FILTER change poll...run em' twice???

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saaboc

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Not sure what qualifies as too much info here. Vehicle is an older 80's 16v Saab 900 turbo (dare you to drive one & not LOVE it). Truly iconic transport...spacious, quick & even reliable if you DIY + driven w/restraint these cars easily return 32+mpg. I have several & don't accumulate many miles on any one car.

One c900 in particular sits quite a bit - it's a running/usually drivable/registered/insured project that will never be completed. I last did an OC exactly THREE years ago & only now have managed to rack up 5k. I've been wanting to drop the oil for awhile, but it's been pretty chilly here & family comes first.

My wife has a longish commute & graciously accommodated me by driving it to work (40mi ea way) this past week in anticipation of today's reasonably warm weather. I drained the oil as soon as she got home tonight & as is SOP, will let it drip overnight.

The oil in question is Mobil 1 & Mobil hi-mi syn blend (50/50 mix) [2005 vintage]. The filter is also "Mobil 1". I do not use these religiously, but was able to exploit a PepBoys rebate & ended up w/a bunch for less than the cost of my stable Purolator Per10241. I'm refilling w/100% M1 10w/30 (more 05' vintage...still have x20 or so 5qt jugs!).

The car has seen 90% hwy usage over the last three yrs & the oil drained out looking very clean. I know 3yrs is a looong OC interval, but I'm tempted to drain out the filter & re-use it. False economy?

Further...any thoughts about decanting the old oil for lawnmower use? Yeah, I'm a cheap [censored].
spankme2.gif
 
You are kidding, right? yea just send off an oil sample for analysis to make sure ther is enough tbn left? Makes sense to me!
 
Change the filter each and every time.

If I feel I'm wasting the $$ I paid for the filter, I bought too expensive of a filter for the OCI I'm doing.

Been working for me for over 30 years and MANY MANY thousands of trouble free miles over many engines.

Bill
 
reuse it. that filter is nowhere near it's holding capacity. oil is affected by time and mileage, a filter is purely mileage
 
That's what I think too!!! I'm not terribly concerned about the remaining oil I can't drain out of it...I've got twin oil coolers harboring at least a quart every OC.
 
I bought a 1994 Dodge Ram 1500 and it actually said in the owners manual, to only change the oil filter every other oil change. This was the 5.9 V8. I never did, I changed it everytime. But I remmember reading that and thinking how dumb, must have been a ploy to keep dealer serviced vehicle costs down. Still first and only time I ever saw that.
 
Filter every other oil change was the norm when I was a kid in the late 60s early 70s, but my dad was always of the opinion it was just dumb to leave a quart of old oil in there for the few extra bucks it took to change the filter too. Rubbed off on me.

Of course I personally think the M1 oil filter is where the real waste of money lies- just another filter made by Champion Labs and sold for an excessive price because of the name printed on the outside. Get a Purolator or Wix and be done.
 
Originally Posted By: Hoosier_Daddy
reuse it. that filter is nowhere near it's holding capacity. oil is affected by time and mileage, a filter is purely mileage


Not exactly. Yes, sitting dry in a box on a shelf, filters have indefinite time. This OP has a filter installed, with it's media immeresed in old oil for three years. No way that media doesn't start to degrade immersed in old oil. False economy to try to "save" it! Spend the $5 for a new one!
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
I'd rinse the used filter out with lacquer thinner before reinstalling. Maybe try a reverse flush.

No, No, No!!!
 
Why not! That aught to clean all the dirt out, just be sure not to get any of the paint on the outside of the filter and ruin the high gloss finish on the filter can.

BTW save that oil, put it in glass jars and in a couple of years maybe the dirt and crud will sink to the bottom. Then use it in the mower!
 
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Originally Posted By: Hoosier_Daddy
you're saying that oil filter media is dissolved by... oil?


Three years in contaminated oil, thermal cycling, and intermittant pressure will degrade the media.
 
My old car said in the owner's manual that you could reuse the filter. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. Didn't seem to make a difference either way. I think reusing them on 3-5k OCIs is fine if the manual says so, though in this case the long time spent soaking in oil makes me wonder if the filter element might start falling apart. I vote change it.
 
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