Don't forget to prefill the oil filter.

 

That's interesting. I never really thought of prefilling a filter before putting it on. I have never done it in the past.

What is the benefit to prefill?

 

Oil pressure comes up much more quickly, reducing 'dry' wear.

Prefilling I think it is a requirement in the manual, but I can't remember just now.

 

I often wonder if thats why toyota uses the small design oil filters. These fill quickly even when dry to build up the oil pressure. I'm sure filling the filter with new oil would be the best method.

Talking dry filters, reminds me of this one guy I used to know. He would change out his oil and large cartridge type filter on his older Chevrolet. Get in and crack the engine which sounds like he had the gas peddle on the floor. I don't see how the engine bearings survived abuse like that.

Similar to the guys going out and warming up the engine on a really cold morning. Thrashing it up to 4000 and 5000 rpm to warm it up. I doubt we will be seeing any of that anymore with these high gas prices.

I always heard its best on a cold morning, get in the car and simply drive off to quickly warm the engine. We know now that may take 2 to 3 miles on a cold morning.

 

I did a little independent research on prefilling an oil filter before putting it on a car.

If you use a car on a regular basis (as I do), there is still oil on the bearing surfaces pretty much all the time. Even when doing an oil change, one never gets all of the oil out of an engine and I don't believe that is the point. In order for for a person to get all of the oil out of a car, it would need to sit for about a week to allow all of the bearing surfaces to drain their oil and then you would most likely have to pull the pan completely off and clean it to get all of the oil. You may even need to pull the oil pump in order to get the oil as there has to be oil left over in there.

My point is that there is still old oil in the car even when one drains it through the oil plug on the back of the pan. Once you pour oil into car from the top, you are putting oil through the engine from the top and it is coating a lot of the engine from the top until it gets to the oil pan.

The oil pump pulls oil from the oil pan and pushes it to the filter through the outside holes on the filter. When the filter is full of oil, the excess is in turn pushed out to the engine to lubricate it through the center hole (the part with the threads). So it does make sense to have oil in the filter before that process begins to allow oil to flow to the engine a little faster. I am just wondering how much faster this allows the process to take place.

I always started the car right after I filled the oil so I figured the oil I poured in is still in the engine instead all in the pan as it takes a while to get there. I will probably prefill from now on just to get the process started a little faster, but I am not totally convinced that really is necessary. Maybe someone with a little more knowledge than me on the subject can chime in.

 

Tegster,

I have been changing oil in cars for a few years now (since the early 70's) and have never pre-filled an oil filter. The oil remaining on the bearings, cam, pumps, rockers, etc. is more than enough to protect the engine. The oil galleries are still filled and it only take a second or 2 for pressure to build in the engine.

One of my cars lasted with the original engine to the 400,000 mile mark before I gave it away. The engine was still running OK but I just got tired of driving the car. My average round trip at that time was over 300 miles per day and it did not take long working 6 days a week to rack up some mileage.

Customers that had their oil changed on a regular basis, used good oil and did not abuse the car never seemed to have a problem. We would sometimes replace valve cover, intake, oil pan and timing cover gaskets and the engines looked nice and clean with very little wear when they were checked.

 

Time to think about relocating?

 

Yep,

I thought about moving but the problem was the job. Steel construction can find you in a lot of towns. I lived near the center of the area that we traveled and worked in. You might be on a job in Birmingham one week, Knoxville the next, then Atlanta or Nashville.

I moved enough when I was a kid (dad was a lifer in the service) so I just planted my tail for several years and drove a lot before changing careers. Now it's just 25 miles to work. The only good thing about those years? Gas was less than $0.80 a gallon...

 

David,

Thanks for your input. I always assumed there was enough oil to protect the engine until the new oil could be circulated in 1 or 2 seconds. Especially now that engines have tighter tolerances, it would be difficult for engines to drain all of their oil to the pan. If you run the car for a few minutes before changing the oil to make it easier to drain, you are also running oil through the motor that will not drain away quickly.

I have not prefilled filters on any of my cars and have never had a problem. I'm not implying that it is not a good idea, I was merely looking for more info.

Thanks,
Dave

 

The OP said they put 5w30 in his car. I thought the manual states either 5w20 or 0w20. If he took it to a dealership why would they put that in?

Also $60+ for an oil change sounds like a rip off to me.