OPS Bypass, 3 micron, filter system

[tiffinboy]

A friend of mine installed a OPS Bypass, 3 micron, filter system
on his 2001 Cat 450HP MH.He says after driving 2000 miles his oil is still clean?
what are the pros and cons on this this system??
IF there this good why do we not see them used by all??
Thanks

[TexasShadow]

www.ops-1.com
for information on this system
I have no affiliation with this company except to use their product.
Bill

[Jay_Pat]

TexasShadow wrote:
I have a OPS oil purification system on my motorhome and I think it is the best bypass system on the market. It is a 3 micron filter system with a heater to burn off the acids. I use Rotella T6 synthetic oil and send a sample from the built in sampling port to Polaris labs every 12,000 miles and oil is always clean with no irregularities. I change the ops filter at around 20,000 miles and change oil and main filter whenever Polaris indicates a need or at 50,000 miles for a feel good reason. I have 140,000 miles on my Caterpillar 3126B engine and oil is always clean. I have seen OTR truckers with 160,000 mile and still checking good using the OPS system.
Bill

This is interesting to me as I have not heard of a heater to burn off acids. I'm used to additives to neutralize the acids.
I have been away from class 8 truck ownership for 6 years.
I have searched a little. Detailed info explaining how all this works is not jumping out to me.
Pat

[TexasShadow]

I have a OPS oil purification system on my motorhome and I think it is the best bypass system on the market. It is a 3 micron filter system with a heater to burn off the acids. I use Rotella T6 synthetic oil and send a sample from the built in sampling port to Polaris labs every 12,000 miles and oil is always clean with no irregularities. I change the ops filter at around 20,000 miles and change oil and main filter whenever Polaris indicates a need or at 50,000 miles for a feel good reason. I have 140,000 miles on my Caterpillar 3126B engine and oil is always clean. I have seen OTR truckers with 160,000 mile and still checking good using the OPS system.
Bill

[Jay_Pat]

Sully2 wrote:
If they are so great as many of you people say they are....why doesnt Cummins ( and others) include them as an extra costs option for their engines???? Think of the selling feature when you can advertise no filters or oil changes for 100,000 miles. Add up the cost of oil and filters and thats a big savings. So why not then??

The 2001 Peterbilt I purchased, it was an add on option. The bypass filter system is a Spinner II Filter.
I added a petcock for taking an oil sample.
Why doesn't everyone get it? I would guess, up front cost. Most companys trade in trucks after a few years.
I had one truck. I wanted to take care of the engine. I was in charge of the maintenance.
Pat

[Sully2]

If they are so great as many of you people say they are....why doesnt Cummins ( and others) include them as an extra costs option for their engines???? Think of the selling feature when you can advertise no filters or oil changes for 100,000 miles. Add up the cost of oil and filters and thats a big savings. So why not then??

[topflite51]

Not a fan of bypass oil filter systems, but as a retired mechanic I will say that they do work. Are they cost effective on low mileage applications, that is another question in itself.

[sjholt]

I'm calling BS on all the nay sayers.
If you don't have/use a bypass filter, how can you know anything about them?

I have a 5.9B Cummins that I have a simple Franz toilet paper bypass installed.
I upped my oil changes from the recommended 6,000 miles to 18,000 miles and Blackstone labs say I can go a lot longer if I want to.
Yes, you do have to change the bypass filter more often than the main oil filter.
I try to change the toilet paper every 2500 miles and the oil cleans up to almost like new. I have gone 5,000 miles before changing filters and the oil cleaned right up to a light grey color in a paper napkin.
Come here and see if you don't believe. I have 16,000 miles on the oil at this time and I just checked the valve clearances and they were all in spec after 26,000 miles and the top end was absolutely clean.

If I buy another motorhome and I see a bypass filter on it, it will be a HUGE plus.

