Anatomy of a Frantz toilet paper bypass oil filter

[steved]

Where is the correct place to put my 1/16 restrictor? Engine take off or Filter inlet?

On the Amsoil unit, it is on the downstream side of the filter (causing the filter to be pressurized)... they actually place a plug with the restriction in the filter head... I assume this is to prevent the possibility of the orifice from ever plugging off...



steved

 

[CFAR]

It was a joke people. There is not enough water in the oil (normally) to dissolve TP, if there is, I would think that you have bigger problems than dissolved TP.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Guys I'm about to install my frantz and showed it to a few of my engineer friends. Both of them laughed and told me I'm going to have some tp come off and go into vital oil passages. My frantz has the screen on the the bottom (stock stuff about the size of a window screen).



I'm not really worried but still there in the back of my mind... .

AHHhhhh - this and the old "Ford owns Cummins" lie will ALWAYS live on in the minds of the ignorant, under-informed and over-educated!



I'll compare my Frantz oil analysis numbers with ANY of those "engineer/experts", anytime, anywhere...

 

[DaveK98]

Finished installing my Frantz. Mine seems to flow really well almost too well when I read about how little you guys were flowing. I would guess at least a quart a minute maybe more it has a good stream? YES I did install the restrictor I got from Frantz think it was the 1/16 inch one and I installed it at the engine oil take off.



Think I installed my tp wrong?



I did use the small core tp and it fit snugly but I did not use o rings as it was already very tight. It outside of the tp was also tight.



Maybe I'm just paranoid since this is the first engine mod I've done

 

[Flinty]

Mine flows oil like its going out of style too. I put 500 mi on the first roll of tp and now I'm about to change out the second after another 2500 mi. My oil is not clear but a dark caramel and I can still clearly read the dipstick, much cleaner than without the filter. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned. Switched to Amzoil at the same time. Factory oil pressure guage gives the same readings as pre-Frantz. No worries there. Hey, if the oil is clean now when in the past it was black as coal... seems like a no brainer to me!

 

[PRout]

There ya go. . Seeing is believing. .

Actually, I had the same concerns about getting paper fibers in the oil, and after alot of oil analysis' (checking and asking about signs of paper) that's one of the last things im concerned about now. Its pretty apparent that after if passes and saturates with oil in the tight canister it sort of compresses into "one" element. You can tell this when you remove the paper. It comes out as one solid unit not at all dissolved, or flaking apart. Admittedly, not long ago I let a tp roll stay in for about 20 k miles, and it came out looking fine, just very black. . hehe It was like a brick when it came out. . (probably because it was full of soot)

Im mostly concerned about having a hose connection fail, or getting a leak somewhere. .

Anyways, In trying to stay open minded, for the simplicity the tp roll type filters (frantz or gulf coast) are hard to go wrong with. The amsoil unit is nice too and maybe easier to change the spin-on filters. The spinner is interesting as well, but the moving parts are something to wear out.

Like Gary says, the analysis' seem to come out pretty consistant, so wysiwyg.

 

[DaveK98]

Ok, Thanks everyone.



Made it fine on my 200 mile trip this weekend, no leaks. Only issue is that the 90 degree fitting on top of my amsoil swivel it rubbing on the hood liner. It is slightly taller than the ones that came with the frantz (1/4 inch taller) so maybe that is the issue?????



Like Shortshift I'm slightly worried about a leak or hose failure at this point. May try and upgrade to some better hoses and fittings in the near future...

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I thought I'd re-post the pic of where I take off the incoming, high PSI oil supply to my Frantz. I place the needed flow restriction RIGHT AT that point purposely to REDUCE the resulting oil flow *and PSI* from that point on thru the rest of the Frantz bypass system.



At least that's mt theory - and no oil leaks so far to date!



#ad

 

[steved]

Ok, Thanks everyone.



Like Shortshift I'm slightly worried about a leak or hose failure at this point. May try and upgrade to some better hoses and fittings in the near future...

