Sprinter Bypass Filter Installation

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Cover removed, centrifuge rotor exposed

Cover off and the centrifuge rotor exposed. The rotor is where the dirt in the oil is caught. It's two piece, with the top being just a cover and the bottom being where the pair of orifices or jets are installed. The two pieces are held together with a thumbnut.

That's my "helper" there in the background BTW.

 

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Centrifuge rotor bottom and jets

Since the jets are diametrically-opposed (180°), they create a "pin-wheel" effect, which allows the rotor to spin at up to 8,000 or 9,000 rpm, depending on the amount of pressure being supplied (the unit is designed to function efficiently at pressures of 35 to 90 psi, and has a "cut-off valve" which prevents the unit from operating at oil pressures of less than 20 psi)

 

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Fully disassembled, internal components

The image below shows the unit fully disassmebled with all internal components shown (except for the rotor thumbnut)

The unit is cleaned by scraping out the rotor cover with something that won't scratch it (like a popsicle stick) and then rinsing it with solvent.

 

[EASYTRADER]

i just added a gulfcoast bypass filter to my truck. Seems pretty simple. Instead of changing the oil I jsut change the filter and send in an oil sample. I havent sent in a sample yet but i will at the end of the month.

How does the centrifuge remove moisture from the oil to pprevent

acid build up

 

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i just added a gulfcoast bypass filter to my truck. Seems pretty simple. Instead of changing the oil I jsut change the filter and send in an oil sample. I havent sent in a sample yet but i will at the end of the month.

Kewl !

How does the centrifuge remove moisture from the oil to prevent acid build up

I don't imagine it does .... but any motor which is run for any length of time at normal operating temperatures and has some way to rid itself of gas/vapor (like a PCV system or some type of crankcase breather) will evap any moisture from the oil.

Some evidence of that might be my own oil anaylses at the link below - every sample I've ever had analyzed always shows the "Water" percentage as 0.0%:

Most Recent UOA

Acidity is generally caused by blowby of oxidized combustion products, and oxidation of the oil itself (higher temperatures act as a catalyst for oxidation)

 

[EASYTRADER]

common sense would dictate that moisture would evape on its own. However many bypass companies claim moisture removal as a benefit The OPS1 even has a moistuure evapp champer.. I went with the gulfcoast product becuase of its design simplicity and suerb ruggedness if youve ever seen one up close youd understand.

Having said that when ou use a spinner filter do you still change the oil or do you leave it untill the anylysis sais its bad.

Gulfcoast told me they have more than one customer with no oil change in million miles. But most of thier customers dont go that long out of habit.

They soke very highly of the toilet paper filters but siad theyre caacity is too low for class 7 and 8 eingines

 

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I went with the gulfcoast product becuase of its design simplicity and suerb ruggedness if youve ever seen one up close youd understand.

I have not seen one first hand, nor have I personally used one - but I have seen the stuff on their website .... I have no doubt that it is quality product. In fact, the guy I bought my TP filter from used to either sell, or work for Gulf Coast I believe.

Having said that when ou use a spinner filter do you still change the oil or do you leave it untill the anylysis sais its bad.

I'd imagine that most folks that use them are doing extended drains and are having their oil analyzed .... one guy I know who ran them on his Class 8 fleet would prototype a new lube oil on a specific individual power unit and come up with a reasonable drain interval and then apply that across vehicles in his fleet which had the same powerplants. If I recall correctly, he was using a drain interval of around 90,000 kilometers, although it may have been more.

Gulfcoast told me they have more than one customer with no oil change in million miles.

Don't doubt it in the least .....

But most of thier customers dont go that long out of habit.

Yeah ... old habits are hard to break .... moving from periodic maintenance to conditions-based maintenance is a real stretch for some ... especially when it come to oil changes.

They soke very highly of the toilet paper filters but siad theyre caacity is too low for class 7 and 8 eingines

That's entirely correct - unless you ganged multiple units and ran them in parallel ... even at that, the amount of upkeep filtering a sump that large would be significant, I would think.

I was changing my element every 3K to 5K miles on a sump that was around 10 quarts .... it really wasn't too bad, as it only took 5 to 8 minutes to change out the element and wasn't messy if you let the filter drain overnight and did it first thing in the morning. Still, it was a little more than I would prefer .... so we'll see how the centrifuge goes ...

I think the guy I bought mine from has a unit that uses center-pull paper towels .... like you see in restrooms to dry your hands .... I'd imagine one of those would have significant capacity ... lotta cellulose there ...... almost like filtering your oil thru a log .......