Gen 1 SBC oil filter bypass

[Bill Chase]

Any benefits to plugging this on a street engine with a stock roller 350 block?
Obviously warm up would have to be done properly every time, and routine maintenance would have to be consistent with filter changes.

Hate the idea of oil bypassing the filter at all, even a remote mounted setup with a couple filters plumbed in parallel. Good idea or bad?

[turbo camino]

I've done it, but only when the giant 2-qt filter could be used. PF932 I believe.

[CGT]

I agree that a 2qt filter is a good idea when doing it. But I have done it plenty of times with a 1qt filter.

[RevTheory]

What are the drawbacks, bursting the filter if the engine is revved too high before it's up to temp?

[swampbuggy]

So how much pressure can a normal cam driven oil pump wet sump type produce if it dead heads so to speak. I wonder if it has ever been tested ? Mark H.

[FC-Pilot]

What are the drawbacks, bursting the filter if the engine is revved too high before it's up to temp?

I keep a fram filter around to show what can happen. The internal element crushed in on itself and plugged the path of oil flow. Looked just fine on the outside.

Paul

[superpursuit]

So how much pressure can a normal cam driven oil pump wet sump type produce if it dead heads so to speak. I wonder if it has ever been tested ? Mark H.

Only whatever the bypass valve will let it produce.

Allan.

[Bill Chase]

Seems like I read here in the past that a particular wix part number has a much higher burst strength rating and is still a very good filter as far as its flow rate and micron numbers.

I had a ford ranger years ago with a 5.0 in it and used a filter relocation kit and ran two of the big ford filters in parallel and it worked fine for years. But I did not change their inlet pressure at all.. in this case my concern is just that.. but with proper oil, warm up practices I should be fine with it I assume??

[rebelyell]

Neither have By-pass valve

with Anti-Drain Back valve WIX 51060
https://www.wixfilters.com/Lookup/PartD ... art=230356

with No ADB valve WIX 51061
https://www.wixfilters.com/Lookup/PartD ... art=156755

choose your parameters
https://www.wixfilters.com/Lookup/Filte ... &styleid=7

[BOOT]

I do it on my cars with 10w40 & a taller wix(not a race filter) 51061, standard volume & pressure oil pumps. I've herd it's more likely to blow the filters seal than burst the filter housing.

Not long ago I saw something bout a import engine that said they need the bypass for high rpm oil flow, made me wonder if that is maybe true for a sbc? Still no problems from it so far that I can tell.

[canuc]

probably better to leave it in unless you using a remote filter with a built in bypass . It should only bypass if the oil were too thick or if the filter was plugged in that case its better to have the bypass allow oil to the crank .

[turbo camino]

The filter will not explode, the pump internal pressure relief will still limit max system pressure just like it always did. What happens is, if the filter area is too small to flow the full volume when the oil is cold and thick, the paper collapses and tries to escape thru the outlet. At that point it's all plugged up and no oil goes to the bearings. The filter will only explode if a connecting rod goes through it after running with no oil.

20W-50 or winter driving or a HV pump all pretty much make the 2qt filter mandatory, and if you have any of those situations and don't have room for the 2qt filter, then don't block the bypass. Light oil with a std volume pump and only warm weather use, the smaller filters are probably OK.

[BOOT]

Good point, my cars are warm weather only or I'd not do it. I crooked tapped n plugged an oem one in one of my videos last year. The thumbnail still makes me LOL

[rebelrouser]

I don't want to start a war, but why would you want to block the pressure relief valve? I have seen it done a bunch on SBC, and BBC engines ? I always put it back to a pressure relief valve when I work on one. I agree all the oil has to go through the filter when you block it, but on cold startup, for example, especially if you run thick oil, you run a very good risk of starving the bearings until you make some heat to thin the oil. I am sure the engineers that designed the relief would have eliminated it if it was not needed. If your crankcase is clean and you change the oil, why would you worry about filtering 100% of the time? Just to try it cut a filter apart and pour cold oil over the filter medium and watch how much runs through the paper, not much.

[68rs406]

I'm not running a bypass (the one on the screw on base) on my current motor, I was told the bypass opens at relatively low pressure so you are running unfiltered oil through the motor a lot of the time. I let it warm up, keep the oil changed and run a good Wix filter, so far so good.

I'm sure the reason engineers added that piece to the stock platform was to allow for the folks that never change their oil, or cold starts, etc.

I can tell you oil filters will "explode" with too much pressure, from experience. It was a unique circumstance though and it was a pump bypass issue.
I freshened a mostly stock 5.0 liter in my old mustang quite a few years back, due to mileage and the motor was out for other reasons, it was in great shape actually so I just ended up cleaning things up, new bearings, rings and, and an oil pump... stock pressure and volume Melling.

I drove it probably a month without any issues. At the time it had only the Hi-Lo cheesy factory gauge, but all seemed well.
One day I was leaving work and the car had been sitting all day in the freezing cold, and when I pulled out I goosed the throttle a bit, not a ton, and let off and got on the freeway and started heading home. 3-4 miles along I happened to look down and my guage was like it came unhooked, all the way "Lo". I listened, it sounded fine, but I was nervous and got off the freeway to have a look anyway. When I opened the hood there was no oil filter, no sign of it even but there was oil all over the chassis. The base was still there screwed on, but that was it. The can had completely separated from the base.
When it blew off the engine and exhaust was still cold, so there was no smoke or anything to speak of, it was crazy. When I went back I could see where it emptied it's oil all over the road almost instantly it looked like, right where I gunned it.

I just screwed on a new filter, filled her up and drove home. Pressure came back and all seemed well.
I put on a mechanical gauge to check and it had 100psi at idle, warm, and it would jump when I revved it. So when it was warm the filter bypass probably bypassed things, but the cold and pressure where too much. This was also my last Fram filter...
Pulled the motor and the bearings almost looked perfect still, the front main had slight sign of being oil starved. It had driven empty for probably 4 miles at 70 mph. I always kind of attributed this to synthetic oil.

Anyway, not the same thing, be filters can fail.