Bypass Oil Filter Setup, 617.952 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Diesel911 · #1 03-05-2008, 01:21 PM

I became only slightly interested in installing a Bypass Oil Filter on my car after reading a thread by one of the members. But my real motivation to finally do something about it came from this and another thread concerning the bypass section of the stock Mercedes oil filter and its being filled with raw cotton as it come off of the plant still having plant debris, dirt and on occasions bugs mixed in with the cotton. On top of this none of the companies that use this type of filter media in their filters can tell you how well the upper bypass part of their filters preform while the can tell you how well the full flow part performs. You can read through that thread if you want more:OIL FILTERS: which one to buy????
OIL FILTERS: which one to buy????

My buying the filters and other supplies got ahead of my research on the stuff I needed. Due to my ignorance of filter rating systems I ask the Baldwin company “what is the lowest micron rating on your B50 filter” and was told 2 microns. As I would find out after I ordered the filters (I ordered B164 filters ; the longer version of the B50) this is not exactly the case. The filter has a 2 micron nominal rating and a 15 micron absolute rating.
A quote from an article: “A filter is considered nominally efficient at a certain micron level if it can remove 50 percent of particles that size. In other words, a filter that will consistently remove 50% of particles 20 microns or larger is nominally efficient at 20 microns.
A filter is considered to achieve absolute filtration efficiency at a certain micron level if it can remove 98.7% of particles that size. So, if a filter can remove 98.7% of particles 20 microns or larger, it achieves absolute efficiency at that micron level.”
The site the quote came from: http://www.autoeducation.com/autoshop101/oil-change-7.htm
So it appears that the Baldwin B164 filters I bought can remove 50% of the particles down to 2 microns in the nominally efficient category and >98% of the 15 micron particles.
For my particular installation I may get better overall particle filtration as the oil passes through the bypass section of the stock filter before it goes into the B164 filter and is being filtered by 2 bypass filters.
To save money I made my own filter head/mount at a cost of $5 for the 3/16” metal plate (enough for 3 filter heads) and 52 cents for the 5/6-18x1 inch bolt. (The correct Baldwin filter head/mount OB1305 cost $27-30 + shipping.)
The brass fittings I bought at OSH hardware and I am using ¼ inch fuel hose until I can order some hydraulic/oil cooler hose at a later date.
I tapped into the bypass oil that goes through the center stem of the oil filter cap and pressurized oil goes from there into the B164 oil filter.
I could not find a decent place to mount the filter head so I decided to bolt a Grape Fruit Juice can in front of the fender well (with foam padding) and just drop the filter into it.
I decided to drain the oil back into the crankcase by way of the dip stick tube using a bent 3/8 aluminum tubing and a 3/8 fuel line rubber sleeve to seal it. See Pic:

Diesel911 · #2 03-05-2008, 01:25 PM

I decided to paint the Grape Fruit Juice can and More Pics:

#3 03-05-2008, 01:27 PM

What size restriction orifice did you use?

Here is my bypass filter. Amsoil EaBP90 with a 2 micron absolute rating.

Diesel911 · #4 03-05-2008, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

What size restriction orifice did you use? 1/4" is far too large to restrict the flow.

Here is my bypass filter. Amsoil EaBP90 with a 2 micron absolute rating.

Boy you are fast; I just posted this.
How about letting me know if the Amsoil filter has 5/8-18 threads; if so I can change the filter later.
Since I am tapped into the top of the hollow stem (the one that you plugged for use with the Wix oil filter) on the stock oil filter cap I am using the restricted orifice that is already present in the stem and also the filter itself has its own restricted orifice that can be seen in one of the photos. Also later when my Valve Cover is off for some other reason I may tap it and route the return to drip oil onto the timing chain.

#5 03-05-2008, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

the filter itsel has its own restricted orifice that can be seen in one of the photos.

Yes, I saw that after you updated your first post,

The EaBP90 uses 1"x16 threads. The filter itself is unrestricted so I had to use a 1/16" orifice in the filter base outlet.

Diesel911 · #6 03-05-2008, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

Yes, I saw that after you updated your first post,

The EaBP90 uses 1-1/16" threads. The filter itself is unrestricted so I had to use a 1/16" orifice in the filter base outlet.

