What ever happened to hanging a chain
to dispel (ground) ions (static electricity)
picked up from the leading edge of the
automobile going down the highway to
alleviate car sickness?
How about the Frantz toilet paper filter,
no good? Is K&P Engineering, sold by
Ray Barton, the best?
And finally, did you ever hear about
draining the oil on an old engine and filling
it with Varsol and running it for 5 minutes
to clean it all out?
The old wives who were telling that
motion sickness story all died off. Sob.
Toilet paper oil filters belong where the
name implies…flushed. The K&P, however,
might be worthwhile on a serious race
engine that has very loose bearing clearances
and requires huge oil flow volume,
although I am a bit skeptical of some of
their claims, e.g.: If it truly filters smaller
particle size than paper filters, which, at
least at first glance, appear to have at
least as much, if not more, filter-media
surface area, how can it flow more oil?
And the lack of an anti-drain-back valve
doesn’t seem like a good idea, remember
that fast oil pressure buildup is one of the
most important parameters relating to
long engine life in street use. The initial
cost (~$300) and necessity to disassemble
and clean it every time, to me, is a
deal-breaker. For 99% of us, spinning on
a new Fram PH8 for $3 seems the logical
conclusion (or a Wix, which Chrysler testing
proved a bit better). For the other 1%,
running 10,000 RPM and 0.004Ëť bearing
clearance, it might be worth a look,
although, even then, I think I’d plumb up
two Fram HP1s in parallel.
Varsol! I did some research, and
found out that is a Canadian brand of
mineral spirits. This is the main ingredient
in commercial “sludge flush.” On a
tired engine that was poorly maintained
(sludge, varnish, etc.), one quart of that
(not a whole oil pan full), added to a
warm engine can help free up stuck lifter
plungers and so forth. Keep the engine at
fast idle for 15-20 minutes, then change
oil as usual. Do not drive or otherwise
load the engine while the oil is diluted!