Sure! It just seemed like the best way to describe it .
I can understand the cotton totally, I just don't get why it's got dirt in it. That seems counterproductive to me... I don't mean sawdust or twigs, I mean plain ol' dirt (granted there isn't a lot). I'm still going to use the one I have left (broke teenager syndrome), but I don't get why a dirty filter would be better that a clean one (as long as it is very well packed).

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

What you call 'dirt' is part of the cotton as it comes off the plant.. In order to separate it out you would also have to separate the cotton fibers which would reduce their density and ability to filter. None of it can get into your oil system and all of it works to filter your oil.

You're freaking out about nothing. Mann is still the best filter you can use.

__________________
CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Fram cotton is better than mann if thats what the mann cotton looks like.

__________________
'85 300D Cal 280,000 miles
'14 GLK 350 60000 miles

Didn't you just take apart a MANN filter?

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Is the cotton the bypass filter section? I've read that soot is too small for most oil filters. The only kind that are effective on soot is the toilet paper type bypass filter.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

notice the highlighted word...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

yes, the cotton is the "bypass" section... it is more effective than the paper is.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

So the filters without the bypass cotton section like the Wix (100% pleated?) is less effective?

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Fram is notorious for making some of the worst spin-on filters on the market. I would never use a Fram filter on any of my cars. Period.

The larger top section of the filter which is filled with cotton is the primary filtration, or "bypass"... the FSM refers to this as "finely filtered oil" which goes back to the oil pan. The lower pleated section of the filter is the "full-flow" section, this goes out to the main oil gallery in the engine block. See FSM Group 18 for details.

__________________
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Yes.

Did you even look at the pictures? The cotton field mowing aren't even sealed into the filter. There is a direct path for dirt to get into your engine.

__________________
617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

What are you talking about? You make it sound like you can shake a new filter and have dirt fall out of it.

I buy STP filters which have mahnn stamped on them

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

Except for coming in an orange box, the Fram CH2930 filter has no relationship whatsoever to Fram spin-on oil filters.

In that case, what is being "bypassed?"

__________________
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Anything that passes through the bypass filter goes into the sump and is then refiltered by the paper section of the filter before going into the engine.

I'm not sure people have a good understanding of how the MB bypass filter works. Maybe that's the real problem.

Do we really need 2 active threads on this subject?

__________________
CENSORED due to not family friendly words