What single item is the most important engine wear

[gulledge]

Which of the following is the most important in creating the least amount of wear in an engine, assuming all are changed using reasonable intervals.

1. The OIL itself. (type, grade, etc.)
2. The OIL FILTER. (filter's which filter at the smallest
micron levels would be better at
trapping the "dirt" that causes wear
that others would miss.)
3. The AIR FILTER. (good filtration is the key to keeping
silicon levels down to create less wear.

Let the debate begin.

 

[oily boyd]

I vote for the air filter. Without it, you're sunk.

Even mediocre oil without a filter changed at reasonable intervals can make a car last (ex - vintage Beetle).

 

[buster]

Quote:

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Federal Mogul Corporation, a manufacturer of engine bearings, pistons, connecting rods and other engine parts, studied over 7,000 case histories of bearing distress and engine failure and never found engine oil to be the cause of a failure. Dirt, the number one cause of engine failure, was found to be responsible for 43.4% of failures, and insufficient lubrication, the second most common cause of failure, was responsible for 16.6% of failures. Insufficient lubrication is the general term used when not enough oil gets through to the engine to lubricate it (lack of oil volume).

---

Air filter, followed by oil filter. The above was taken from Amsoil.com.

 

[JHZR2]

Catastrophic failre-wise, I think this is all valid...

But for a typically half-decently well maintained vehicle, I think that driving style, then reasonable oil change intervals are the important factors to consider.

JMH

 

[salesrep]

"Dirt, the number one cause of engine failure, was found to be responsible for 43.4% of failures,"
Does the quality of oil brinag another variable into this equation? or is silicon just going to beat the p*** out of the components anyhow?

 

[Nebraskan]

Well, if dirt was the top culprit then both filters, air and oil are of priority. Second would be ability of the oil to flow. Oil won't flow if it is too stiff, wrong viscosity for the temps, or if the oil pump or oil galleys are deficient.

Just my

 

[oilyriser]

oil never causes failure as fast as lack of oil

 

[The Critic]

Quote:

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3. The AIR FILTER. (good filtration is the key to keeping
silicon levels down to create less wear.

---

Oops, I just installed a Fram AirHog.

 

[Tosh]

4. Low revs

 

[Pablo]

On list - air filter.
Off list, long term - engine design (assuming the 3 on list are in control)

 

[Spector]

Air filter.
oil filters are pretty much useless in capturing particles and if you have a great air filter you should not have the ole silicon in the UOA.

 

[Gary Allan]

I'll go with Air Filter. Nothing alters the "normal" wear paterns that we see to such a great extent as dirt infiltration via the air intake system. Way too many cubic feet of air are digested over such a short time span.

 

[Lazy JW]

Quote:

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I vote for the air filter. Without it, you're sunk.

Even mediocre oil without a filter changed at reasonable intervals can make a car last (ex - vintage Beetle).

---

Yup. VW's worldwide have gone probably BILLIONS of miles with no oil filter whatsoever and using oils that would be laughed off the board here at BITOG. They wouldn't have done so very well without adequate air filtration, however. Most of them used oil bath air cleaners, BTW.
Joe

 

[rpn453]

Quote:

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Quote:

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I vote for the air filter. Without it, you're sunk.

Even mediocre oil without a filter changed at reasonable intervals can make a car last (ex - vintage Beetle).

---

Yup. VW's worldwide have gone probably BILLIONS of miles with no oil filter whatsoever and using oils that would be laughed off the board here at BITOG. They wouldn't have done so very well without adequate air filtration, however. Most of them used oil bath air cleaners, BTW.
Joe

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So I don't need a bypass filter?

 

[1sttruck]

"VW's worldwide have gone probably BILLIONS of miles with no oil filter whatsoever and using oils that would be laughed off the board here at BITOG."

I have owned and use to do work on VWs. You can tell a horse's age by it's teeth, and a VWs age by the thicknes of sludge inside the engine when doing the valve adjustments :^) A full flow oil filters keeps the engines much cleaner and often adds a qt or so of oil to the capacity.

 

[Nebraskan]

I rebuilt a VW 1600 engine once and put in an aftermarket oil filter/oil pump and it was very handy. But, I've also always been a great fan of oil bath air cleaners. Personally, I think the older 1953 vintage cars that had them were right on track for air filtration efficiency. It was the paper "throw-away" that became so unique and then common place. No one like to mess with cleaning the oil bath air cleaner. Kind of like a Rainbow vacuum cleaner that uses water. Seems to collect ALL kinds of dust even the minutest that either plugs a normal vacuum cleaner or just gets blown back into the air.

 

[cfromc]

The air filter is by far the most important filter on a vehicle. Without one an engine's life can be measured in hours. Second, the oil. Third, the oil filter. A friend thought it would be cool to run his tunnel-rammed, dual quad Camaro without an air filter. The engine lasted about two weeks. I believe the comsumption ratio is about 9,000 gallons of air to every gallon of gas, by volume. There is a lot of dirt in 9000 gallons of air.

 

[Shannow]

no engine means no engine wear.

I think having an engine is therfore the most important factor.

 

[Titan]

Shannow. Don't be silly. A vehicle must have an engine, or, it is only a trailer. Not turning the engine ON is the most important factor.

 

[ewetho]

Air filter.

Yeah old Beetles have been known to have sludge build up. But I have also seen way to many to count on normal rebuilds go 150,000 miles on regular oil changes with SG-SJ oils and have them come apart with only light varnish.

Keep the dirt out and the engine does not really create to much that an oil change can't deal with. I use an oversize (compared to stock) filter just to get a full five quarts not 4.5 and that Motorcraft filter is Cheap and Walmart.