Here's the big question. Do you fill your oil filter before you put it on the engine or do you put it on dry??

Personally, I find filling the filter before you put it on a pointless task. I've never done it to any of my cars... not once... and I've never had a problem. I just put a good coating of oil on the rubber seal on the filter so it'll seal and put it on. I don't even use a filter wrench and I've never had a filter leak and most of the time even though I put it on by hand I can't get it off by hand. I think the people that fill their oil filters before they put them on are just picky.

 

I always fill the filter before installing it for a simple reason. I didn't this once on one of my other vehicles, and the oil pressure didn't even budge from zero until I removed the filter, filled it up and reinstalled it. True, oil pressure would have come up if I waited a little while, but I don't like the idea of running on zero pressure for even the smallest length of time.

 

I wonder if it makes any diff on SBs that have had the oil bypass relief spring removed. With all the oil going through the filter, I would think that no oil would circulate until the filter had filled.

 

I don't fill and I change the filter twice as often as I change oil.
Helps offset that additional $$$ for synthetic oil.

 

I fill. Doesn't cost anything, gets the system pressure up faster on that first start, and they mount straight up so it's not like you spill any while putting it on.

With respect to the pressure relief valve/spring being removed, makes no difference in this case. The only way that valve gets opened is if the filter clogs and pressure within the chamber between the block and filter exceeds whatever PSI. This condition doesn't happen with an empty filter, the opposite is the case and the relief valve is very much closed.

Those extra couple seconds of zero oil pressure while an empty filter cannister fills up aren't doing your engine any favors. Spend a few seconds filling up the filter before ya screw it on.

 

Funny thing about this topic is that as I type this, the topic has been veiwed 30 times...and only 5 votes....

Guess that means 25 of the viewer don't change thier own oil?


BTW, the lifters on my '89 clatter just a bit if I don't fill the filter.

 

Actually 8 people have voted and not suprising to me 7 out of 8 said they fill it.. and I didn't vote. I still find it an absolutely pointless thing to do filling it. My oil pressure is at 0 for maybe ONE second if that. You can't completely drain an engine of oil 100% and there's still going to be oil on the rotating assembly so even 2 seconds of 0 pressure wouldn't make a difference or cause any wear on the engine. My old 305 had over 200,000 miles on it when I took it out and it still runs like a charm with noticeable power loss that comes with age on an engine. I never filled the filter before I put it on with that engine even one time.

People just worry too much for stupid reasons.

 

I fill. On my old 85 Z-28 with its 168,000 mile LG-4, if I didn't fill it, the engine would knock for a few seconds after startup. I just saw it as cheap easy insurance on a motor I know had been abused.

 

So, basically you posted the poll just to draw out people who fill their filter before installation, and call us stupid?

Don't reply for my benefit, I'm done reading here.

 

Actually no I didn't.... but since you wanna talk about stupid let's talk about this. I didn't call people stupid.... I said the reason was stupid. There's a difference. Now who's the stupid one.

Actually the reason I posted the poll was to find out how many people filled and what their reasoning is behind it. Whether I agree with the reasonings or not is a different story. People will do what they want.


(Someone's always gotta turn posts into arguments)

 

change oil at every 3500 km with syntetic.. i just make sure the rubber is wet and screw it in.. 1/3 of a turn after i feel it hit... check after a week to make sure it didn't loosen or i didn't tighten it enough... never had a problem with my motor.. or any other motors i do checks on (for my familly... 92 escort gt 1.8L.. 200000 km.. runs perfect.. and somewhat tweeked.. 90 cutlass cierra 3.3L.. 325 000 kms runs fine still.. 94 GMC 1500 350.. 180 000 km)
we (my familly) drive alot.. comes with living in the middle of nowhere/country..

 

ya its so stupid to fill the filter before putting it on so in the long run your not paying for an engine rebuild and in fact i get my self so worked up because im SOO worried..

211,000 miles without a rebuild and no engine noise and runs like new, and both previous owners filled the filter before putting it on.

 

Wow that's nice.... let's see.... what were my numbers on my 305.

225,000+ miles without a rebuild and no engine noise and runs great and... oh wait, the filters were never filled before putting them on.

My 305 still runs so good in fact that I'm planning on putting it in whatever I decide to buy as my daily driver vehicle.

Not filling the filter is going to have such little effect on engine wear and to contribute that directly to having to do an engine rebuild is stupidity in itself.

 

I fill it, just because it's free and easy, and gives me something to do while waiting for the first quart or 2 of new oil to drain into the funnel. But, I think it's a good thing to do anyway, just to make sure that oil gets delivered to the bearings as soon as possible after start-up.

I have a El Camino with a 305, that has 342,000 miles on it; I've filled it all its life. I have a 74 454 Caprice convertible, only about 240,000 miles, also filled every time. Both of those cars have gone through timing sets by now but have never had the heads off.

On the scale of things that make a big difference ot longevity, I'd rate it pretty low though.

 

If you already have factual knowledge of this, why did you post a poll? We don't care what you do with your engine.

