Warning to 6.0 PSD Owners with Amsoil System

[Skywagon]

By the way, I swapped hoses with the engine cold and only lost about a quarter of an ounce of oil. ( Mostly down my sleeve)!
Bill

[John and Dana]

Wow! It appears that this isn't an isolated case.

When you disconnect the lines all you will get is the oil that is in the lines and maybe a little that is in the filter headt. It will probably be less than a quart. You will want to have a drip pan under the connections when you break them though.

I did drive my van on a short trip yesterday and I don't know whether it was the Amsoil or switching the oil lines but the engine was noticeably quieter. At 60 mph the engine was barely audible over the road noise.

John

[Skywagon]

John,
Thanks for the heads-up on this problem. As long as we spent all that money on the Amsoil system, it might as well work!
Bill

[sdwindansea]

After swapping the lines, does the bypass filter now become hot/warm to the touch? Did you swap the lines by the filters or by the engine? Any pictures?

[EMrider]

Very interesting info, thanks for posting!

I'm very interested to learn what SMB says about this.

My van was built in April 06, has 29k miles, and the hoses are connected right to right and left to left. Backwards according to John's findings. My guess is that if this were a source of motor trouble, I'd have found out by now. Nevertheless, I'd like to get everything setup properly.

I'm a bit puzzled because after warning the motor up for 10min in the driveway, the large bypass filter remains cool to the touch and the small filter is warm/hot. But after driving at highway speeds for 15-20 miles, the bypass filter is warm/hot too. In the driveway, my tranny temp never got above 120, so I'm not sure I reached full operating temp. After driving on the highway, my tranny temp was up to the normal 160-165. If the bypass does not function until higher motor temps, then that may be consistent with my experience and my setup is OK. Hmmmm.

Rob

[charlie56]

Its a little tough to get good photos, but here are a few.

1. Side view of adapter block that is mounted on the oil pan.


2. Rear view of adapter plate
As I understand it, the adapter block is a custom made part for SMB's. It does not show up in any of Amsoil's literature that I can find.


3. View of oil filter block. The black filter is the bipass filter. The white one is the full flow filter. The hoses in the front lead to the adapter block. The filter block is stamped on top (need a mirror to see) for which way the oil flows. The adapter block is not marked, which is probably why things got messed up.


Rear view of Filter Block.
This is where the check-valve is located. The plug was too tight for me to remove so removing the check valve will have to wait for another day.


After talking to Jim today, and confirming with a pressure test, I swapped out the hoses. I swapped them at the adapter block end. They were really stubborn to get off. Jim recommended using teflon tape on the fitting threads and a dab of grease on the ball of the fitting to make future removal possible. He also recommended a full oil and both filter change at my next PM. Both filters are now warm to the touch.

I mentioned to him that the bipass filter works its way loose after awhile. He said the bipass filter gasket is the culprit. It doesn't set like gaskets typically do. He said to use a fabric type filter wrench at the top of the filter and tighten it as hard as I could.

I have an email into Peter at SMB West. I look forward to their explanation and resolution.

Thanks again John for this discovery.

[Greg In Austin]

Question:

Are there any adverse possibilities that could come along with switching the direction of flow by reversing the hoses?

It seems that we would be reversing the flow through the filters, or am I misunderstanding something?

If we are reversing the flow through the filters, it seems there would be a risk of flowing a concentration of particulates back into the engine....

[Skywagon]

sdwindansea-
After swapping, all now warm/hot to the touch. I swapped at the engine end as there were fuel lines in the way at the filter end.
I too am looking forward to hearing how any of this might affect any thing else. Having said that, it seems to me that with the hoses hooked up backwards, the worst scenario is that we have the equivalent of stock filtration. (unless there is something that I'm missing); no small possibility!!
Bill

[jage]

If you reverse the flow, enabling the bypass valve aren't you also reversing the flow in the filters, e.g. all that particulate(*):

=====>*\\---->
=====>*//---->
=====>*\\---->
=flow=>*//---->
=====>*\\---->
=====>*//---->
=====>*\\---->
=====>*//---->

<----*\\<=====
<----*//<=====
<----*\\<=====
<----*//<=new flow
<----*\\<=====
<----*//<=====
<----*\\<=====
<----*//<=====

* is old particulate.
// is the filter.
I wonder what happens to a filter if the oil is run backwards. I can't imagine the designers worrying too much about "what if" since most applications are manufacturer fool proof- although obviously no ones engine has fallen out.

[Jeffrey]

Right, Greg. I thought about that. Isn't an oil filter designed to work more properly with the oil flowing in a particular direction? Doesn't oil go into the outside of the filter, through the filter material and then out the center (or the reverse>? Wouldn't switching lines without changing the filter potentially cause the filtered sediment already in the can to backflow to the engine?

I'm not swapping lines without new filters installed.