Frequently Asked Questions... Filtakleen USA.

Question: When should engine oil be changed?
Answer: According to American Petroleum Institute ( API ) Publication #1507, page 13 - "engine oil should be changed before Additive depletion and oil contamination can begin to affect engine performance".

Question: When do engine manufacturers recommend changing oil?
Answer: At different intervals! They really don't know how often to change oil but all of them agree that oil should be changed more often if you do "average" driving, i.e., lots of stop and go, idling, pulling a trailer, driving in dusty conditions, etc. Again, according to American Petroleum Institute ( API ) , the way most drivers drive, no driver should go the maximum limits allowed by the engine maker.

Question: What is the purpose of the full flow oil filters?
Answer: The full flow oil filter was designed to screen out large abrasive particles that could damage the engine. The full flow filter was not designed to clean oil, clean engines, or control wear in the engine!

1.) SAE paper #650316, dated January 1966, (presented by J. E. Den Besteu, E. G. Leverenz and C. M. Bloom (International Harvester Co.) stated that in 8 hour tracer tests on a 6 cylinder engine using new oil, used oil, and used oil filtered through a 5 micron filter, they observed almost no change in wear with the used oil and the used oil filtered through a 5 micron filter. When you consider that a regular full flow filter is only a 40 micron filter it is easy to see how an engine wears out with typical oil change intervals and full flow oil filters.

2.) SAE paper #650865, dated November 1965 by P. E. Phfeifer and F. T. Finnigan, Pure Oil Co., explains the findings on valve lifter wear in a 8 cylinder Oldsmobile engine using full flow and by-pass oil filters. The report stated: "Standard full flow filters do not adequately protect against wear causing particles." Also "Filters must be capable of dealing with particles 1 micron and smaller to control wear."

3.) Mobil Oil Australia Limited Bulletin # 863 states,"...Oil does not "wear out", "breakdown", or otherwise deteriorate to such an extent that it needs to be replaced. What happens is that it becomes contaminated with water, components. But, it will be argued, most modern vehicles have an oil filter. Why does this not remove the contaminants? The answer here is that a filter can only remove solid particles above a certain size. It cannot remove water, acids, or fuel dilution, all of which pass through the filter just as readily as the oil." (Mobil, of course, is talking about the full flow filter.)

Question: Is there a better mousetrap available?
Answer: Yes!! Install a quality by-pass filter which uses a very dense element to remove condensate (water), which leads to sludge and acid buildup, and which will remove particles in the sub-micronic range (smaller than the particles in cigarette smoke!) Which are continuously sandpapering away the precision parts of the engine (or transmission). This system is commonly referred to as "Dual Filtration" in that the full flow filter is retained to screen out the larger particles that can damage the engine while the by-pass filter with its dense element traps the finer particles which are wearing out the engine and causing oil to become an undesirable lubricant.

Question: Why do I need additional filtration other than the factory equipped?
Answer: The reason for adding the Filtakleen Filter to your existing system is to offer a means of cleaning the lube oil, thereby allowing the engine to run on clean oil 100% of the time. The factory full flow filters on your engines now only perform a protecting job. This job is to protect the engine from large damaging particles. The factory full flow filter has to handle 100% of the oil supplied to the engine for lubrication and therefore has too high of a flow rate to actually clean the oil. By installing the Filtakleen by-pass oil filter, in conjunction with the full flow filter, the oil passes through the Filtakleen Filter at a rate of only 1 1/2 gallons per minute. This allows the oil to pass through a more dense element which offers 1 micron filtration to clean the oil. Thus the Filtakleen Filter acts as a filter bed.

Question: Does oil wear out?
Answer: Oil does not wear out, it simply becomes contaminated, due to inadequate filtration, that to the point that it needs to be drained. The actual base stock never wears out, only the additives in the oil become depleted due to contamination.

Question: Does the color of oil have any bearing on its lubrication ability?
Answer: None whatsoever. Detergent oil will turn a dark blue-black after it is heated. Non-detergent oil will turn a reddish-brown. Most diesel engines will turn oil black in the first few minutes of running time because of the ashley additive in diesel fuel. The only accurate way to determining an oil's lubricating value or contamination level is through oil analysis or a portable oil quality analyzer, such as the Lubri-Sensor Oil Quality Analyzer.

Question: What about fuel dilution?
Answer: Excessive fuel contamination within an engine can occur with injector leaks and leaking lines. This type of excessive contamination, due to mechanical failures, cannot by prevented by the Filtakleen Filter or any filter, therefore, an oil drain must be performed. However, normal fluid contamination due to blow-by can be held in check. Every liquid-fueled engine will have a certain amount of raw fuel in its normal blow-by. The only way that fuel dilution can build up within a healthy engine is if there is a sufficient amount of solid contamination for the fuel molecules to adhere to. If this solid contamination is not present, raw fuel is evaporated by the internal heat of the engine. Also, by reducing the amount of solid contamination within the engine, blow-by is reduced to a minimum.

Question: What about solid contamination?
Answer: In diesel engines solid contamination is primarily fuel soot (carbon) from incompletely burned fuel blowing by the rings and valves guides. Some amount of solids is quite normal and is the cause of routine oil blackening as additives hold minutely sized particles in suspension and carry these particles to the factory full flow filters for removal. However, the factory full flow filter is only efficient in the range of 10 microns and up. Most of these carbon particles generated are less than 1 micron in size. It is not until these particles combine with themselves ( AGGLUTINATE ) to form larger particles that the factory filters can remove this contamination. The Filtakleen Filter effectively removes this contamination before agglutination can occur. This is where the Filtakleen by-pass oil filter reduces wear rates within the engine by removing these wear causing abrasive particles in the 1-5 micron range.

