit under an oil cooler ......
I was afraid to be the one to say where this thread was going, but there was just too much metal in the filter.
09-07-2018, 10:33 AM