Thanks for the info; I have seen that size filter base on Ebay often or if my base is wide enough I could make 1-1/16 adapter to fit over the 5/8-18 theads of the one I have.

#7 03-05-2008, 02:07 PM

Sorry, that should have been 1"x16 threads.

Diesel911 · #8 03-05-2008, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

Sorry, that should have been 1"x16 threads.

Thanks for the update.

pawoSD · #9 03-05-2008, 03:32 PM

*Flame Suit on* The real question here is whether or not this will actually extend engine life. Many people on the forum have nearly 400k on the "average" filter system stock to the car....I just wonder if it is worth all the work? How much oil actually passes through that bypass system? What is the flow rate?

vstech · #10 03-05-2008, 03:50 PM

heck, anything that reduces soot on these motors is worth it IMHO... the only reason these motors last so long with this much soot is the huge 8 QT reserve of oil. I bet you could get a full million miles out of a 617 without a rebuild or timing chain repair if a REAL bypass filter was installed.

pawoSD · #11 03-05-2008, 03:54 PM

Hmm, thats probably true. I'd do it on my engine if it did not already have so much blowby. I already use the best filters and excellent oil with a fast change rate....so it should still last me a long time.

Diesel911 · #12 03-05-2008, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

*Flame Suit on* The real question here is whether or not this will actually extend engine life. Many people on the forum have nearly 400k on the "average" filter system stock to the car....I just wonder if it is worth all the work? How much oil actually passes through that bypass system? What is the flow rate?

The following quotes are from from this article: http://www.autoeducation.com/autoshop101/oil-change-7.htm "First of all, the statistics previously mentioned regarding engine wear haven't changed. 60% of all engine wear is caused by particles between 5 and 20 microns. Unfortunately, most oil filters on the market today are lucky to remove even a small percentage of particles under 30 to 40 microns. This, again, leaves most of the harmful debris in your oil."

If this is true the life of the engine should be extended. Otherwise it is sort of like quitting smoking. You cannot repair damage/wear already done by putting in a bypass filter.
Stock full flow filters seem to be in the 20-30 micron range. You will have to ask the company if that is nominal or absolute rating as there is a big differance. "A filter is considered nominally efficient at a certain micron level if it can remove 50 percent of particles that size. In other words, a filter that will consistently remove 50% of particles 20 microns or larger is nominally efficient at 20 microns."
The amount of oil (in my case the oil passes throught the bypass section of the stock filter and also through the add on bypass filter) going through my system is the same as the amount that would normaly only pass through the buy pass section of the stock oil filter as the oil passes through the same orfice.

Diesel911 · #13 03-05-2008, 09:12 PM

By the way neither the work or the expense was that much. If I had bought the filter base at $30; the filter, hose and fittings total less than $50.
Someone ask about the oil flow I do not know sepcifically but eventually all of the engine oil will pass through and by filtered by them Bypass filter.
Although with a better filter; people are using bypass filters to get more miles before an oil change out of their oil. Peoople using synthetic oil like to do this due to the expense of the synthetic oil.

mobetta · #14 03-05-2008, 10:00 PM

"and I am using ¼ inch fuel hose until I can order some hydraulic/oil cooler hose at a later date."

You should be able to find tranny cooler line in that size at any decent parts house. this is the only thing I would be concerned with.

what is the sensor for that is tapped into your OE filter??

SD Blue · #15 03-05-2008, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

[SIZE=2] But my real motivation to finally do something about it came from this and another thread concerning the bypass section of the stock Mercedes oil filter and its being filled with raw cotton as it come off of the plant still having plant debris, dirt and on occasions bugs mixed in with the cotton. On top of this none of the companies that use this type of filter media in their filters can tell you how well the upper bypass part of their filters preform while the can tell you how well the full flow part performs. You can read through that thread if you want more:OIL FILTERS: which one to buy????

The reason many of the manufacturers don't have a lot of concern about the bypass section as it rarely comes into play. If the full flow part becomes completely clogged, usually by negligence, then the oil goes through the bypass section in order to prevent oil starvation in the engine.

However, if you just want to do an even finer filtration of your oil, then another filter system will do the trick.