Empty Oil Filter After 2000 Miles

[NibbanaBanana]

After almost 2 years and 2000 miles I went to change the oil and filter an my 1993 E350 with a 5.8L gas motor. I had Mobil 1 10w30 in it and a NAPA Gold oil filter.

To my incredible surprise, although the oil filter is on the engine at about 45 degrees open end up, the filter was completely empty! There was a little dirty oil on the spring near the open end but the bottom of the canister was dry. I must say that the oil looked very black for only 2000 miles, but the engine was running all systems go, all gauges normal.

I have been driving this vehicle semi regularly, mostly highway and the oil pressure gauge always reads perfect, slightly above the center of the normal range. What the heck is going on here? How could this have happened? If I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it.

 

[Olas]

Failed adbv. Or the filter siphoning bace to the sump?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Oil wicked up into media.

In the tri-synthetic days, if I didn't keep a M1 bottle capped tight, It would climb out of the bottle an form a puddle on the shelf. NK!

Maybe time to sell a vehicle that's not used much?

 

[oil_film_movies]

With the open end up, even at 45 degrees, as he said, then I don't see how a failed ADBV would do this. Oil pumps don't usually dry one out like that, not with flow-thru happening as the pump comes to a stop.
Filter location is low, right??? Maybe with a high mounted oil filter.

 

[dave123]

Not shocking my golds were always empty when taken off never with RP filters why I made the switch.

 

[BrocLuno]

Never had this happen once in 50 odd years ... Definitely sounds like ADBV failure to me.

Did you fill the the filter before installing? I don't always, but sometimes if I'm concerned about priming.

Try a Fram Tough Guard and see if the same happens? It's a cheap enough test ... Put it on, run the motor until the oil light goes out. Pull the filter and see what you have?

 

[NibbanaBanana]

I usually try to fill the filter with oil before I put it on. Maybe not full depending on how much I can get in there without spilling while putting it back on, but at least put some oil in there.

I assume adbv stands for anti drain back valve. Since the open end is up at about a 45 degree angle, wouldn't it still have a good bit of oil in there if it was draining back?

If it was siphoning back I would expect it to look wet in there. Maybe it's not completely dry, but no liquid oil was in the bottom of that can. I'll cut it open and take a look.

I have a NAPA silver filter but now I'm afraid to put it on. Or should I go for the Fram to try the test? I really don't understand this. I have never seen anything like this in my life.

Not sure where to get a RP filter dave123, but somewhat comforting that you had the same experience (without damage I hope).

 

[BigD1]

Had the same thing happen once while using a new installed Mobil 1 oil filter last year. This was on a daily driver, and every day it sounded like a diesel starting up after it sit for a while. Filter pointed down too, so I was like what the heck is going on. Let it go on for a few days, and I think I installed a Wix or ACDelco, and it has been fine ever since with various filters. I know Mobil ! filters are good quality, but I have not bought one since that time.

 

[turtlevette]

The oil filter may be bypassed. You should do the oil change , run the engine a few minutes then check the filter again. If its still dry its the only explanation I can think of.

 

[turtlevette]

Of course you should not prefill the filter this time. You want to see if it'll fill on its own.

 

[CT8]

Is the oil filter higher than the crankshaft? Drive the car and see if the oil filter is hot.

 

[NibbanaBanana]

I put the NAPA Silver filter on empty of oil and filled the crankcase. Started the truck and the oil gauge came up to pressure after 3 or 4 seconds. Shut the motor off and loosened the filter and oil started pouring out.

I cut the old filter apart and got about 1 pint of oil out of it that was completely trapped on the outside of the filter material. I couldn't really see anything wrong with the filter although the wide rubber part that I assume is the adbv was pretty loose. It just fell off. Didn't seem to fit snugly at all as I would expect. Not sure though.

Anyway, I was pretty far off on the filter angle. It's hard to see what's going on in these vans. I would say that the filter is about 10 or 15 degrees down off the horizontal rather than 45. So it's not too far from horizontal. And the center of the filter is probably about 2 inches above the center of the crankshaft.

