Posted by John M on February 05, 2000 at 10:04:58:
In Reply to: Oil Lines Revisited posted by K Bishop on February 01, 2000 at 10:28:20:
I'm glad I am so slow actually doing the work on my truck. I am the one who asked the original question and I have plumbed it the way the question was originally answered. Fortunately I have not completed the rest of the minor stuff so I could not actually start the engine.
I think the crux of the discussion is whether the dirty oil enters the filter from the bottom and passes from the inside of the filter to the outside of the filter and exits the filter canister from the "outlet" located up on the side of the filter or if it works the other way around.
Just so we can all use the same terminology, can we define both of the fittings on the engine and thier function:
1.) Does the bottom fitting actually supply the oil to the filter? (This is the fitting that is just above the oil pressure release valve)
2.) If so, can we call this fitting the "supply fitting" for the purpose of this discussion.
3.) Does the top fitting (on the engine - the one that is on the oil galley) return oil to the engine?
4.) If so can we call this the "return fitting"
Once the above is answered the question remains as to how the designers intended the filter to work.
5.) Does the filter fill from the top, passing the oil under pressure from the outside of the filter to the inside of the filter, and return to the engine from the bottom of the filter?
It seems that this would mean that the filter is always full of oil, ready to be supplied to the bearings, even if the engine is not running I assume that oil will not leak through the bearings, with the engine off, with only gravity pushing it.
This is the way my engine is currently plumbed and it makes sense to me.(that doesn't mean its is even close to correct) This way there is always a supply of oil available in the filter. I suppose it could have been designed the other way but if the filter fills from the bottom, passing oil from the inside of the filter to the outside, and returns to the engine from the top of the filter, then it is possible to not fill the filter canister enough and the flow of oil to the bearing would be interupted.
Surely there is an expert out there that knows the answer to this question. Sorry for the long post, but this seems important.
I am going to go to a salvage yard here in the Phoenix area that specializes in old Dodge trucks and record as many instances as I can. I will report back as soon as I have this done.
John Moschinger
Mesa, AZ