Question: What about acid build up within the engine?
Answer: Corrosive acid is formed primarily from sulfur blow-by in the combustion process. When sulfur particles combine with moisture in the crankcase, acid is formed, which in turn reduces the TBN or the amount of alkaline material in the oil. If one of the two products needed to form this acid ( sulfur particles and moisture ) is removed from the oil, excessive acid formation cannot take place. The Filtakleen by-pass oil filter maintains a high and acceptable TBN level by removing the moisture in the lube oil. To combat the non-sulfuric acids that may form in minute quantities, due to atmospheric oxidation, any small amounts of alkaline reserve that are used are replenished at the time of filter servicing by adding make-up oil for the Filtakleen by-pass oil filter.

Question: What about additive depletion?
Answer: A lubrication oil consists of two major parts: BASE STOCK ( or base oil ) and ADDITIVE. The base stock is primary lubricant, and can be petroleum or synthetic. Additives perform three basic jobs, CLEANING the engine by reducing deposits and holding solids in suspension, ANTI-CORROSIVES, which neutralize acids, and ANTI-WEAR additives, which plate or coat metal surfaces to help reduce wear. Additives are designed to combat these three major areas and when levels of contamination rise in these areas additive depletion occurs. The Filtakleen by-pass oil filter effectively keeps contamination far below levels that depletion occurs. The Filtakleen Filter effectively keeps contamination far below levels that would warrant additive depletion within a healthy engine, therefore the additive package of the oil maintains a much higher level than the manufactures requirements. The Filtakleen Filter absorbs 100% of the water or condensation which reduces sulfuric acid which also depletes the additives in oil.

Question: How will the Filtakleen Filter affect oil additives and detergents which are contained in the new oil?
Answer: The Filtakleen Filter does not affect oil additives or detergents in any way. Since the oil is constantly kept clean, there is little work for most additives to do. Those that are being used, such as anti-scuffing agents, are replaced when normal make-up oil is added to the engine and at the time of servicing of the Filtakleen Filter. Additives are an intricate part of the lube oil and are blended in by the refiner. The Filtakleen Filter will not filter these additives out These additives can only be used up, primarily due to excessive contamination within the oil.

Question: How often must the Filtakleen Filter be serviced?
Answer: In most cases, the Filtakleen Filter will be serviced at the same interval that the oil was being changed and depending on oil sump capacity.

Question: How many gallons of oil will the Filtakleen by-pass oil filter maintain?
Answer: The Filtakleen oil filter is rated with a gallon capacity. The smallest filter manufactured by Filtakleen, the FIL368, will handle all gas engines. The FIL668, will handle oil sump capacities in diesel engines up to 6 gallons. The FIL878, will handle oil sump capacities in diesel engines up to 12 gallons and the FIL988, will handle oil sump capacities in diesel engines up to 25 gallons.

Question: Do engine manufacturers require oil changes in order to keep the warranty in force?
Answer: No. Engine oil change intervals are only "recommended" and not required by manufacturer for warranty purposes. Only the condition of the oil need be kept up to certain minimum specifications during the warranty period. By using the Filtakleen by-pass oil filter and monitoring the oil by oil analysis, one can maintain an oil quality which will far exceed these requirements.

Question: How does the installation of the Filtakleen Filter affect the engine warranty?
Answer: Specific acknowledgment has been received from all the major engine manufacturers that the installation of add-on devices such as the Filtakleen Filter will not affect their warranties.

Question: Why have the major engine manufacturers not installed the Filtakleen Filters at the point of manufacturing?
Answer: There are two basic reasons: First, by adding after-market products as factory equipment, such as filters, shutdown systems, etc., they would drive up the price of their products and take away from their competitive pricing. Secondly, the manufacturers have planned obsolescence built into the engines so as to enable them to keep selling replacement parts and engines to you the consumer.

Question: What happens if a customer installs a Filtakleen Filter and it does not perform as claimed by the manufacturer, Filtakleen International, LLC?
Answer: All of the Filtakleen Filters carry a 2 year warranty on workmanship and materials. Our filter also carry a 100% satisfaction GUARANTEE! Purchase a number of filters from your dealer on a agreed TIME or MILEAGE basis and the filters must perform as claimed or your investment will be refunded.* See your dealer for details.

Question: What about hydraulic filters?
Answer: Filtakleen International, LLC. Also offers hydraulic filters. The Filtakleen Hydraulic Filter has the same benefits as the Filtakleen International by-pass oil filter. Not only can you eliminate hydraulic fluid drains and reduce the amount of wear within your hydraulic systems, but you can further reduce your filter element inventory by using only 2 filtering elements for all hydraulic applications. 1 major factor when using the Filtakleen Hydraulic Filter is that Filtakleen can remove the moisture within the fluids, a feat which most factory hydraulic filters cannot perform. Filtakleen manufactures 2 sizes of hydraulic filters. The HY778 for tank capacities up to 250 gallons and the HY988 for tank capacities up to 800 gallons.

*Providing the filter is installed on a reasonably healthy engine and maintained in accordance with Filtakleen International, LLC recommendations.

*For further information on preventive maintenance through superior filtration make the cost effective approach and give your dealer a call today!