Nothing in the engine runs with no clearance, it all has clearance. The problem then would be not the quantity of the carbon/soot, but the size of the particles. Provided the full-flow portion of the filter is not clogged/bypassing then, and the filtration is smaller than the clearance between moving parts, I am still missing the mechanics of damage from soot loading. I'm not trying to be a smartass, just my Engineer side trying to understand a facet of engine wear or potential wear which has never been part of my expertise and I thank you all for sustaining this discussion.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff