oil pickup screen has some debris

[mjo]

I replaced the oil pan gasket (RTV) recently and had the opportunity to have the first look at the bottom of the motor. For the most part, the motor was very clean with no new deposits and I noticed some old carbon deposits had peeled off. However, when I looked at the pickup screen, it had a pinch of debris still attached. I took it off the screen and had a closer look at it. It was a clean oily glob that consisted half of bits of RTV and the other half of paper fibers. Considering that the FF filters that I use are also made of paper, could the paper debris be due to the FF filter? Is there a moral to this story?

I have had a bypass filter on my '95 Saturn and religiously change the TP rolls every 2-3k miles. For the last 27k miles I've only done one oil change. The bypass filter is a Gulf Coast O-1 Junior and I use Mobil 1 oil. The engine runs fantastic and I believe that it's burned an insignificant amount of oil for the entire time the BP filter has been installed.

 

[Louie's gone fishing]

Looks like the screen is doing its job. Don't worry.

Are you keeping the ff filter in too long. Some people that have a tp filter do this and that can be a problem. The media will finally start failing. Either get a stainless steel element or change the ff filter a bit more often. Don't let it go more than a year.

 

[RalphPWood]

If you change the TP filter when you should the full flow filter will be protected from the acid and water that will break down the pleated paper in the full flow filter. I tell people to change the full flow filter every 20,000 miles or 2 years. I have seen the rubber parts break down in some low quality filters. A lot of people will neglect the filters. The TP filter will normally hold together but may look like a chunk of carbon in the shape of TP. When the full flow filter breaks down the oil pressure will push it into the bearings. A mechanic won't cut the full flow filter apart. He will see the TP filter and he has found the problem. Just to be on the safe side I screw a 90 micron sintered bronze filter in the outlet on the big 750 HP filter. These filters come in sizes from 1/8" to 1/2". They are called miniature brass inline filters. I get them from www.mcmaster.com. If you are using the Frantz or Motor Guard you won't need them unless you need the peace of mind. Tissue will migrate on some filters mostly if they are neglected. When the TP can't hold anymore the oil will start peeling off layers of paper. To solve the problem they put the TP in a sock. I put mini inline hydraulic filters at the outlet on the two 750 filters on a yacht with two 750 HP Caterpillar engines. The big filters take two rolls of Scott Center pull paper towels. I tear the core and leave it in. The big filters filter in the conventional way, the same as the full flow filter only with a lot more paper for the oil to pass thru. I can't be 100% sure that when I tear the core I won't generate some loose paper fibers. I can be sure the paper won't get thru a 90 micron secondary filter.
If you need a more positive seal at the core of the TP on the Frantz or Motor Guard try saving your old cores and split them with a pair of scissors and push them inside the core. You may need two of them. They will overlap and seal at the edges. You might want to shorten the cores on the Motor Guard so that when the TP is compressed the core won't be crushed. Put the short end at the top on the MG-30 and the bottom on the MG-60.

Ralph

 

[mjo]

I've never taken the pan off the engine before and my engine has at least 80-90k miles on it. I was wondering if someone had a similar experience with a used engine that didn't have a bypass filter installed. The RTV pieces could have originated from a number of places in the engine. The bad thing about the Saturn S-series engine is that the gaskets are formed using gasket-in-a-tube RTV that isn't as hardy as a cut rubber or cork gasket.

I once left the full flow filter on for 10k miles and the filter got so bad that the spin-on square o-ring started leaking a half of a quart of oil after the car sat in the parking lot. That was when I lived in the dormitories and didn't have much time to work on my car. I find that if the FF filter doesn't get replaced in 6k miles it seems that the engine starts to get noisier. I wouldn't be suprized that the spin-on absorbs water to a point of shedding paper fibers and restricting the oil flow. I'm using a Gulf Coast filter that doesn't have a strainer, so it would probably be a prudent idea to add a brass strainer to the end of it - thanks Ralph.