This guy says pre-filling an oil filter is bad and that all manufacturers say so.

He probably made that statement to increase his YT traffic. If Scotty can say stupid stuff 24/7 and become hugely wealthy, why not Rainman Ray?

I watch Rainman, but his ways are not always the best...but he's doing and I'm watching from my couch....so there's that.
 
I've once seen metal debris inside the thread of a new filter but never in the bottle of new oil I'm pre-filling it with.

And lubing the gasket is done so that it doesn't get damaged in shear while being tightened, nothing to do with removing it.
 
ZeeOSix said:
I think Cat or Cummings (don't recall for sure) does recommend pre-filling the oil filter. Of course some of those filters are huge.
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Before the days of spin on filters we couldn't pre-fill the oil filter. When spin on filters came along, what a relief, we always pre-filled them no mater what engine. They hold about two quarts.
 
Of course there is a difference between the little 7317 tucked horizontaly in the back of our TSX K24 and the 1 quart vertical filter on the '68 Vette L36...
 
Kiwi_ME said:
I've once seen metal debris inside the thread of a new filter but never in the bottle of new oil I'm pre-filling it with.

And lubing the gasket is done so that it doesn't get damaged in shear while being tightened, nothing to do with removing it.
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about 1/4 of my Fram filters leave the gasket behind so the “film” of oil is not preventing that.
 
I've never pre-filled an oil filter. But I don't think there would ever be any harm in it. In fact, it sounds to me like a decent idea. But none of my oil filters are verticle, and my Pentastar is a cartridge. I'd imagine if I poured oil down the filter hole it would wind up in the sump same as pouring it into the oil fill hole.
 
atikovi said:


Fast forward to 13:50
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Love this guy's channel! I think he is sound in his thinking, prefilling introduces the potential for stuff that would have otherwise been filtered out to get into the clean side of the filter and possibly damage the bearings. I sometimes prefill if I'm using quart bottles with no peel off seal but usually I just don't bother. Makes no difference in the time to build pressure and the light to go out.
 
UncleDave said:
...... Priming a filter from any unfiltered source is not best practice. There numerous contamination opportunities
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Accent Abuser said:
..... I think he is sound in his thinking, prefilling introduces the potential for stuff that would have otherwise been filtered out to get into the clean side of the filter and possibly damage the bearings. I sometimes prefill if I'm using quart bottles with no peel off seal but usually I just don't bother. Makes no difference in the time to build pressure and the light to go out.
Click to expand...

This is the part I'm not getting. Where is the added "danger" in prefilling a filter from a "unfiltered" jug of oil, as opposed to pouring the contents of that same jug into the oil fill hole in the engine? It's not like these filter companies ship out their filters packed full of crap. If a filter is brand new, both sides of the media are "clean".

I always turn the filter upside down, and rap the gasket end against a hard surface before filling and installing it. (Something I can all but guarantee you no franchise oil change outfit ever does). In over 50 years, I've never had anything fall out. And it's not as if anyone changes oil in a NASA certified clean room.
 
billt460 said:
This is the part I'm not getting. Where is the added "danger" in prefilling a filter from a "unfiltered" jug of oil, as opposed to pouring the contents of that same jug into the oil fill hole in the engine? It's not like these filter companies ship out their filters packed full of crap. If a filter is brand new, both sides of the media are "clean".
Click to expand...
The oil that gets poured down the engine fill hole goes though the oil filter before hitting the bearings. If some contamination somehow got into the filter center tube by pre-filling, then that contamination goes to the bearings without being filtered. IMO pre-filling is fine, just gotta be careful about cleanliness.
 
Maybe it's just me... But I've always looked into any freshly opened bottle of oil, and then watched it as it has poured out. I can't say I've ever seen any debris in a freshly opened bottle of oil.

I have some more OCD techniques that I use on my own stuff. But I'll refrain from describing them, as I wouldn't want to be even more suspect, even on a forum dedicated to motor oil...
 
And here is another thing. When I had a Volkswagen Diesel, they were extremely profound in the manual, at pointing out how important it was to prefill the fuel filter with diesel fuel as full as possible, before installing it. The reason was so minimal air would be introduced into the fuel injection system. This would make the engine extremely difficult to start. And could run down the battery, and overheat the starter trying to evacuate all of the air out of the fuel system.

The same, "introducing contamination" deal applies. Even more so, because it would take very little to clog a diesel fuel injector in the first place. Which was the reason for the unusually large fuel filter to begin with. (Which was mounted perfectly vertical under the hood to facilitate prefilling).
 
Sometimes and sometimes not - probably a sugar pill since the longest running engine in my family was serviced at a Mobil 1 Express Lube and the cheapest change they did … (bulk and jobber) …
 
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