Life time Oil filters

[rjb48]

Has anyone switched to a life tme oil flter on their LT5. If so, what are the advantages and or short-comings of such a change.

[Z Factor]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

I cannot imagine any oil filter being good for a "lifetime". Even if it can be cleaned in some fashion, how many cleanings could it take before it lost it's effectiveness? Another question would be how efficient it is (i.e. what micron level does it filter) and what is it's flow rate? Also, does it have an anti drain back feature which is very important to reduce engine wear?

I know I have left you with questions as opposed to answers, but not being familiar with it, I would exercise caution until you can get answers to those questions.

[bike01]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

I cannot imagine any oil filter being good for a "lifetime". Even if it can be cleaned in some fashion, how many cleanings could it take before it lost it's effectiveness? Another question would be how efficient it is (i.e. what micron level does it filter) and what is it's flow rate? Also, does it have an anti drain back feature which is very important to reduce engine wear?

I know I have left you with questions as opposed to answers, but not being familiar with it, I would exercise caution until you can get answers to those questions.

I agree, order a six pack of filters from mid america, and you might consider changing to mobile one if you have an earlier ZR-1. Also, go to sears, get a 3/8 inch torque wrench and torque the oil drain plug to factory specs. Mine was so tight when I bought it I thought the threads were going to give out just loosening it. Some ZR-1 owners have had the oil pan threads torn out of that alluminum oil pan. Manual says to let the oil drain for 12 hours, I let mine drain overnight so I would be VERY, VERY leary of letting anyone else change my oil, even the dealers.

While you are under there, check the torque on the oil pan bolts, almost everybody finds them loose, some even have them come out.

You'll find a 3/8 inch torque wrench comes in quite handy on a all alluminum block.

[Tom]

In what manual did you see the statement to let the oil drain for 12 hours? I have not seen this anywhere. Draining the pan and changing the filter only changes 8 1/2 quarts out of a total of 12 since the oil cooler and lines are not drained. To me draining for 12 hours is pointless since 3 1/2 quarts of oil are left in the oil cooler and lines. I pull the plug to let the oil drain, change the filter while the oil is draining, and put the plug back in when there are a couple of seconds between drips. The factory torque value for the drain plug is pretty high and I've found you need to use a 6 point socket when removing the plug to keep from damaging the hex on the drain plug if you tighten the plug to the factory torque.

[Patton]

I have driven my Z 10,000 miles so far for a total of 32,000 and I have changed the oil 3 times, only using Mobile 1. I have never torqued the plug back to factory specs, I remember reading it once and was curious to see if I had even approached it and I tightened the bastard real good. I was off by a big chunk and It seemed to me that torquing it any futher was playing too dangerously close to stripping/snapping something and actually quite pointless. Even if a goddamn frag went off inside your crank case, the path of least resistance would NOT be that plug.

[bike01]

Sorry guys, I stand corrected, I thought I read somewhere you should let the oil drain 12 hours, I checked the manual again, I think I got confused when the owners manual said to wait at least 2 or 3 hours to CHECK the oil level, and it was best to check it before you started it the first time in the morning. It also mentioned something about staying away from the 'quick change' oil places as they don't know the particulars of the ZR-1. I misconstrued that you should let it drain over night so I was wrong. As far as the torquing of the oil pan bolt, you guys don't know how much of a pain it was to get mine loose the first time, actually the head of the bolt had been deformed from someone cranking on it too dang hard, so I bought a new bolt and washer.

[ZR-1 Mack]

Originally Posted by rjb48

Has anyone switched to a life tme oil flter on their LT5. If so, what are the advantages and or short-comings of such a change.

No, but here's a good article from Marc Haibeck on oil filters http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...comparison.htm

[blackjack]

im in the motorcycle business,fixing and modifying harleys
the lifetime oil filters appeared some years ago,for the evolution engines
it was a fine stainless steel mesh which could be washed and reused
it never caught on with the harley crowd,and i still have a couple left
cant say if the ones youre talking about are the same,but if they are,i would stay away from them....just my 2 cents
blackjack
91/1735
4.10...x pipe with borla mufflers,rc injectors,gm improved chip,fidanza

[BBBAD94ZR1]

Lifetime , nothing lasts for a lifetime, as far as an oil filter I would not suggest it. I was a tech for Gm for 7 years and Benz for three years.
Change the oil every three thousand or three months if driven normal, and if started and taken on short runs change more often. If using syn. oil you can get 5k out of the oil. Use the best quality filter you can buy and if you plan on keeping your car send the oil out every year for an analysis. It will tell you everything thats going on inside. You may be surprised on the report you get. One final note would you drink tap water out of a lifetime water filter?
Hope this helps.
Ray

[ZR-1 Mack]

Change the oil filter whenever you do the oil. Bosch or Mobil 1 is the way to go.

Bosch is black like the old Delco OEM while the Mobil One is gray.

Either looks a heck of alot better than Delco blue.