This is the second time I changed the filter on this van. The first time, the filter was filled with oil as was every other oil filter I've ever changed for the past 40+ years. It had been sitting about 4 days since I'd driven it last. I can only guess that as suggested, there was something wrong with the anti drain back valve in the oil filter.

Luckily for me, the Mobil internet rep convinced me that it is cheap insurance to change oil and filter every year regardless of mileage. I bought this vehicle for cheap as a used 14 passenger bus and converted it into a camper. We only use it a couple times a year for vacations but I try to drive it regularly. That's why it gets very few miles.

 

[Doog]

Switch to a Fram. No metal end caps to starve your engine......(how is that for spin)

 

[ffhdriver]

On a Ford in 1979 I had just changed the oil and used a Fram filter. I noticed a day or two later, when checking the oil, that it was too high on the dip stick. Pulled off the filter and there was almost no oil in it. This was a vertically mounted filter with the open end up. Put on an OEM filter and oil level dropped back to normal. Have never used anything but OEM filters since and have never had this happen again.

 

[NibbanaBanana]

Interesting. For a while now I have felt that I was unable to get a consistent oil level reading. One time it looked like it could use a little then I'd check it again and it would be fine. Didn't worry about it because it holds six quarts of oil anyway.

This was actually the third oil change I have done on this truck. For the first two I did not experience this. But I probably did them hot, right after shutting off the engine. This time it had been sitting for four days. I think I'll get an OEM filter. Never experienced this in any other vehicle.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Us a Motorcraft filter. I use Motorcraft filters on all my cars/vans that use a spin on filter.

 

[Ursatdx]

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/309758/Re:_Exactly_how_does_a_bypass_



The oil enters the oil filter under pressure through the holes on the perimeter of the base plate.
The "dirty" oil then passes through the filter media where it is "cleaned". It then flows to the central tube and back into the engine through the usually threaded hollow center mounting stud.

-
Oil Filter Flow Diagram
The only thing that holds the "spin-on" oil filter to the engine and keeps the oil from leaking is the base gasket (shown in above picture in red).

The Bypass Valve

Under ideal conditions, the bypass valve will never open. When it opens, the oil by passes the filter and goes on through to the motor, obviously unfiltered. It is a safety valve. However, in real operation, it opens often.

One example is when you start the motor when cold. The oil is thick and does not pass easily through the filtration medium, thus building up to a high pressure drop. So, the bypass valve opens to prevent oil-starvation of the motor. How long it stays open is dependent on how cold the oil is and how long it takes to get near operating temperature. When the pressure drop across the filtration medium drops below the bypass valve setting.

Another example can occur when the motor is fully warmed. At idle, the oil pressure is about 15 to 20 psi, and the pressure drop across the filter is about 1 or 2 psi. You take off towards the redline, and quickly build oil pressure. During that full-throttle acceleration the pressure drop across the filter will exceed the bypass setting, and send unfiltered oil to the motor, until the pressure across the filter has time to equalize. During a drag race, shifting through the gears, the bypass will open several times.

A third example, which you should never experience with frequent oil and filter changes, is when a filter becomes clogged. A spin-on filter can commonly hold 10 to 20 grams of trash before it becomes fully clogged. The bypass valve opening is the only way to keep the motor from becoming oil-starved if the filter becomes clogged.

According to Purolator, the Honda OEM filter bypass setting is 12 to 14 psi. WIX (NAPA Gold) builds their oil filters with a bypass setting of 8 to 11 psi, while AC Delco builds theirs to a setting of 11 to 17 psi. How much do these differences matter? I don't think anyone knows, even the engineers, and each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

If you do lots of racing, you're probably better off with a higher bypass setting.
If you do lots of *cold* starting, especially in the winter, or seldom change your filter, I think you're better off with a lower bypass setting. However, with few exceptions, bypass pressures for spin-on filters run in the 8 to 17 psi range, and any of them should work acceptably.