The only reason I run an oil filter is because it came with the truck and I think that it looks cool. After looking into how little it does in terms of filtering the oil and hearing about catastrophic engine failures caused by a broken rubber line, I am not married to the idea of going out of my way to purchase one for a truck which did not come with one.
An old timer mechanic friend of mine who worked on these vehicles when they were new told me that the first thing that he did when one came in for service was to remove the oil filter because of the risk of flexible line failure. He said, though uncommon, catastrophic is catastrophic.
Furthermore, he said that in all of the years which he worked on these engines, when he dropped the oil pan to remove crank and rod shims (a recommended regularly scheduled service), it did not matter if it had an oil filter or not, there was the same amount of sludge in the pan. He was talking about engines which he was the guy who changed the oil every 3,000 miles.
BTW, I have the utmost confidence in this guy's knowledge and character. They don't make many, if any, mechanics like him anymore.
Carl
Last edited by 52Carl; 06/06/2019 1:31 AM.
