Some Oil Questions????

[4GIVEN]

I use 15w-40 now, but I was talking to an owner-operator at a stop that I was at, and he told me that he uses synthetic and has something called a bypass filter. Has anyone heard of this? He also told me that he changes his oil every 150,000 miles. Can this be true? What do you guys run and how long between changes? Whats the best thing to do, I dont care how much the price. Also try to let me know where to get this stuff. Thanks!!!!!

[GMAN]

I don't run synthetic oil in the engine, but do in my rears and wheels. It reduces friction, which causes wear. Synthetic oil is supposed to not need changing as frequently as organic oil. The main reason I stick with organic oil is the cost. If the cost was comparable to organic, then I would likely consider making the change. A friend of mine has a bypass filter and loves it. Theoretically, you need to change your filter at certain intervals and add oil. I don't recall how long you are supposed to be able to go without changing oil, but it is a much longer time. It is messy changing the filters. If this is something you are interested, I will ask my friend next time we talk. Right now he is doing truck driver things. :wink:

[solo379]

He also told me that he changes his oil every 150,000 miles. Can this be true?

Of cause it can! There is no limit, to people stupidity! :P
It's all about stakes! How much do you like to gamble? I've recently put Spinner bypass filter on my CAT, still wouldn't probably go over 20,000 between changes, tho, even according to CAT, i could go 30,000...
Call me "old fashion", but i don't believe, in that kind of "savings"!

[brian]

a bypass filter will filter anywhere from 10-50% of the oil a second time and they really do work.

I change mine every 30k and the bypass filter every 15k and the oil always looks good, getting it tested once a year always proves thats the case as well.

[GMAN]

Well, I spoke with my friend and he said the he has a West Coast system. He changes the filter every 10,000 miles and replaces about 3 gallons of oil at the time. He also has an oil analysis performed monthly. Unless something shows up in the oil analysis he never has to completely change his oil. He loves it. I don't know that I would be completely comfortable with not changing my oil on a regular basis, but as long as the oil analysis looks good, it should be alright.

[4GIVEN]

Wheres a good place to buy these bypass filters and are they hard to put in?

[GMAN]

I believe their website is www.gulfcoastfilers.com.

[Scottt]

For anything you want to know about oil this is a good source.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

[allan5oh]

With extending oil drain intervals, oil analysis is key. Without it, you're stabbing into the dark.

With our engines, the main things are TBN retention and soot levels. EGR engines put more soot into the oil. New ULSD fuel has made TBN less important.

Synthetics (0w40 or 5w40) also have much better winter flowing characteristics. This also helps save the engine.

I use kleenoil filters, and the units are made very well. Very easy to change with zero mess and little makeup oil. In total my engine has 4 filters(2 full flow, one factory bypass, and the kleenoil bypass). I currently run 50,000 km and I'm considering doubling or even tripling that with a good synthetic oil.

With a good synthetic oil and a good bypass system, your intervals will be longer, keeping downtime lower, your oil and filter costs will be lower, and your engine wear will be lower.

But not all engines are suitable for extended intervals, or even synthetic for that matter. If your engine loads oil up with soot, it's not suitable.

[4GIVEN]

Sweet, thanks for the info!!!

[4GIVEN]

What can I do for a Cat C12? Is this engine good for a bypass setup? Its in the process of getting rebuilt and I was thinking about switching to synthetic and a bypass filter. What do you guys think? I just want the best.

[heavyhaulerss]

you know i have yet to decide if these additives work like described. i will say that i use 2 gal of lucas oil stabilizer at every oil change & after 8 years & over 1 mil miles, & no work done to engine. i wonder if it's because of the lucas or despite it? it may be psychological. :? i do beleive that things can be invented to work better than originally planned. i'm on the fence about this & will be for some time

[Blue Heeler]

I have the FS2500 oil bypass filter, I paid about $400 for it. when I installed it I went 48k miles before my oil analysis came back from Detroit telling me to change the oil. I change the bypass filter & engine oil filters & send an oil sample off about every 10-15k. as of now I have 42k on the oil & the analysis has come back OK.

[Copperhead]

Synthetic engine oils and bypass filtration is definately a mix for extended oil changes. Jeff Foster Trucking set up this way and went for over 100K oil changes with excellent results.

If you look at www.amsoil.com there is documented test results of a Mack that had over 400K on an oil change. Mack didn't believe the interval was sound and they tore the engine down to inspect and confirmed the results were better than a typical engine that had normal 20K services.

If you are not going for the extended changes, then synthetics are not cost effective. Stick with good quality conventional oil. Either way you go, get on an oil analysis program and test regularly. Any problem with the oil or the engine will show up in the analysis before it becomes a major headache and ruins the engine.

I use the Amsoil remote bypass filter setup. It is FAR cheaper than the FS-2500 for the initial install and came darn close to the performance of the FS-2500 in independent testing. And, unlike the FS-2500, it uses easily replaceable spin on filters.

You can get extended drains out of conventional oil as well. Again, you can only know by getting on an oil analysis program.

Oh... by the way, if you really want to get into the issue, you need to check out www.bobistheoilguy.com and read some of the tests and get into the forums. You will learn more than you probably want to know about oils, greases, etc. Some really knowledgeable people there and you will usually get good answers to any questions you have.

After looking at the test there regarding Lucas oil stabilizer, it will never get used in any of my equipment.