Is a pleated oil filter necessary?

[TwoWheelTim]

This idea was born out of another topic regaring brands of oil filters. I started thinking, what does a pleated paper filter really do to improve the purity of oil circlulating through our engines.

I have many engines (lawn mowers) that do not use a filter at all. Also I have (had) two scooters that only used a screen to strain the oil as it is pumped through the engine. One a 150cc that I sold at 15k miles and still running strong. The other I still own at 21000 miles and still running like new, in all respects (MPG, top speed, torque, idle).

So what benefits (cost is obvious) could be gained from replacing the filter with a reusable screen?

Are there any risks?

I know that the above mentioned 150cc it lost a cam bearing, and the screen did a fine job in keeping the bits of metal (there was a lot) out of the engine and confined to the sump. I cleaned it all out with a magnet, replace the cam, did two oil flushes and it ran great and still does thousands and thousands of miles later.

The next oil change on my 2012 400cc AN400L1 I will see if fitting a screen is possible. Of course I am going to wait until end of waranty to actually try it. All that is needed is a spring to fit over the screen and long enough to provide compression against the engine oil filter cover, a screen fitted with rubber gasket (sold at many scooter sites), and an oil pick up tube to slip it over.

[Daboo]

I had a 66 VW Beetle that didn't have an oil filter...just a screen.

Chris

[model28a]

For the small price of a filter I think I will stay with a standard oil filter. And I am a true cheapskate. But to each his own, it's your scooter. If you do try just a screen keep us informed as I said I am cheap I and would like to save money if I could. Is saving money your only motivation, if so I think I would experiment with something worth a little less money. Come to think of it my 1927 Model T and 1928 Model A did not come with filters and still have the same engines Henry Ford put in them. I could put aftermarket filters on them but I see no need. So you may be on to something.

[Daboo]

When I saw this, my mind jumped over to something else that has changed since when I first owned a car. Back in the "good old days", I had engine water hoses rot out, especially the large diameter radiator hoses. I can't remember the last time I changed a hose in one of my cars. As I wrote in another thread, I keep my cars till they are close to dying...or die. The 84 Mazda was around for 16.5 years. Plenty of time for several sets of hoses, yet none ever went bad. We have a Camry now that we got after the Mazda and it is 13 years old and still going strong. At one time, I'd be changing those hoses every few years, just for preventative maintenance. Not any longer.

Another truism seems to be the oil change interval. My first car was a used 64 Buick Skylark. The previous owner changed the oil every 2000 miles. The ones pushing that oil change interval are places like Jiffy Lube. Even the car manufacturers are publishing oil change intervals at 7500-10,000 miles.

Just some interesting thoughts...

Chris

[TwoWheelTim]

Cost really isn't my motivation here. Improved oil flow and ease of maintenance are. Many of us leave the oil filter in for two oil drains, again I do it since it is possible and evidence has shown that the filter is good for that long. I just suspect that the perceived benefit from the filter is not worth the effort, and could actually reduce the oil flow through an engine.

Any Bobistheoilguy posters want to jump in?

[mikeyMarine]

well the pleats are for more surface area in the same space, the hoses may have someting to do with running anti freeze instead of rusty water thru then (by the way if you are running straight water and decide to flush it, a good rusty water sprinkling on your plants gives iron and a green refreshing to yellowish lawn but don't overdo it ) things change and things change, with more and more things coming from china and the only thing coming from china I trust is wasabi mustard (made in Japan) I'll trust my motor to a cheap filter and hope, by the way what caused the bearing failure on the engine not having a filter ?

If your screen has a mesh as fine as the micro holes in the paper to filter out stuff that will cause wear and clog lube ports on piston bearings , it should work, good luck

[ted clement]

I don't know the answer either, but have owned several Helix which use only screens; however, i never exceeded 15K on either. In contrast , my Can Am Spyder uses two of the pleated filters. A larger one for the engine, and a smaller one...about the size of the B400...for the auto-transmission. They call for 3000 mi oil changes with filters changed each time. They've just now put out an update with the trans filter becoming much longer with a elongated cap to accomodate it, but they extended the oil change to 4600 mile. No idea why this was necessary, just tossing it out FWIW. I know the transission really shears the oil but don't see that a larger filter has anything to do with that.

On an engine like the B400, I supect one could get along without a filter...or run the pleated ones for extended periods...without any harm.

Without knowing how the B400 would fare with a screen, I'd feel better using the pleated filter and changing it at least every other time.

[Steve D UK]

Not sure about bikes but all cars already have a screen of some sort fitted to the oil pickup pipe. I don't think I'd like to trust a high revving modern engine with thin oil and close bearing tolerances with just a screen. A paper filter can catch the smallest of particles measured in microns which a screen will surely not and I'd imagine that the cost of labour involved in cleaning out a screen would probably be more than the cost of a filter. I know what I'd rather spend my money on!

[TwoWheelTim]

Good commentary everyone. I thought I would post a picture of the filter screens I use.

Regarding the bike that lost the bearing. Not sure exactly why it failed, but to be fair, I was really riding it hard that day. Summer 2009 long road trip of over 1 and 1/2 hours one way at near WOT on a 60 MPH highway. I quit running it on such long trips after that and bought a bigger scooter that year. The screen really saved its life though.

[bigr]

I to have 2 150cc scoots with the screens. With no issues. but I also had a big rig. And with it i sent a sample off the oil of to be tested. It is strongly suggested to change the filters and top off the oil with a stabalizer. I wouldnt personaly go to a screen on my 400. But if you do id atleast send a sample off for testing every 1000 miles. Just because theres no real filtration with a screen.

[Bluebottle]

Regarding the bike that lost the bearing. Not sure exactly why it failed

Could it be because it had a screen and not an oil filter?

The screen might have saved the bike but a filter could have saved the bearing in the first place.

"is a filter necessary?" it looks like the answer is right there in the story to me.
(sorry if that sounds flippant, it isn't meant to be)

[TwoWheelTim]

Good analysis Bluebottle. I think your idea is possible. Just because it has run flawless since the bearing failure (another 9000 miles), it could have failed due to some small particle getting in the bearing. Oil is not pure and perfect. I have poured oil out of a fresh bottle and chunks of plastic came out. I caught it as it was going down the funnel, but who knows what else could be in the jugs.

[Bluebottle]

Its the sludge that worries me.

As metal wears over time and rubs flat or rounds off or the surface gets polished it means metal has been removed, you also get carbon deposits being formed and lost.
So where is it now?
it is an ingredient in oil soup

That means wherever your oil goes it takes metal grains with it so I would never run my bike without a paper filter.

Another point is that the Burgman doesn't use plain bearings so creating high oil pressures isn't so vital