Toilet Paper oil filters??

notfarnow · 03-24-2006, 09:16 AM

Anyone use Frantz or equivalent Toilet Paper bypass oil filters? I know someone who swears by them. He changes his oil once a year, changes the TP roll every 2 months. This is in a VW diesel... if you pull the dipstick the oil looks like honey... I've seen it myself.

I'm sure Lubemaster has an opinion on this... what about detergents & additives?

fastpat · 03-24-2006, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by notfarnow
Anyone use Frantz or equivalent Toilet Paper bypass oil filters? I know someone who swears by them. He changes his oil once a year, changes the TP roll every 2 months. This is in a VW diesel... if you pull the dipstick the oil looks like honey... I've seen it myself.

I'm sure Lubemaster has an opinion on this... what about detergents & additives?

No, they don't work.

pwd72s · 03-24-2006, 09:36 AM

They're still selling those? I remember 'em from the early 1960's...

Jared at Pelican Parts · 03-24-2006, 10:03 AM

Friend of mine had a 51 Buick Special that he used toilet paper rolls in..

Jay Auskin · 03-24-2006, 02:53 PM

THey work if you use a Cool Collar with them.

Hey! I just happen to have a Cool Collar I took of the car I bought last year....I'll make you a deal! I'll even throw in a 6-pack of toilet paper.

rfuerst911sc · 03-24-2006, 04:13 PM

My dad had one on a 1964 Plymouth Fury with a 318 V8. From what I remember it seemed to work but it did reduce the oil pressure.

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

If you use that, your engine will run like crap.

Aurel

M.D. Holloway · 03-24-2006, 06:58 PM

I actually concur with fastpat and aurel - if you want to try a by-pass filter unit, let me know.

notfarnow · 03-25-2006, 04:26 AM

I know you can buy much better bypass filters nowadays. I suppose TP filters made sense on cars like older aircooled VWs that didn't have a "proper" filter. I wasn't actually considering a TP oil filter in my car, more curious about whether or not they actually worked.

I've had the things on my mind lately, because I'm setting up a TP filter as a final "polishing" filter for vegetable oil. They are proven to work well for that purpose, after you've filtered down to 5 or 10 microns. TP filters are great at catching tallow and hydrogenated fats that may make it through the regular filtration process.

schamp · 03-25-2006, 05:04 AM

I don't think the tp filter is a bad idea but not on my porsche. Maybe on something damn near worn out. What I don't get is, with oil being in my opinion cheap why not change it when it gets dirty? Use a good recommended filter and when the oil changes color change it.

M.D. Holloway · 03-25-2006, 06:48 PM

True - but the oil can only hold certain things in suspension (soot, oxidation products), the stuff that doesn't get held are particles from external sources like road dust and dirt along with wear metals internally generated. The filter is supposed to grab it. The problem is, many filters will only filter down to 10 microns at best. The danger occurs with real small particles - between 2 and 22 microns have been proven time and again to contrubute to componant wear and nucleation sites for sludge.

TP filters do not provide a very good media for effective particle capture. Also - there is a far amount of sulfur that is used in the proces to soften it. That is a bad thing because the sulfur can become liberated and proceed to react O2 forming sulfur trioxide which quickly reacts with water vapor to form sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid will quickly breakdown the oil and corrode metal.

fastpat · 03-26-2006, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
I actually concur with fastpat and aurel - if you want to try a by-pass filter unit, let me know.

I agree, bypass filters work very well if installed properly.

fastpat · 03-26-2006, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by schamp
I don't think the tp filter is a bad idea but not on my porsche. Maybe on something damn near worn out. What I don't get is, with oil being in my opinion cheap why not change it when it gets dirty? Use a good recommended filter and when the oil changes color change it.

The TP filters don't work because they fill up with contaminants, which then causes the oil pressure relief valve to open, at which point filtration ceases.

Further, the porosity of TP varies wildly among brands.

And last, the common paper oil filter matched to your car works extremely well, particularly if changed with every oil change.

id10t · 03-26-2006, 03:51 PM

Someone on 356talk did some research, and on a 356, less than 10% of the oil gets filtered. Ron LaDow (precisionmatters) has a full flow system that really works. Avoid the TP...