Luber Finer LFP9750 oil bypass installed

Peroni

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Installing this bypass system has been a long time coming and I probably should have done it years ago. My intent was not so much to stretch out the oil change interval - I'm already getting 10K out of the Schaeffer 5-40 - but to keep it cleaner longer. There are all sorts of oil bypass systems out there available for purchase but as with most things I took the diy route. Luber Finer sells a kit with the filter and filter head in one convenient box. The part number is ZKIT9750.

Much has already been said about the Luber Finer LFP9750 filter. With its innovative zinc louvered plates and 2 micron @98.7% rating it's a phenomenal filter. It's also very big with an od of 5.35" and a length of 12.2" this filter will add another 4 quarts to the system. The shear size of the filter means finding a spot where it will fit and not hang too low is a challenge. Luber Finer rates the filter for both vertical and horizontal use. With no practical place on my truck for a vertical mount I went with a horizontal one.

I found a spot inside the passenger side frame rail right by the rear spring mount. This location kept the filter up out of the way and afforded some limited protection. It was also just far enough from the exhaust so excess heat wouldn't be a problem. One could just drill 3 holes and bolt the filter head in that way but I think there are enough holes in the frame already. I made up a simple adapter plate that captured 3 existing holes in the frame to allow for a no drill install.

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Next task as to figure out how to hook up the feed and return lines. I used the existing 1/8npt port in the filter head for the feed. A 1/8npt x 3/8JIC adapter was used here. I drilled the adapter thru with a #7 drill and tapped it 1/4-20. Next I sourced a 1/4 set screw and drilled an approx .075 hole straight thru the center axis. This was then installed into the adapter with Locktite. The filter head has a .090 or so orifice already but I felt that was too big.

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For the return I used the 3/8npt port located just aft of the oil cooler. I also needed this port to return oil from my CCV filter which slightly complicated the install. Using a short nipple to clear the oil cooler housing a tee was used to connect both the bypass and CCV return lines.

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On the filter head I used two 90° street ells, a nipple and an elbow to bring the feed line even with the return line. Doing this helped keep the feed line from getting too close to the exhaust. A pair of 45° JIC fittings helped keep the house routing as straight as possible for easy connection and a neat appearance.

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For the hoses I used PTFE line braided stainless ordered from Paragon Performance. They are routed up over the top of the transmission. I zip tied them tightly together then snaked the pair thru a length of woven kevlar hose protector procured from my local Cat hydraulics dept. This too was zip tied tightly around the hoses. Next time the transmission is out I plan to clip the hoses to underside of the cab instead of just laying freely on the trans. So far there have been no issues with chafing with the current arrangement.

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I have nearly 5000 trouble free miles on this setup so far. No oil analysis yet but I can say that it should come back excellent - especially since I paired the 9750 with a Donaldson ELF7405 primary filter. The oil looks noticeably cleaner so the bypass is doing its job. Usually by now the oil would be black and have a funky smell to it. With the bypass installed it both looks and smells like new oil and still retains its green color.

I've approx $230 tied up in this system. The zkit9750 was about $110 shipped, hoses $90 shipped with the rest going to my local Parker store for brass fittings. Not totally out of line with the commercial kits available.

I will make sure to post up my next oil analysis results this fall along with the one done just previous to the bypass being installed. Should be interesting.
 

ja_cain

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How does this help with shearing?

I would assume, by increasing the oil holding capacity. Between this and the big Donaldson primary filter he should be holding a few extra quarts.
 

ja_cain

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Speaking of shear, you should read up on shear stable "star" or asteric polymers (if you haven't already). I would think most of the higher end synthetics are utilizing this technology. Just haven't been able to verify which ones exactly.
 

Peroni

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How does this help with shearing?
I don't believe it helps with oil shear one bit. It's primary function is to remove as much wear material, soot and acid from the oil as possible. To combat shearing use a top quality oil. I use Schaeffer 9K series and am able to get 10000 miles before it starts to fall to a low 30wt.

Between this and the big Donaldson primary filter he should be holding a few extra quarts.
Try an extra 1 1/2 gallons! :eek:
 

ja_cain

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So its basically useless? The oil is sheared before it gets dirty.
Don't sound so pessimistic. ;) If it's increasing the total volume of the fluid then it will have an impact on oil shear. That means less time in the hpop which to my understanding would mean less oil shear if the change intervals are kept the same. Also, the heat capacity of the system will increase due to the increased fluid volume. Heat is another component that facilitates shear in group 3 base stocks due to the unfolding of the polymeric chains. Once they uncoil then they are so much more susceptible to shear. This is what I was eluding too with my comment about star polymers above. Rotella t6, to my knowledge, uses group 3 base stocks instead of group 4 (pao's) which will make it more susceptible to shear even though it's marketed as a full synthetic. It may have been reformulated since I looked into it so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 

bruce

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The way I read it, you have to spend an extra 30 dollars (1.5 gallons of oil) plus how ever much the bypass filter costs per oil change. I like bypass filter set ups, I just don't see them as being very beneficial on heui engines. People are going 500k on regular 5/40 rotella and a mc1995 filter.
 

