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The filter will pick up most of the 20 micron sized particles in a multi-pass fashion. But much of the wear particles will be smaller and will not filter out effectively. The 5 to 10 micron particles are the same size as the typical oil film thickness at lubrication points. Cam lobes and chain sprockes and chain internal running film thicknesses are smaller. Much of the wear will be iron and steel. These particles circulate over and over again. The soft metal on bearing shells is easily damaged by these particles. The pistons also are soft. Draining the oil is the only efffective mathod of getting these out your engine. Draining oil after a run and cool down is more effective than a partial warm up of a parked vehicle where the particles can settle out.
A bypass filter would be idea, but there really is little room to install one of these. A centrifical spinner oil filter would be the best solution, but agin no room. But with good maintenance, these engines will out last the warranty and generally last a long time before they suffer from wear induced problems.
What you can do is install a drain bolt with a large very strong rare earth magnet. The good ones are expensive (~$25). These will pull much of the magnetic wear particles out of the circulating oil. This might also extend the life of oil seals as well. Some put magnets on the outside of the oil filters to get some of the same effect. When you remove the iron and steel bits from the cirulating oil, then you reduce the amount of aluminum and babbit metal particles which are in circulation which the magnet cannot remove. So effectively, the magnet removes the hard iron and steel bits that cause wear to the non magnetic wear metals which effectly reduced the amount of non magnetic particles in the oil as well.
A magnet solution is not the very best solution above and beyond good oil and filters. But it is effective, simple to install, a one time expense and there are no problems with space claim for something bulky, plus hoses.
You can change your oil now. Use Mobil One 10w30 and the mobil one oil filter, or the Purolator Pure One PL10241 which is thought to be as effective and the price is less insane. Many vehicles are coming factory filled with syntheic oil. Yours came with semi synthetic oil. Don't use Castrol FakeTec (tm) oil as is not a true synthetic base stock, but is a highly hydrocracked dyno oil (group III)... they must be making lots of money selling that at the same price as Mobil One which is fully synthetic (group IV).
Do some full boost runs before you change the oil as this will cause the hard piston rings to shave off cylinder wall high spots... which is a normal sort of thing. This will happen anyways at some point. Then you can drain off that surge of wear particles with the initial oil and not load them into the new oil.
(There was some thinking that some hard runs were essential to a new engine, with the concern that driving like granny would not set the rings out hard against the cylinder walls, which would allow the rings to ride over high spots instead of cutting them off. This could cause the high spots to deform and work harden and the rings would not seat properly. Modern cylinder honing techniques hopefully have reduced such needs.)
posted by 208.24.179...
, Fri, 12 Apr 2002 10:32:12
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