The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop No Oil filter?

I do not know if this is weird but... This 216 has no oil filter lines other than the oil pressure line to the gauge. I have one that came with it in a box o extra parts but no way to connect hoses... No threaded holes in side of engine. Help Please?
H

Harry,

An oil filter was not standard equipment. It was a factory option, or an accessory bought from GM or from others.

The 216 has holes on the manifold side of the block. Does your filter have installation instructions? If not, here is an excellent Stovebolt.com Tech Tip on by-pass oil filters.

If you still need help/information, ask for it.

Found it, been reading this site for 3 days strait... Thank you I was freaking out! Everyone has an opinion, just needed to know i wasn't insane/nuts...

I guess I will leave it as is... Sell the filter because i do not want to fix anything that aint broke...
Thank you.
H

Houdini,
The one thing about the no filter is, to use only non-detergent oil! The dirty crud sits down in the pan. If you use detergent oil, it could possibly start to break up the crud, and move it around the block.
While I had mine apart, I coated all surfaces that don't move with GE Glyptal winding paint. When dried it makes a hard smooth finish, and allows the oil a less restrictive path back to the sump. My personal choice! You can see it in my head pics in my bucket.
Jim

thank you for the info on the oil...

When the US military switched all their vehicles to detergent oil in the mid-1950's they developed a protocol for making the change which involved 2 or 3 short-interval oil changes to flush any accumulated sludge out. For mileage-based vehicles with an odometer, I seem to remember the change interval was 750 miles for 3 changes. For hour-based oil changes, I think the change interval was 10 hours for 3 changes.

The advice about not using detergent oil in engines without a filter, or with a bypass filter is sort of an "old mechanic's tale"- - - -the automotive equivalent of an old wives' tale. Another one is "keep an overheated engine running while adding water" That one went out of date in 1928 when Ford put a water pump on the Model A.
Jerry

I glad I read this thread. I have a 54 3100 with no oil filter. I knew the oil filter was an option but I had not heard about the potential issue with detergent oil. I am looking to add a period correct oil filter but in the mean time I need to exercise caution with my oil.

As long as you change the oil as recommended (every 3000 miles, I think), you will not have any problem using detergent oil with a newly rebuilt engine or with an engine that has had the oil pan removed and thoroughly cleaned.

It might be harmful if you change from non-detergent oil to a detergent oil if there are accumulated deposits in the oil pan. These might get back into suspension and cause clogging and maybe extra wear?

Per a good buddy of mine who worked at Chevy dealerships during and after WWII, selling accessories was how the dealers made their profit at that time. Cars would come in bare bones and he would take the car to his home shop and start bolting on optional equipment. just take a look at accessories booklet!

After nearly four years of no new cars whatsoever, dealers right after WW II could pile on the accessories and still sell 'em as fast as they could write up the contracts. My 47 Mercury convertible had at least a dozen expensive add-ons- - - -fog lights, extra bumper guards, spotlight, chrome grill shell, fresh air heater, special radio, leather upholstery etc.
Jerry

An well-seasoned auto mechanic friend of mine, who I have the utmost respect for, and who has worked on the very models of trucks which we are working on when they were new, told me that the bypass oil filters did little, if anything at all to stop sludge from forming in the oil pan. He based this on observing the sludge in the oil pans of engines when he adjusted the babbit bearing oil clearance (a regularly scheduled procedure back in those days). Whether or not these engines had the bypass filters made no difference. There was always the same amount of sludge in the pan. These engines were in cars and trucks which he provided scheduled oil changes.
A bigger issue in those days was the high frequency of rotten rubber oil filter lines failing, causing loss of all of the oil, resulting in catastrophic engine failure if one was not a habitual gauge watcher.

Was you friend referring to by-pass oil filter and non-detergent oil?

Single-grade non-detergent oil was commonly used and it commonly allowed/allows sediment to be deposited into the oil pan.

If detergent oil is used, particulates remain in the oil (does not get deposited into the pan) and will eventually be filtered by a by-pass filter.

I agree with Tim. Your friend was likely referring to vehicles using non-detergent oil. IMHO any filtering is better than none.

I did a lot of oil changes back in the 50's. On The ones with the bypass filter the oil on the dipstick looked like it just came out of the can. The ones without filter looked dirty after a few miles. I would certainly put the oil filter on.
It's true like Carl says a bad hose can cause severe engine failure. Make shure the hoses are away from the exhaust pipe & check them for cracks & brittleness occasionally. They will last for many years.

Sometimes a sludge and/or varnish buildup is all that's keeping a worn out engine working- - -particularly if a bunch of carbon has built up behind the piston rings. I've seen a few old engines turn into mosquito foggers after an aggressive crankcase cleaning- - - -the gunk behind the rings went away and they quit sealing compression and blow-by.
Jerry

Following the post and thought this was an interesting piece of marketing that correlated to Wrenchbenders post.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/31656330963/in/album-72157631868452754/
"The dipstick tells the story" at least according to Fram.