I fill, YES I FILL. You know why? Because it makes sense!!
every little thing you do to your engine adds up over time.
If you wanted a poll, you should have left your opinion and attitude out of it. I think these polls are absolute bull****, and are being abused.

 

I find these polls to be very helpful. They're great for entertainment purposes to find out how picky people are.

Also, just think about that one person that read this post that may be thinking about filling their filters from now on just because the majority of people do it.

I've helped out that person by posting this poll.

 

I fill it and have never once thought why until now. Its just one of those things that my dad does so the first time I was shown how to change oil he did that and it just stuck with me.

 

i think the biggest reason is that WHY NOT? it takes like 2 seconds to do it and it only makes sense that you kinda want oil on start up

 

I say filling your filter first is up there with: 1) Running a quart of oil through the engine AFTER its been drained and 2) changing your oil VERY frequently (ie. less than 3000 miles). While people may argue that the benefits are negligible, there is definitely no "down side" to doing it, so "why not"? (Other than shear laziness).

Due to the place that I now live, I am not permitted to change my oil where I live. Once, I took my car to one of those "Quick Lube" places and they did not fill my filter (like I requested). It took almost 5 seconds for my engine to start showing oil pressue, not 1 second. Because of that, I make a special point of going to visit "family" at the Westcoast so I can change my oil. I don't care what anyone says, 5 seconds with NO oil pressure cannot be good for a motor.

PS: I too have over 200,000 miles on my engine (over 300,000 Kms since I am "metric") and my oil pressure is pretty much like it was when it was brand new (I bought it new in 1991) and I don't burn any oil. I feel so confident with the bottom end, that I will be "modifying" my engine in the spring and I don't plan on rebuilding the engine for at least another year later. And the principle reason I will be rebuilding my engine is to stroke it to 383.

 

Yeah, thats true.

 

I usually fill the filter before startup on my trans am, not because i believe it to be that important but because its mine. It seems to be of more importance on motors other than SBC, where the filter may be in an odd spot or the oil pump may be prone to "lose its prime".

It's not too uncommon on older v8 motors (especially ancient buicks) for that to happen, i think what happens is an air pocket develops inside the oil pump while draining which is then trapped by the new oil covering the pickup screen causing cavitation(?) in the pump. When that happens oil pressure may never come up at all, until the filter is removed and primed!

Not trying to lecture anyone, just sharing something i've learned through experience (and frustration)....

Hellraiser

 

I plan on filling the filter for my new engine break in, and then every successive time after that. THe point is, what reasoning is there NOT to do this? It takes maybe 30 seconds, and you are putting in oil that you would put in the sump anyways, so why wouldnt you. It will only make your engine last longer. Cant shorten its life any. Just my .02

 

Prevents oil STARVATION on initial startup.

 

makes since to me!!

i think on an engine that is in GOOD shape, it doesn't matter too much, but when u have an engine with many miles, and everything isn't as tight as it used to be, and oil pressure it already low, then filling the filter when changing it might actualy extend the life of the car, especialy if it already takes forever to build of pressure.

 

Funny post.

For all of you that take the time to fill the filter for that 50 times in an average cars lifetime of 'zero pressure' startup, you should get a preluber too. Not only do you need pressure, you need parts coated in oil before you even hit that key.

I never bother. Theres too many engines I work on or have worked on that you basically cant put much oil in the filter anyway, or you wouldnt want to (unless you like cleaning stuff up). I have a couple friends who have such cars, and one of the cars has 36x,xxx miles on dino oil, and the other has 6xx,xxx miles on dino oil and extremely poor maintenance. Neither one of them puts oil in the filter. Neither one of those engines has been apart either. My dad has put well over the 150,000 mile mark on more than a few cars, and never did it. 2 of those cars never burn oil. One the oil came out every time looking like brand new oil. Dont know how he does that magic feat. I think my car takes about 2 seconds to hit pressure after I fire it up. I actually had my 140,000 mile synthetic oil non-prefilled oil filter engine apart and there was almost no wear at all to the engine, and the bearings were in excellent shape. I wont be starting the oil filter fillup anytime soon. Those of you doing it, I guess if it floats your boat, continue.

 

what the heck is up with people here pretty much calling us stupid for filling the oil filter? i mean what the heck is it going to hurt filling it, its gotta be better then not filling, it just makes since. im not saying that if u don't do it ur stupid, i think its just cheep insurence, there really isn't a reason not to especial when the filter mounts straight up!! its pretty scarey staring at an oil guage that sits there for 15 seconds when u DON"T fill the filter.

 

Glenn, Madmax, or others...

OK...I am not real familiar with the oil pump process,...but doesn't filling the oil filter help the "priming" process.

What's involved in the oil pump process? Doesn't the oil pump operate off of the distributor gear?

 

I fill it. I figure that it may not help at all, but it absolutely doesn't hurt anything to prefill it.

 

One the oil pan is filled, the pump is immersed in oil and filling the filter wont help the pump prime at all. It should build pressure quicker in the engine itself though since the filter doesnt have to fill up with oil first before it supplies oil to the engine, but it doesnt take very long.