Oil screen for Oil Filter

gitmo234

gitmo234

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gitmo234
A couple of people have brought up that for my Continental O-300 there is a kit to get an oil filter installed (instead of the screen).

Can anyone give me a general opinion? Worth it? Any serious benefit to longevity?
 
Be aware that if you install this kit and it is on an early Cessna you may find your oil temps reading noticably higher since it will relocate the temp probe away from the blast tube which Cessna used to cool the probe and make it read what they wanted. In other words it will now read more correctly. Have a friend with this issue and it is driving him nuts since he has flown the plane since he was a kid and know the gauge reads different. Also be sure it is safety wired so that it cannot come loose. Saw one do this a few months ago. After he landed and quickly left the airport the oil ran out of the cowling and made a mess. One of the line guys cleaned it up and they could not contact him to let him know. He got ready to leave the next evening and I happened to see him and let him know there had been a large mess. He checked the oil and said it was only a quart low and felt it was fine. I finally convinced him that he REALLY NEEDED TO UNCOWL IT AND CHECK IT OVER. We found the entire assembly very loose and in danger of blowing all his oil out in flight. He would not have made it home. He also had his family with him. He was very apreciative and not having seen the mess it made really did not at first understand my grave concern. Glad he was willing to listen to a stranger. They were great people. Fixed it and flew home safely. He had some choice words for the shop that installed it the previous month.
 
Vaflier said:
Be aware that if you install this kit and it is on an early Cessna you may find your oil temps reading noticably higher since it will relocate the temp probe away from the blast tube which Cessna used to cool the probe and make it read what they wanted. In other words it will now read more correctly. Have a friend with this issue and it is driving him nuts since he has flown the plane since he was a kid and know the gauge reads different. Also be sure it is safety wired so that it cannot come loose. Saw one do this a few months ago. After he landed and quickly left the airport the oil ran out of the cowling and made a mess. One of the line guys cleaned it up and they could not contact him to let him know. He got ready to leave the next evening and I happened to see him and let him know there had been a large mess. He checked the oil and said it was only a quart low and felt it was fine. I finally convinced him that he REALLY NEEDED TO UNCOWL IT AND CHECK IT OVER. We found the entire assembly very loose and in danger of blowing all his oil out in flight. He would not have made it home. He also had his family with him. He was very apreciative and not having seen the mess it made really did not at first understand my grave concern. Glad he was willing to listen to a stranger. They were great people. Fixed it and flew home safely. He had some choice words for the shop that installed it the previous month.
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Almost every 0-300 I rebuild I install a new F&N type filter with the accompanying STC, and I have never seen any problems with these installs. I see no reason to move the blast tube, because the filter adaptor is behind the area the the blast tube is pointed.

But

The guy who was F&N has now passed away, and the company is no longer selling the STC or filter, there are a few still selling on E-Bay but they won't last long.

If you can find one get it installed it will add hundreds of hours to your engine life, and it gives you an opportunity to see what it is catching.

The two types
 

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What oil filters really do.

stop the scratching of the crank, when small particles get past the screen. Screens are 100 mesh, that is 1 tenth of an inch cross section holes. (.100)

These scratches will be cause to regrind the crank when they are .002" deep. ( that varies with make and model)
 

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Tom-D said:
...These scratches will be cause to regrind the crank when they are .002" deep. ( that varies with make and model)
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Maybe it happened when I turned sixty back in June but I no longer lay awake at night worrying about a two thousandth of an inch scratch on my crank.
 
Tom-D said:
The guy who was F&N has now passed away, and the company is no longer selling the STC or filter, there are a few still selling on E-Bay but they won't last long.
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When did that happen?

I bought and got the STC for an F&N on my 170 about a year and a half ago.
 
The oil filter was added to my O200A and offers peace of mind. I change the oil alone about every 25 hours and the oil AND filter every 50 hours and cut open the oil filter to check for metal. I safety wire the filter in place and it's quite easy to do, as well as very necessary. It is designed to be safety wired with eyes on the top of the filter for the purpose.

AFAIAC, this is a mandatory modification for any engine that is relying only on a screen.

You might not lay awake nights worrying about a scored crankshaft, but doing everything you can to prevent it is most definitely a good thing.
 
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Getting STCs for these oldies is getting kinda hard. Sounds like this STC is about as hard as getting some of the early Bonanza STCs. The sad truth is these old guys are passing away. If the FAA regs aren't re-written, these old birds just might actually become beer cans at a faster rate...

Not sure about the 170, but there are a number of stories of owners saving the engine with a spin-on oil filter. This is especially true when the "new" Hertzel prop decides to come apart internally. Personally, I would not have purchased my oldie without the spin-on STC already there - a must have in my book.
 
Gave them a call just a few moments ago at F&N.