I'm running 1/4" hydraulic line I bought from a guy off ebay... got like 100 feet for $15. Being wire reinforced, you can't easily cut it so it should be very abrasion resistant... and being rated for 2k psi, I doubt my 80psi will hurt it.



I also ran it to the back of the truck to, so I'm running a little mroe distance than most. I would be more concern about a fitting cracking or the mount breaking than the hoses...



steved

 

[CumminsPower98]

Is anyone here running OTR and using a TP filter? Just curious how you survive having to change the TP so often. I currently run the Amsoil bypass and have for the last few years but I'm not happy with the new Ea element. You may have seen my other post on this. Anyway I am considering a Motor Guard TP filter and if I could get 5k out of a role that wouldn't be too bad. I put on up to 10k/month. Below are my miles on oil and soot/solids numbers from the last four samples. Look how much the soot went up on that top sample with the new EaBP100 filter with way fewer miles then some of those other samples. There has been no difference in driving habits or mods done in over 200k miles either. All samples were taken the same way using a clean test port on top of the filter, hot engine running and tested at the same lab. I emailed asmoil about this so will see what they have to say. Just searching for options that don't cost too much.



27,800 miles on oil 0. 66/EaBP100



76,535 miles on oil 0. 10/BP100

52,839 miles on oil 0. 09/BP100

25,900 miles on oil 0. 06/BP100



The bottome three samples are all the same oil and sampled about every 25k. the top one was new oil along with the new Ea filter.

 

[rbattelle]

Gary, how in the world did you manage to get that fitting in the oil port that's blocked by the heater line? Did you remove the heater line first?



Ryan

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Is anyone here running OTR and using a TP filter? Just curious how you survive having to change the TP so often.

First, steady speed open freeway miles are the EASIEST on any filter as far as keeping the oil clean is concerned, making longer filter change filters possible and practical. Beyond that, I'm sorta lazy and have a second unused Frantz filter - so I keep the extra canister serviced and ready to go at any time it's needed, and do the service on the spare when I get time and feel like it. I'd especially do that if I was in the OTR business!



Besides, with a spare TP canister available, I can swap out a filter in under a minute in any roadside rest...

Gary, how in the world did you manage to get that fitting in the oil port that's blocked by the heater line? Did you remove the heater line first?

There was enough flexibility on that tube to allow the oil supply fitting to the Frantz to be installed - but certainly no EXTRA room! :-laf

 

[Nate]

Personally I don't find the 2500 mile tp change interval to be an issue at all. It's very easy to change, requires no tools, just maybe a rag to clean off your hands. Really a person could do it at a rest stop, fuel station, etc, though I bet people would be wondering WTF your doing with a roll of TP :-laf



It all depends on your attitude toward maintenance. Myself, I enjoy doing it, so it's really not an issue.





I noticied on your truck Gary, that the turbo line is the farther from the block and your Frantz is closer to the block. On my truck, the turbo line is closer to the block, so it made it easier for me to install the Frantz lines. I'm not sure why it's setup like that, all the other trucks I've looked at had the line farther from the block.

 

[steved]

Personally I don't find the 2500 mile tp change interval to be an issue at all. It's very easy to change, requires no tools, just maybe a rag to clean off your hands. Really a person could do it at a rest stop, fuel station, etc, though I bet people would be wondering WTF your doing with a roll of TP :-laf

While that sounds fine, when you are pressed for time the last thing you want to do on the road is change a filter mid-stride.



I'm going to look into another filter too... I have read of others that use rolls of paper towels and not TP... they are good for more miles...



steved

 

[Nate]

Well it's not like you *have* to change it every 2500 miles.



Really though it takes not even 10 minutes to R&R the TP and throw a quart of oil in the engine.

 

[CumminsPower98]

Well one problem I have with it is all the TP I would have to carry on top of the extra oil I would be throwing away and since I run Amsoil it would cost (maybe the cheap TP would offset the oil cost since I wouldn't be buying the spendy Amsoil unit). Maybe a Golf Coast unit is the way to go I don't know but I really want to find something that filters better then what I have now but can run more miles then a typical TP unit. I will keep thinking on this. Some have said it may take only a cup of makeup oil to change a TP filter and others say a quart. What does it really take if you let it sit overnight? Of course it probably depends on filter location and how well it drains. My truck currently uses a quart about every 3,500 miles. Driving slow around home it used almost half that.