[wny_pat1]

Sully2 wrote:

tiffinboy wrote:
A friend of mine installed a OPS Bypass, 3 micron, filter system
on his 2001 Cat 450HP MH.He says after driving 2000 miles his oil is still clean?
what are the pros and cons on this this system??
IF there this good why do we not see them used by all??
Thanks

You believe everything your buddy tells you??? After driving 20 miles..let alone 2,000 miles will hie oil be clean ( On a diesel rig) because a FILTER cannot"strain out" anything in his oil that is soluble (sp?) and of course in this case anything smaller than 3 micron. All he is doing is backing up in his own mind the cost, etc...of the bypass system he installed.

But it is entirely possible for a 100,000 mile oil change. VW has been using 30,000 mile oil change intervals in their European commercial diesels for quite some time now. Nothing special except VW's spec'ed full synthetic oil and VW spec'ed oil filters. The optic sensor in the oil pan of their non commercial engines tells you when to change it also. They actually specify:

"2 Years/30,000KM/18,000MILES (most commonly used in EU) Oil Sensors might adjust distance base on the driving style"

"1 Year/50,000KM/30,000MILES (Used for commercial Vehicles)"

[Sully2]

tiffinboy wrote:
A friend of mine installed a OPS Bypass, 3 micron, filter system
on his 2001 Cat 450HP MH.He says after driving 2000 miles his oil is still clean?
what are the pros and cons on this this system??
IF there this good why do we not see them used by all??
Thanks

You believe everything your buddy tells you??? After driving 20 miles..let alone 2,000 miles will hie oil be clean ( On a diesel rig) because a FILTER cannot"strain out" anything in his oil that is soluble (sp?) and of course in this case anything smaller than 3 micron. All he is doing is backing up in his own mind the cost, etc...of the bypass system he installed.

[Jay_Pat]

tiffinboy wrote:

Jay Pat wrote:

ScottG wrote:
There's no down side to cleaner oil but as to why the manufacturers don't use them? Money.
Under normal circumstances that power train will out last the rest of the coach and there just ins't any payback for the manufacturer.

And will require different maintenance and attention to details.
Pat

different maintenance? requires replace spin on filter once in a blue moon he told me? exactly what "details" are u referring to?
have you got one? any personal experience?
Thanks

Sorry for the slow response.

I have used bypass oil filtration systems in the past on my 18 wheeler. The longest oil change interval was at 100,000 miles.

My comments were based on my experience (not as you had presented them. My fault).
I failed to clarify that I was thinking about extending oil change intervals.


If the friend stays at regular filter and oil maintenance schedules, it is just about that simple, as changing a filter. If you want to max out the bypass filter, feel the filter for hot oil in it (this can be difficult to do if bypass filter is mounted close to the engine/compartment as everything heats up). If not hot, filter is plugged and time to change. The bypass manufacturer probably has some kind of guideline that is better than what I just described.

To install a bypass system, you have to plumb in at one of the oil pressure plugs. Probably on the passenger side of the engine and return the oil by tapping one of the plate covers of an oil filler option.
Also, the bracket holding the filter must be mounted. And probably custom made hoses.


To get back to the maintenance comment.
To run extended oil changes and save money on oil changes/oil disposal), does require regular filter maintenance and oil testing.
I think most oils on the market are not formulated for extended oil changes/testing.
Pat

[chevor]

I see the oil bypass systems as a plus if vehicles are driven a lot of miles in a short amount of time. Oil can be run in engine longer.
The downside is they are expensive and do cost more than just changing at set intervals.

[tiffinboy]

Jay Pat wrote:

ScottG wrote:
There's no down side to cleaner oil but as to why the manufacturers don't use them? Money.
Under normal circumstances that power train will out last the rest of the coach and there just ins't any payback for the manufacturer.

And will require different maintenance and attention to details.
Pat

different maintenance? requires replace spin on filter once in a blue moon he told me? exactly what "details" are u referring to?
have you got one? any personal experience?
Thanks

[Jay_Pat]

ScottG wrote:
There's no down side to cleaner oil but as to why the manufacturers don't use them? Money.
Under normal circumstances that power train will out last the rest of the coach and there just ins't any payback for the manufacturer.

And will require different maintenance and attention to details.
Pat

[ScottG]

There's no down side to cleaner oil but as to why the manufacturers don't use them? Money.
Under normal circumstances that power train will out last the rest of the coach and there just ins't any payback for the manufacturer.