I Built a See Through Oil Filter

[Owen Lucas]

Competitor to Garage 54?

That channel is awesome.

 

[bbhero]

On Street Outlaws Big Chief had a see through oil filter put on the Crow... He was seeing metal pieces when they cut previous filters. So they had one made with glass and then he and Jeff Lutz could see down inside be the oil filter.

That show was done back in 2016 I think.

It was pretty cool they thought of it.

 

[VWRand]

Seems like a plastic housing for a cartridge filter could be 3d printed in clear plastic.

 

[jagdriver727]

I saw a similar concept today at the PRI Show. See-through filter mounts. Much easier to hold pressure as opposed to the filter canister. Not quite as cool to look at but interesting nonetheless.

 

[bbhero]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's the exact one that was on Big Chief's car the Crow ....

 

[Accent Abuser]

Haha ! Didn't think about the temperature issue.... Oooops. Well, it looks like acrylic doesn't start to melt until 266º F which is borderline for automobile engines.

It would take quite a while (if ever) for a passenger cars oil to get up to that at just an idle.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I saw a similar concept today at the PRI Show. See-through filter mounts. Much easier to hold pressure as opposed to the filter canister. Not quite as cool to look at but interesting nonetheless.

View attachment 80546

Very nice machining and displays! Just shows how strong everything has to be built to withstand those engine pressures.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

@Owen Lucas Don't know how I missed this thread, but your videos came up in my YT recommendations, and I instantly knew you must be a BITOGer. Cool experiment!

 

[Dave Hess]

Very cool.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Where did you get that filter cutter?

 

[CB22]

I took laboratory beakers and bonded them to the head of 4 Purolator filters in various configurations to illustrate how oil flows through a filter assembly.

The fuel pump fuse was removed so that the engine couldn't start and develop full oil pressure to blow up the glass beakers. I just cranked the starter to get oil circulation going which provided more than enough pressure. Why did I do this? I am experimenting with a YouTube channel where I focus on cars, tools, technology and display some of my mechanical (mis)adventures. It's a fun project to do on the side and keep me busy.

Next time try some RightStuff gasket maker.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Where did you get that filter cutter?

It's actually a tubing cutter that could just barely fit the Purolator filters in the video.

I should probably make a separate video about it since it worked pretty well and it was much cheaper then a dedicated filter cutter at $29.

This tubing cutter was better for my application since I needed a large flange for greater adhesive surface area to mate with the glass beaker. With this tool I could choose where to cut on the filter body unlike a standard filter cutter which just removes the threaded part. The maximum tubing size is 2 5/8" (67mm) which was 1/16" larger than the Purolator, so it was a tight squeeze.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LC6C1LQ/

 

[Owen Lucas]

@Owen Lucas Don't know how I missed this thread, but your videos came up in my YT recommendations, and I instantly knew you must be a BITOGer. Cool experiment!

Haha, thanks! Anytime I am working around my car I try to shoot a video.

Next time try some RightStuff gasket maker.

"Next time there will be no next time" - Phil Leotardo

I don't want to go through that again, my engine bay and undercarriage is still coated in oil from the exploded "filter". When the weather warms up it's time for a thorough degreasing and power washing!

 

[MrQuackers]

Haha, thanks! Anytime I am working around my car I try to shoot a video.

"Next time there will be no next time" - Phil Leotardo

So, one more go, no?

 

[Owen Lucas]

So, one more go, no?

Probably not, It took forever to make that video. Besides the time consuming construction of the glass filters, prep work and editing (lots of fun), I don't think I'll go through that process again! I have some other ideas in the pipeline, just need to wait till things warm up. I'm always open to suggestions.