Triumphrat

loxx101

One of my mates is telling me that I should have an external filter in my oil feed line. I do actually have one there at the moment off a Norton Commando but I am wondering if that is actually a good thing to do?

I am assuming it's fine but then, is gravity enough to force oil through the filter? I don't want to starve my engine.

I have read conflicting things regarding this to be fair. People seem to say having it on the return line can be a problem unless you have a Morgo pump or similar. I'm not sure if mine has one of those, there is a good chance it does though (the bloke I bought it off liked things like that!).

It makes sense to me to make sure all the oil going into the engine is cleaned first, it's just the oil starvation thing that slightly worries me...

Lee H

NO, NO and NO again... The filter goes in the return line. the stock pump has enough force to push oil back into the reservoir on the back side.
slowing down the gravity feed decreases the amount of oil to the engine, which also decreases the cooling ability

ruger001

What Lee H said.

I recently fitted a spin on Norton style filter to my bike and it is fitted to the return line. I did a fair amount of research on this exact topic.

Mr.Pete

It is possible (but complicated) to put a filter in the feed line after the pump,between the pump and the crank.What's the point?
If you put clean oil in the tank,it only becomes dirty after it passes through the engine.Filter it on the way back to the tank,and still have clean oil in the tank.

RII

Not to "muddy the waters", but I created a cartridge filter setup that fits inside my frame downtube. No issues running it, 40-80 psi range (idle to run up) at the sender port, and nice fat stream of oil in the return pipe.

I would say no mater what you do, periodically check the oil pressure using a gauge. Plenty of them on the market, and it's best way to be certain.

Just my "two cents".

__________________
A GOOD friend will bail you out of jail, a TRUE friend is sitting on the bench next to you saying "Damn, that was fun!".

loxx101

Well, there is a fairly dominant answer there!

I suppose that yeah, if you are cleaning the oil before it hits the tank again then there should never be a problem. Just need to make sure my tank is spotless when I convert the top tube!

I do plan on running a pressure gauge too. One that bolts to the TS cover. It's got the pipework there for it already so I'm thinking I may as well.

My mate who has filters on the supply side also runs a pressure gauge and reckons he reads around 70psi all the time with good oil return...

Lee H

Just because the discussion about the lines reminded me...

how many of you guys remember pulling the old ford power steering coolers and using them for an oil cooler? I used to look for grand torino wagons, in junk yards, just to grab the coolers

RII

Here are a couple of pics of my setup. Works well for an oil in frame unit, slides right into the tube in place of the "window screen material" they used. I used the original baseplate, as I had a spare one. Will be metering again before my next oil change (probably this weekend), as I have gone longer than I normally do between changes. Doubt I will find any difference in flow. As soon as I pop the drain plug, it's like nothing is in the way anyway until about the last 1/8th of a quart to come out. Beauty is I could put old oil in and it would be cleaned before it even got into the feed tube (not that I would)!

Did all this just cause I hate the look of the external ones....go figure! May tweak the design further to accomodate a hairpin or safety wire on the through bolt, then again, it has stayed without any issues, so may not bother. Will do so if I ever find it loose, but honestly don't think it will ever be an issue.

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__________________
A GOOD friend will bail you out of jail, a TRUE friend is sitting on the bench next to you saying "Damn, that was fun!".

Lee H

I have a similar filter, but mine is by Uni. Only because that was what we had when I decided to try a better filter for my 71

RII

Couldn't find one similar, hence having to create my own. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough. Seems to me that everyone has gone to the generic external mount for spin-on's. More universal, but not what I was looking for.

__________________
A GOOD friend will bail you out of jail, a TRUE friend is sitting on the bench next to you saying "Damn, that was fun!".