Turbo oil line filters...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[Mr Ree]

Hi TS'ers...

I have been reading alot about these, both good an bad, and was wondering how many, if any, of you are running pre turbo filters in your feed line, on your turbo(s)?

I know that alot of the Garrett snails in the Ford Falcon XR6 died an early death, due to the filter screens clogging up, and given that was an OEM item, one would think that they might have got the screen mesh size wrong, as surely all of the failures couldnt be down to owner neglect/lack of oil changes?

Also, you would think that they could have easily built in a reasonable amount of idiot proofing into the system, like a bypass that opens if the pressure drop across the filter is too high.

Anyway, I have medium term plans of running a PTE CEA 6266 DBB snail, and Im considering buying one or possibly even two of these and running them in parallel, and was wondering if anybody here had any first hand experience with them, how long they take to get remotely dirty, or even, if there is something else on the market you would recommend?


http://store.forcedperformance.net/PROD ... ilter.html

Any advice/help/info appreciated

[evil_si]

Waste of time

[matt dunn]

Dont run one myself and dont know anyone that does.

[Stott69]

can only see them of use if your expecting engine failure and want to save the turbo. My turbo came with a filter mesh preinstaled and a statement saying that removale voids warranty.

[Akane]

No idea how people blow Garrett turbos up, run a GT28RS with a XR6 turbo core with no water cooling and 12:1 AFR, still running to this day.

[iOnic]

Waste of time

[allencr]

Waste of time

X2
Where exactly, between the engine's oil filter and the turbo's feed line, would this nasty stuff be coming from & what could/would it be, other then the oil filter itself coming apart??

Wouldn't a metal filter be great at absorbing radiant heat from the turbo to cook/bake the oil inside at shutdown?

[Mr Ree]

As soon as the oil filter bypass opens, there is no more filtering going on, and this is when the inline filter is going to be of help.

For an car that doesnt get thrashed much, if at all, I agree that they are essentially pointless, but for a car that spends alot of its time under full throttle/revs/oil pressure, the likelihood of the bypass on the filter opening is far higher, even more so for people who run heavier weight oils than the bearings were designed for.

As Scott touched on, they are also very useful for avoiding a turbo failure should you lunch your motor, as they will stop the metal bits making their way into the CHRA.

Thanks to everyone that has replied so far, even if only with two or three words

[~SlideWays~]

I had similar replies a few weeks ago:

viewtopic.php?t=91388

[BlakeNZ]

the aftermarket ones designed to replace the falcon xr6 ones are superior. They are also easy to access. They are ideal if you want to save a ball bearing turbo.
Example: If i blow a 1jzgte up, i can replace it from $1000-1600, but if the lunched oil gets to my turbo, it will cost a further $2100 to replace the garrett GT35.
who wants that?

[Mr Ree]

Thanks Blake, I appreciate your input, and it concurs with my way of thinking.

Sure, you could get away without ever needing one, especially with a journal bearing turbo, which for the record can be rebuilt, but with a new BB CHRA that is a throw away item if it decides to lunch itself, it seems like a no brainer to spend the $100 odd to avoid it.

The simple fact that so many of the XR6 filters clogged up must tell people that without one, there will be no shortage of "bits" going through the turbo.

Im fastidious enough to ensure I clean mine regularly too.

What sort do you run, please?

[jaypines]

i think if you position the filter away from the turbo it will do good and will not "coke-up" from the heat of the turbo when shutdown. Think of the screen mesh filters for the vvt-i... with regular oil changes you dont need to worry about them... probably same with turbo filters.

[Mr Ree]

The same with all filters really...just follow the service interval and it will be fine

Most failures stem from people refusal to perform basic maintenance in the belief that it will save them money...lololol

[evil_si]

If you destroy an engine, massive bearing or metal failure, enough to block the oil filter and the bypass to open, the engine WILL generally stop on its own due to the severity of the failure before any conaminated oil makes it thru the filter and to the turbo

Well before this stage you will have tell tale signs, Run bearing, bearing knock, s

If you let your oil filter run to bypass you need to change your oil and filter more frequently!
The bypass is only there so that when the filtration media is blocked or restricted the engine will still get oil flow rather than starving it of oil

[iOnic]

If it's only a small expense and easy enough to fit then go for it, you have nothing to lose as long as you watch it like a hawk.

But in my (limited) experience, I've never seen a turbo failure that could have been prevented by having separate filtration for the CHRA.

[Crucible]

Yeah Simon makes a good point. Material would have to get through pump pickup gauze and close tolerances of the oil pump before actually making it past the filter elemant/bypass valve.

Everyone to their own though, The price of some turbos on the market I can understand how people want to take extra precautions if they can.

[Mr Ree]

Thanks alot for everyones opinions, I appreciate you taking the time to post.

So does everybody think that all of the crud that blocked the Falcon filters, causing turbo failure, was simply caused by servicing neglect to such a point that the engines oil filter clogged, and the bypass opened, thus send crap to the turbo filter, and eventually blocking it?

I personally cant see that being the case, but Im genuinely interested in other peoples opinions on the matter.

Thanks

[iOnic]

It's a combination of things I'd say. Not many people actually stay on top of new car servicing like they should for the first few services that are at shorter intervals and this is where the wear happens. Kinda coincidental that this is common on relatively recent vehicles that are fitted with these filters eg legacy/falcon. They are less forgiving for contamination than not having one in place. But then again it could be questioned whether the filter is appropriate for the application too. What faults in the design were addressed on later revisions/aftermarket etc

[Mr Ree]

I thought about that, but to me, it doesnt add up.

Reason being that I would have thought that all new cars (well the vast majority atleast) would have to adhere to a fairly strict servicing regime in order to keep the warranty valid? For the first few years atleast, most people with new cars would just take them into the place they bought them from, to have the regular services performed that are in the service book or surely the warrany would be null and void?

I could be wrong though.

You are definitely onto something in regards to the poor filter selection though, as simply not having a bypass built into it was the first $&#$% up, the second was having such a small filter with such a small amount of filter media of the incorrect microns, that could not only block up relatively easily from a simple lack of servicing, but drop the flow to an amount not sufficient for the turbo to be adequately lubricated...

[strx7]

would have to adhere to a fairly strict servicing regime in order to keep the warranty valid?

You would be amazed at the times we sell late model engines cause the car has done 30-80,000km since new and has NEVER had an oil change........