 

[walexa07]

If I let mine sit for an hour it doesn't even show a level change on the dipstick. I went 8,500 miles on this last oil change interval, changed the frantz 3 times, truck has 165,000 on the ticker, the oil level after the last change was less than 1/8" below the full mark. Granted... ... . when I change oil I just dump 12 quarts in there and the oil level ends up a little above the full mark.



Waylan

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

While that sounds fine, when you are pressed for time the last thing you want to do on the road is change a filter mid-stride.



I'm going to look into another filter too... I have read of others that use rolls of paper towels and not TP... they are good for more miles...



steved

Like another member has said, you no more HAVE to pull over to the side of the road at a specific mileage to swap out a Frantz element than you do a full flow filter, so it's hardly a serious issue - just change it out somewhere NEAR the mileage that works for your situation, and at your convenience...





As to the paper towel filters, well, ANY bypass capable of significant efficiency common to these filter types should be a good thing - but 2 potential issues with the paper towel types:



1. All the paper towels *I* have seen are pretty loosely wound on their cores - potentially encouraging "channeling" or internal bypassing of the filter media - I'd sure like to see a typical oil analysis and particle count from one of those in trucks like ours. If I WAS going to use that type filter, I'd look into the interchangeability of the common blue paper shop towels as the filter media, if they could be made to fit the canister - they seem to usually be of FAR better material and more tightly wound than the common paper towels.



2. The greater size of the paper towel units requires considerably more mounting/servicing space than smaller units like the Frantz and Motorguard types - probably forcing a more remote location that is possibly harder to service - and THAT could lead some guys to get sorta lax on proper maintenance intervals. At least most Frantz installs place the canister right out in the open, and easy to get to standing up, and without having to crawl UNDER the truck in some unpleasant location or circumstances.



As to the "difficulty" or inconvenience involved in carrying along an extra TP cartridge - either in a spare canister as I do, or just a plain roll - Jeeze guys, let's maintain SOME reality here! A spare TP roll and quart of oil is hardly a great burden or stretch of available space for most of us - I have NEVER felt the least bit cramped in either my old regular cab '91, or the newer quad cab '02 - and if space is THAT cramped. I'll leave my wife at home... :-laf



As to the volume of actual replacement oil needed with a unit like the Frantz - probably no more than 1 or 2 cups - or perhaps add a quart every second TP cartridge change. I used to pour in a whole quart each cartridge change, but found that usually to be more than was actually needed.



I sometimes get a sense that some guys are sorta "reaching" for excuses to NOT use bypasses like the Frantz - shucks guys, you don't NEED excuses - if you don't like 'em, don't USE them!

 

[Pawpaw]

Well one problem I have with it is all the TP I would have to carry on top of the extra oil I would be throwing away and since I run Amsoil it would cost (maybe the cheap TP would offset the oil cost since I wouldn't be buying the spendy Amsoil unit). Maybe a Golf Coast unit is the way to go I don't know but I really want to find something that filters better then what I have now but can run more miles then a typical TP unit. I will keep thinking on this. Some have said it may take only a cup of makeup oil to change a TP filter and others say a quart. What does it really take if you let it sit overnight? Of course it probably depends on filter location and how well it drains. My truck currently uses a quart about every 3,500 miles. Driving slow around home it used almost half that.

How about putting the TP filter in-line AFTER your amsoil filter? The Amsoil filter should catch the larger particles, leaving the TP to catch the smaller ones. I would think the TP might last 5,000 miles (or more) that way?



Just a thought, since you already have the Amsoil setup.



Bob

 

[Froadin]

Where you place your filter and how high will help determine how fast the oil will drain back.

If given a chance, I let mine sit over night before changing the TP out.

As for going longer then that, do it, nothing lost. I have went 5k a few times on mine before I had time/chance to change it out. No harm done AT ALL by not changing it out 'on time'. You just not filtering as well for that extra time.