TyCorr

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While I wouldnt do this for reasons you listed Bruce, hes trying to bulletproof his truck everywhere. Id say hes well on his way.
 

kyle43335

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The way I read it, you have to spend an extra 30 dollars (1.5 gallons of oil) plus how ever much the bypass filter costs per oil change. I like bypass filter set ups, I just don't see them as being very beneficial on heui engines. People are going 500k on regular 5/40 rotella and a mc1995 filter.

While I wouldnt do this for reasons you listed Bruce, hes trying to bulletproof his truck everywhere. Id say hes well on his way.



Filtration is never useless, nor over rated. Its never not worth adding extra filtration. Particle matter will also break down oil. By keeping oil clean, you will extend its life by default.

I am adding 2 fs-2500 bypass filters to my f-450 dually. 1 on the engine, and the other on the trans
 

ja_cain

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You want to get those in-solubles out whether they are from oxidation or wear and that is where the filtration is important especially when going for long oci's. I agree with you on the added cost of the fluid unless you could extend the oci enough to pay for it.

Just out of curiosity, what are the negative effects off shearing the oil? Does it just change the injection characteristics in a subjectively negative way or is there something else that happens (increased wear potential). I have read uao's of guys running both conventional and synthetic blend 10-30 with no discernible/negative effects on wear. Looks like the huei system doesn't shear oil much past a 30w.

With that being said, if you are making significantly more power than stock and/or tow extremely heavy loads in hot mountainous environments (most extreme case), then you may want to pay close attention to shear and its impact on wear under those conditions.
 
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TyCorr

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I change my oil 3-4k miles, depending on when I get free time. Its not worth it for me. Thats all I was saying. Shear, not filtration is my limitation. I run delo 15-40 now and it seems to be good still at 3k but by 4k it gets changed anyway.
 

ja_cain

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I change my oil 3-4k miles, depending on when I get free time. Its not worth it for me. Thats all I was saying. Shear, not filtration is my limitation. I run delo 15-40 now and it seems to be good still at 3k but by 4k it gets changed anyway.

This may seem like a dumb question, but how are you determining that it is sheared?
 

TyCorr

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When the heui system starts to change in operation or throttle characteristics change for the worse, especially when you are nearing a suggested oci, its pretty obvious. When you put half a million miles on a similar platform a few times, you tend to know what is what.

Do some synthetics last longer and retain their weight longer? Sure! I dont use those anymore though. Cost wise it was not sensical for me.

I do not do uoa as there is no need, I have done them and once you get a feel for how things go time after time, there is no need. But that will certainly tell you when that 15w40 shears to a 30wt oil in 2000 miles.
 

ja_cain

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When the heui system starts to change in operation or throttle characteristics change for the worse, especially when you are nearing a suggested oci, its pretty obvious. When you put half a million miles on a similar platform a few times, you tend to know what is what.

Do some synthetics last longer and retain their weight longer? Sure! I dont use those anymore though. Cost wise it was not sensical for me.

I do not do uoa as there is no need, I have done them and once you get a feel for how things go time after time, there is no need. But that will certainly tell you when that 15w40 shears to a 30wt oil in 2000 miles.

Thanks for taking the time to explaining your reasoning to a laymen such as myself. I have not put enough miles on my truck to begin to be in tune like you are with yours. I am getting better though. It helps to be able to tap into the knowledge base of people like you that have put lots of miles on these trucks especially in a modified state. It's a no brainer that when you start to modify these trucks it will most defiantly accelerate the shear rate of the oil (and wear rate of the motor for that matter) especially when your talking about higher oil flow through the hpop via dual t500's or gen 3 pumps. Hell, just running non stock tunes will increase the overall flow rate through the hpop thus increasing shear rate. This is when I think uoi's would be helpful to characterize the degradation with a specific setup. I would also think unless you have a feel for what kind of impact shear has on the injection characteristics and more specifically the way the truck runs that it would be helpful to do those uoi's especially if you are modifying your truck. In my opinion it is no different then having some sort of gauge that tells you what your egt's are. Just not as time sensitive but still, in my opinion, just as important.
 
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TyCorr

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Very interesting! I do NOT think Peroni made an unnecesary move. He uses what I understand to be exceptional oil and is trying to keep it clean. I dont know if his setup makes shear an issue or not.

Sorry for the derail Peroni.
 

ja_cain

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Unless the filter itself is somehow significantly shearing the oil, I don't see why it shouldn't help slow down the shear rate. You are lowering/limiting the number of passes through the hpop and whatever else significantly shears the oil by increasing the total fluid volume of the system. Not to mention you pick up more oil cooling capacity from over one gallon of fluid flowing outside of the motor and being exposed to convective cooling as the truck goes down the road. Increased volume will also help dampen heat transients generated by the motor. Also, I don't think it is a derail to talk about the potential merits/problems of this setup. If he didn't want that, why post it on the internet. I think its a great idea and can't wait to see some uoa's to verify whether or not it has an impact on shear rate and insolubles.
 

bruce

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It will slow shear down but the rate is the same. Example if 1 gallon shears in 1k miles and you increase volume to 2 gallons and it shears in 2k miles then you haven't done much. If the guy is happy with it then so be it.
 

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