The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Oil filter question

I all ready checked using the search but couldnt come up with the answer to this question. Should the oil filter fit snugly into the canister? The oil filter I have gotten from two sources both leave about a 1/2 inch between them and the canister when installed. I have a 58-62 from I believe a passenger car. The canister looks to have an orange lid with a light blue body. The old filter I pulled out fit perfectly. I am just not sure what size is the correct one! Thanks!

that will not do ...without a tight seal in the canister the filter will just float around an do nothing ...do ya have the one ya took out for measurement of length ?

Purney,

We have several canister type oil and fuel filters on equipment at work. I don't thing the OD/ID relationship is critical...the filter is sealed at the top and the bottom of the can, this is what is important.

Stuart

The one I took out is 4 1/2 inches OD and 5 inches tall. The replacement that everyone is selling me is 4 inches OD and 5 inches tall. its the NAPA 1100 which should be correct but isnt.

Stuart, are you saying this will work as long as the filther height is correct and the cansister seals as it should?

Purney,

If the cartridge seals properly at the top and bottom, all the incoming oil must pass through the filter before it gets back into the system. Why you can't find a cartridge the same size as the old one I don't know. A smaller cartridge would mean less square inches of filter material, but as long as it seals top and bottom, it should work. Hope I'm not all wet on this!

Stuart

I found a thread on here where someone had the exact same issue but no one had the answer then either on the OD issue. If I had no bad luck I wouldnt have any luck at all!

One post indicated that the extra clearance helped oil flow by being less restrictive. I don't know if that is actually true.

Sounds like the same size as my Fram C4P filter element. It's NAPA equivalent is #1006

Interesting thing, at the NAPA store and on thier web site, the dimensions of the filter #1100 is 4.5 inches OD. Their book at the store said the same. However out of the box it is not 4.5 inches it is only 4. I had the counter guy call another store just to see if they put the wrong one in and it was 4 inches as well! I give up.

Purney,

Wix has a great cross reference site. I went there and input a bunch of your numbers and numbers from previous posts. They indicate that many of the filter cartridges mentioned are 4.094 OD X 5.007 high. The number littlebuddie just quoted comes right back to those dimensions. I think the filter numbering system has been around for so long that it is funked up. The same filter might have two different numbers for two different applications...I'll throw in the towel too!

Stuart

I have a wix 51100 straight from Classic parts that has the same problem. I sent an email to NAPA requesting some clarification. If I get an answer, Ill post it. Till then, I am installing the one I got. Thanks all!

There were 2 different filters used on the old stovebolts. The factery or dealer installed was AC brand. It uses a 5/8" wrench on the cover bolt. The popular aftermarket filter was Fram. It uses a 7/8 in wrench on the cover bolt. They use different filters. Make shure they are supplying the right filter. The fram # is C4 like L buddie mentioned.

As long as the height is correct, 1/2" difference in diameter won't make enough difference in the filtration to matter. The important specification is the micron measurement of the holes in the paper filtering media. Bypass filters like the old stovebolt units can have VERY fine micron numbers, because the oil does not have to flow through the filter with enough volume to lubricate the engine. An average full flow filter has about 2 or 3 micron holes, indicating particles smaller than 2 or 3 thousandths of an inch will pass through the filter and stay in circulation.

The Frantz bypass filters I used to sell for 18 wheelers fit the LuberFiner 750 canisters, and were rolled out of toilet tissue. They were 1/10 micron rated, which meant they would filter out particles as small as 1/10,000 inch. These filters were not intended to be full-flow capable, but they would clean even the tiniest dirt particles out of the oil. We ran 10,000 miles between filter changes, and never changed the oil. On a 15-gallon system, it usually required 2 gallons to be added during a filter change to replace what was trapped in the cartridge. We had several engines with well over 100,000 miles on the oil, and it still passed spectrometric analysis of the oil samples we took during filter changes.
Jerry

Great info guys, its a 5/8 inch bolt, orange lid, blue body, looks to be AC. Who would have thunk an oil filter would have stumped me???