2000 Ford Superduty
7.3 liter Diesel Engine
Lube Oil Bypass Filtration
I feel that the cleaner I keep my lube oil, the longer my engine will last. To accomplish this, I have installed a bypass filtration system similar to that used on OTR trucks. I chose to go with a Baldwin filter system, as they are among the very top tier of filter manufacturers, and they have been providing these for decades. I am also now using Fleetguard LF-778 filters, as these are equivalent and interchangeable. Click on them to enlarge most photos. |
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From Amazon.com One hose is 40", the other is 46". The 46" one is the one with the 90-degree on one end. If you contact Orme Brothers (877-ORMEBRS), and reference this page (be sure to accurately give them this URL) they will make up the hoses and ship them out to you directly. They are GREAT people to work with! They understand racer's and trucker's special needs, and everything is absolutely FIRST quality! |
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This clean, black location is the left-side frame rail just forward of the transmission cross-member. This is where I mounted the bypass filter bracket, using the two existing frame holes shown circled with chalk just under the parking brake cable. Note the black CCV hose above the cable passing by on its way to the rear. |
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It's made of a 4-1/2 inch long piece of 2" x 4" tube stock of 1/8" thick wall. |
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This is where I drilled the holes that mount this to the frame. |
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These holes are drilled 21/64" for 5/16" bolts. Note the hole pattern is twisted about five degrees counter-clockwise. This is due to the frame rail being at that angle at the mounting location. It avoids water collecting inside the tubing while allowing the filter to mount vertically. To this mounts the Baldwin OB1305 bypass filter base. |
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This is where to attach the purchased adapters and hydraulic lines to the engine. When routed, use the plastic wire loom to cover the lines for additional abrasion resistance. |
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The plug in the side of the block where the return line goes has a square, 5/16" recess. You will need some sort of square drive that size to remove it. I made one from a 1/2" short bolt, and ground the end down to that square size. See the photo at left for details. |
To get the parking brake cable apart to pass it through the bracket, first chock the wheels, then release the parking brake fully. Find the joining clip pictured and remove one cable from it. You may need to loosen the adjuster in the rear of the truck to get enough slack to do this. Pass the cable through the bracket, re-attach, and re-adjust. |
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If you're concerned that the bypass system may bleed off excessive oil pressure, be assured that the Baldwin B164 and Fleetguard LF-778 filters have a built-in restriction to prevent this from happening. |
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This is how it looks installed. Notice the parking brake cable and CCV hose pass through the bracket. There is a short section of small fuel line covering the cable for abrasion and rattle resistance. The filter hangs a little low, but not below the transmission cross-member. Turning it 90 degrees is not a good option, though, as these filters should be always mounted base-up if at all possible. The lines are teflon, #4 size, stainless braided, high pressure. The pressure line is 40 inches, the return is 46 inches. For those that take their trucks off-road, and are concerned about maximizing ground clearance, there are two shorter Baldwin filters that also perform this function: the Baldwin B50, at 5-3/8 inches high, which is two inches shorter than the B164, and the Baldwin BT341, at 4-3/8 inches high, which is three inches shorter than the original. |
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For those that would suggest that the B164's filtration ability is not up to that of "another manufacturer", I offer the following: On 26 JAN 09, I had a chat with the guy that runs Applications Engineering for Baldwin.
Some things I was told: The B164 bypass is rated at 15 microns absolute, and that translates to 3-5 microns nominal. Here are my Blackstone Labs reports. Note the "Comments" sections of them.
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Implementation I have received a few questions about my procedure, so I'll try to elaborate a little: After a number of samplings, it was determined that my engine's oil viscosity began shearing down at around 17,000 miles, so..... I change my dino Delo 15W-40 400LE oil every 15,000 miles. At the same time I change the full-flow and the bypass filters, and start out with everything fresh. I don't suck out the HPOP like some think is necessary for a complete oil change, as I don't consider the reservoir to have enough volume to make a significant difference. At 5000 miles on the oil, I change only the bypass filter and send off a sample. Again at 10,000 miles, only the bypass and a sample. At 15,000, I again change everything, and send off a sample. That's one full-flow, three bypass filters, and three samplings for each complete oil change. I don't feel that there is much cost-savings this way versus just changing the oil each 5000 miles, but I have a LOT more "health information" to show for the money spent. As always, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). |
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