Wait, are we pre-filling Motorcraft filters or WIX or K&N? And what brand of oil are we pre-filling with? And who amongst us dips their pinky into clean oil and runs it around the o-ring seal on the fresh filter like my Dad taught me to do?

Don't be talking smack about my Dad....

 

Lol my Dad taught me the same thing 50 years ago. I learned about prefilling oil filters on another Forum. Sounded like a good idea to me so I did it on my '12 6.7L and now on my '17 6.2L. I may be hearing things but engine start up after prefilling just sounds better.

 

Where do you think the oil in packages comes from? It's all held in bulk tanks, for reference our oil is delivered in single use ICB's. I have also worked in the refinery and finished lubricant industry for decades and know how bottling works.

What your not seeing is the particles above 50 microns that are present. You shouldn't see any particles above 30 microns getting past the engine primary filter and you wouldn't expect to see those on a UOA with particle count. So why be okay with particles above what the nominal filter rating is being able to go straight to the engine bearings?There is a ISO standard that allows contamination in finished oil. Every see the residue on the bottom of a oil jug? That's not from additive fallout. If you want to read further on why new oil isn't clean start here https://www.machinerylubrication.com...w-oil-filtered

 

i prefill and lube the seal. hasnt caused me a problem yet.

 

So those of you that don't prefill because of potential contamination, do you filter your oil with some kind of filter before pouring it into your motor, where it will run down the valvetrain to your oil pan?

Kind of like "nitrogen" filled tires. Yall pulling a vacuum on your tires before filling with nitrogen?

An engine starting up with a filter full of oil so that the motor won't get a dry start with "maybe" some contaminated oil is always going to be better than a dry start for 3-5 seconds without oil. You guys are ridiculous 😂

 

I can’t imagine it matters either way. I have wondered how often a bit of debris gets inside that center hole in the filter. That goes straight to the main bearings.

 

I prefill the filter. I leave it in the box, fill it, close the box. Then I slide the box under the truck and only when I'm ready to put the filter on do I open the box. Of course, that's after I've wiped the mating surface off with one of those low-lint blue paper towels. It's not lab grade clean, but I do what I can to minimize contamination. The oil I put in the filter has to be cleaner than the oil in the engine.

 

These discussions are difficult as they're based on gut feel. For any of the oil, filter, or prefill discussions, anyone can say "I've done "this" for XXX,XXX miles and XX years and it works great!" Clearly that's the only way to go!!

99.999% of people running Walmart oil with the least expensive Fram filters can say they've done it forever with no issues. The same statement is true for folks running Donaldson filters with Amsoil. The problem here is that it isn't quantitative. There isn't any fleet comparison data.

There are definitely differences in oils based on the base stock blend and additive package, but you need to consider what's really required for the application. You probably don't really need a 100% PAO oil for any of our applications. It's the same as putting premium fuel in an engine that only requires 87. You're paying for performance or capability that you really don't need and can't take advantage of. In most cases this isn't harmful though, and if you sleep better at night, go for it!

The Motorcraft stuff is a safe bet, but it certainly isn't the best. It's what Ford has determined is the best balance between cost and performance. It'll reliably get them through the warranty period and at a price point where they can sell parts with good profit margin. Now come the usage questions. Do you plan to only own this through the warranty period or do you want to put on a million miles? One might lead you to a Motorcraft filter while the other could justify spending money on the Donaldson. If you really wanted to do some research you could probably find a filter that's as good or better than the Motorcraft but at a lot lower cost. Is it worth your time? That's up to you.

I'm responsible for the oil specifications for an industrial engine OEM. Our units take 200 gallons on up and are very demanding on oil. We require routine oil analysis and extract all the life we can up to our condemning limits. Oil is the number 1 operational cost for these fleets. We support oil tests with various customers and suppliers to reduce overall operating costs as much as possible. This also includes removing engine hardware to measure wear, inspect deposit buildup, examine varnishing, etc. It's worth spending the money to get real data. Unfortunately for automotive applications we just don't have that sort of thing available.

Without data, I have to go on high level specs and gut feel. For me, I like synthetic or synthetic blend oils and there is a ton of really good stuff on the market. For filters, I really really like Donaldson, and Baldwin is pretty solid too. Both are probably overkill for most of us.

However, I will never prefill an oil filter. I've seen too many oil drums with sediment on the bottom. These engines are designed to run for a few seconds without oil pressure, but they don't handle debris in the oil system well. As a whole, main and rod bearings are designed to accommodate debris - the materials are selected to be soft enough to pass or absorb particles as required. However, with increasing power density we're pushed to harder and harder bearing materials that are less forgiving on cleanliness. The point about pouring the 'new/dirty' oil over the valvetrain misses the mark a bit too. That just isn't a super sensitive area of the engine compared to the main and rod bearings. When Ford is sourcing or manufacturing engine components, everything is assigned an acceptable cleanliness level and these are regularly checked with Millipore testing. I can guarantee main oil gallery is held to a much higher cleanliness requirement than the rocker arms. Just like the fuel system components are held to a much higher standard than the coolant system. There is also some incorrect information above on most oil going through the oil filter bypass. That isn't how these are designed. The filter should only be in bypass during very cold starts, with a clogged/full filter, or perhaps at very high RPM. I'm not saying that prefilling is wrong, it just isn't what feels lowest risk to me. I've come to realize you can spend an entire career in this field and learn new things every day. I'm wouldn't consider myself an expert and what I've put above are only my personal beliefs.

 

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A Review of Mineral and Synthetic Base Oils - Bob is the Oil Guy