quote:
Originally posted by trynew:
I am still puzzled by the dark black color of your oil after only a few hundred miles using the Trasko. Is it possible that the bypass valve is sticking open and not forcing the oil to go through the toilet paper? How many miles were on the van when you installed it? Have you ever done an Auto-rx to clean the engine out? Is the van used mainly for short trips?
I did a standard Auto-RX clean cycle before starting with the Trasko. Forget the exact mileage, in the 50K range, and the van is up to 105K now. The Trasko appears to be fine and the internal valve is working as best as I can tell. At least, it has never been stuck when I open the can to change the TP. The driving is a mix of city and highway, about equal. The highway drives are 30 to 45 minutes at a time at a steady 65mph.
Just changed the oil and TP about a month ago, which is about 1500 miles ago, and for the first time, added LC to the oil. I'll check it this weekend.
My current thinking is to add an oil sandwich adapter to the minivan, move the Trasko to the transmission filter mounting I installed on the drivers side of the bumper rail (fortunately it has the same thread as the existing full flow filter) and install the Frantz to the passenger side of the bumper rail and hose it to the sandwich adapter. That will pretty much take care of the van
Oh yes, and flush the coolant and install a Tefba filter there.
I still want to do something with the '99 Caddy STS oil though, but for now, we are doing by far the most miles in the van and that needs the most protection. Recently I came across the billet style sandwich adapter and one of those will definitely fit the STS, but I still have concerns about the lower height of the full flow and it will be the lowest part of the engine and exposed to road rocks.
For example, the adapter at the top of this page is the style I am talking about:
Universal Oil Cooler Sandwich Adapters
I will have to look for a compatible full flow filter with a shorter can.