The owner of F&N passed away (as stated above) and they have no more inventory. They care currently in the process of being purchased by another company (I believe its F&M), and they expect production to begin in December with the first orders shipping in January.

The CO-300 model will retail for about $435 (not sure where that is by comparison with prior to the change), and if you call they will put your name/number/email on a list and call you when they have one for you to buy.
 
FWIW, I read an interesting article some years ago that said essentially that lead contamination from burning highly leaded fuel is one of the worst contaminants that gets in the oil in your airplane engine and a spin on filter doesn't remove the lead contamination.
So....are you better off with a spin on filter and changing oil every 50 hrs or just relying on the oil screen and changing oil every 25 hrs? In the first case you'll accumulate 50 hrs worth of lead contamination between oil changes vs in the second case you'll drain out all the lead and replace with fresh oil every 25 hours.
 
Or option (c): burn mostly auto gas, use a filter and change the oil every 50 hours or four months, whichever comes first.

That's what I do.

These days it's four months and 30 to 40 hours.
 
gitmo234 said:
Gave them a call just a few moments ago at F&N.

The owner of F&N passed away (as stated above) and they have no more inventory. They care currently in the process of being purchased by another company (I believe its F&M), and they expect production to begin in December with the first orders shipping in January.

This is good news, I had not checked lately.

The CO-300 model will retail for about $435 (not sure where that is by comparison with prior to the change), and if you call they will put your name/number/email on a list and call you when they have one for you to buy.
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The paper filters don't remove lead, but lead will not harm your steel parts, but it will filter out hard particles that will embed themselves in your bearing material and act as tool bits to cut the crank.
 
Tom-D said:
The paper filters don't remove lead, but lead will not harm your steel parts, but it will filter out hard particles that will embed themselves in your bearing material and act as tool bits to cut the crank.
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Bingo!

Remember, those particles of grit and other contaminants when filtered no longer continue to circulate. If left unfiltered, those particles continue to circulate over and over and over and over ad infinitum, past the bearings and elsewhere.

Here's an idea for you guys, if you didn't catch it in my earlier post. How about adding the filter but STILL do 25 hour oil changes, except every other one of them gets a filter added to the process?
 
MBDiagMan said:
Bingo!

Remember, those particles of grit and other contaminants when filtered no longer continue to circulate. If left unfiltered, those particles continue to circulate over and over and over and over ad infinitum, past the bearings and elsewhere.

Here's an idea for you guys, if you didn't catch it in my earlier post. How about adding the filter but STILL do 25 hour oil changes, except every other one of them gets a filter added to the process?
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I do it every 25 hours and change the filter too! cheap insurance compared to an overhaul. The screen only stops boulders. Cars have had filters for quite a while.
 
Tom, it's nice to see you're posting again.
 
I'm curious. What's the best way to cut open the filters without introducing metal filings to the filter media inside?
 
UngaWunga said:
I'm curious. What's the best way to cut open the filters without introducing metal filings to the filter media inside?
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Any of the roller cutters will work, just don't use a hacksaw.
 
My a75 has a screen, no filter. I'd like to get a filter but refuse to pay what they want. I I figure if it worked fine without it in 1940 it'll work fine without it in 2014
 
jesse said:
My a75 has a screen, no filter. I'd like to get a filter but refuse to pay what they want. I I figure if it worked fine without it in 1940 it'll work fine without it in 2014
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Stick your head in the sand, and refuse to know the oil in your engine contains fine grit that is wearing your engine.

Buy a filter now, or buy a crank later .
 
Tom-D said:
Stick your head in the sand, and refuse to know the oil in your engine contains fine grit that is wearing your engine.

Buy a filter now, or buy a crank later .
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I already have to buy a crank the next time around.
 
jesse said:
My understanding is that it was ground as far as it can be the last overhaul.
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If you had a filter it probably wouldn't need re-grinding again. It is not required if the crank meets the MM spec
 
Tom-D said:
If you had a filter it probably wouldn't need re-grinding again. It is not required if the crank meets the MM spec
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Regardless when my A75 ****s out I will be hanging a O-200 on it.
 
They lied - everyone I talked to said everything was just multiples of 1 AMU!!
 
brian];1612506 said:
They lied - everyone I talked to said everything was just multiples of 1 AMU!!
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Well, you have a Bo...

:D
 
jesse said:
Regardless when my A75 ****s out I will be hanging a O-200 on it.
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With that In mind, that C-75 crank is probably worth more than the aircraft. :) unless you trash it.:)
 
Tell you what - if there were a way for me to put an oil filter on for a non-insane price, say max $300 I would do it. But I have yet to see such a thing.
 
jesse said:
Tell you what - if there were a way for me to put an oil filter on for a non-insane price, say max $300 I would do it. But I have yet to see such a thing.
Click to expand...

Did I hear money? I'll go check my junk pile for one.. show us the accessory case rear view. (Screen)
 
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