The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop ' 46 235 -- add an oil filter or leave without?

Hi all --

I recently picked up a '46 2 Ton with the 235. Truck looks to have undergone a first rate restoration some 20 yrs ago and then sat in storage ever since. After some TLC she runs pretty well.

Being new to Chevys I was a bit suprised that she doesn't have an oil filter. From what I've read filters were optional equipment or aftermarket add-ons. I'm sure many trucks labored their whole lives without one and did fine, but I'm nervous none the less.

Should I keep my eyes open for an oil filter housing to fit or should I leave her as she is?

While we're at it, any other advice for someone not familiar with the 235 is most welcome too.

Thanks,

Pete P.
Harborcreek, Penna.

I too have a 58 235 with no filter. I plan to put a spin on on eventually, but plan to run without for a while.

I would like to hear some opinions on this too. Also are there any extra care techniques used for engines without a filter?

Change the oil every 2000 miles, as recommended by GM in truck operators manuals.

With a filter, you should be able to go more miles between oil changes, but the consevative approach would be to change at the same 2000-3000 mile intervals.

When/if you ever want to add a filter, original-style by-pass canister filters can be eaily found. Jim Carter now sells a modern-style remote filter-head for a spin-on filter, AND it looks like it has been adapted to work as a by-pass filter (it probably has a restriction in the input port of the filter head).

I believe the oil filter is well worth putting on. If you watch the color of the oil on the dipstick you will see the results. The filter sre cheap from salvage as many of the old cars/trucks had one. You can get a hose-fitting kit from the specialty supplyers. Do not use old hoses. Many engines have been ruined by broken hoses. These filters are not full flow but all the oil gets filtered. With modern oils, a filter, & good engine you can go 4-5 thousand mile between changes.

Close to 70 k miles on a filterless '56 engine daily driver only vehicle the past 12 years with this engine, change oil once a season, 4 times a year irregardless of mileage.

If you choose a spin-on filter be aware that a restrictor with about a 1/16" orfice in it will be required to keep the oil pressure up to the rest of the engine. It doesn't really matter if it's in the inlet or outlet, as long as it's there somewhere. Also, choose a spin-on filter with a much finer mesh than the full-flow systems use. Since a bypass filter doesn't have to flow enough oil to keep the bearings lubed, it can do a much better job of filtering the crud out of the oil. I'd suggest looking for a filter from NAPA or WIX that's intended for filtering super-thin hydraulic fluid with as small a "micron" rating as possible.

The "Frantz" brand filter system I used to sell that used a roll of toilet paper as a filter cartridge supposedly trapped particles as small as 2/10 micron. I was a dealer for a canister system that replaced the LuberFiner 750 on big trucks, and the change interval on the filter cartridge was 10,000 miles. We never changed oil- - -just swapped filter elements and topped off the oil level. Some of the engines my customers ran had over 100,000 miles on the oil, and still passed all the tests an independent laboratory ran on the samples we took at every filter change. If you're going to go to the trouble of installing a bypass oil filter, it might as well be as efficient as possible!
Jerry

I had one on my 235 but found oil pressure was always low. Put on an aftermarket oil pressure gauge with the same results. Coincidence? Don't know. Removed the filter and its fine without. I change oil every 1000 miles either way. I can live without one.

The way most of us run these old trucks I really don't see the need for a filter. Mine is an old original unit sitting on the shelf with a lot of other old parts.

I'd probably install it if it was a daily driver but for 1000 miles a year.....who cares?

Today I saw a beautiful 1965 Corvette with the 265" V8 and it had no oil filter.

a 1955 corvette might have had a 265, but not a 1965 ... the early 265's didn't have built in filters, but did have an add-on filter

Bill

55 was the only 265 V-8 without the filter boss built into the block at the driver's side of the bellhousing area. The 1/8" pipe plug at the end of the camshaft oil gallery above the timing cover was the oil source for a bypass canister filter just like the 6 cylinders ran in 55. I used that gallery for a pressure switch on a 327 race engine that came on at 20 PSI and flashed a big red light at the driver. If it didn't reset after a turn, it was time to shut the engine down. We saved a couple of crankshafts that way when the bearings got worn. Even on the later model engines that the gallery didn't get drilled, the plug was still there. I would (carefully) drill a hole into the oil gallery to provide pressure to the high pressure idiot light switch.
Jerry

Its worth it to me to have the oil filter, to pull the dipstick out & the oil looks like it just came out of a can. It has to be better for the engine.

IMHO any filtration is better than none. I run a canister filter on my '38.

Pardon my typo. It was a 1955 Corvette with a 265, not a 1965.