Help on Oil filter

[coleking]

I have a 1931 Pontiac 401 with a split 6 engine. I can not find the oil filter. Where is it please?

[Mark Shaw]

GM did not include oil filters on all cars in 1931.  It commonly oversized the oil pan to allow solids to settle out.  1931 Buicks only had a small screen on the oil line to the rocker assy.  You will probably need to use a retrofit unit if you want filtered oil.

 

[stakeside]

 

This worked for me on my 29 Dodge Bros. Got from Willys parts supplier.

 

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/vehicle/46-49-cj-2a/engine/oil-hoses-filters-parts/fram-style-oil-filter-canister-assembly-kit-fits-46-66-cj-2a-3a-3b-5

 

 

 

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/vehicle/46-49-cj-2a/engine/oil-hoses-filters-parts/fram-style-oil-filter-canister-assembly-kit-fits-46-66-cj-2a-3a-3b-5

 

This works good on my 29 Dodge Bros. Sorry for rotated image.

[Larry Schramm]

Maybe this will help.

[Rusty_OToole]

Later model Pontiacs had a built in oil filter in the crankcase. It was to be cleaned out when the engine was rebuilt and needed no attention the rest of the time. I don't know when they began using this feature or if your car has it.

Later... a quick web search reveals that the Pontiac Oil Cleaner was used from 1941 until they stopped making flatheads in 1954. So your car wouldn't have one.

You could install an aftermarket bypass oil filter. Or, just change the oil more often. Take the oil pan off and clean out the sludge then change oil at 2000 mile intervals.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Bloo]

Most cars in those days didn't have oil filters. Even in the late 50s it wasn't settled whether a car needed one or not, and the sort of full flow filters we expect today didn't become ubiquitous until the early 60s.

 

My 1937 Pontiac parts book has this to say:

 

Quote

Current Pontiac cars are not equipped with AC oil filters. The Pontiac factory has, however, approved AC service installation oil filter package Nos. X1600, W2890. These two packages contain all parts and fittings to make installations on all Pontiac Six, Eight and Oakland Eight cars. They are easily sold and easily and quickly installed. Use these packages to increase your service department sales.

 

Parts listed were:

 

X1600   Oil Filter (Service installation)    All models to 1933
W2890   Service Installation                 1933-34-35-36-37 all

XA2     Renewal Cartridge                    O/6 26,G/O6 27
XA1                                          AA6 28
XA5                                          AA6 29, O/8 30-31, P/6 except 35
W10                                          1933-34-35-36-37

 

Renewal cartridge does not mean what you might think. These were disposable canisters plumbed in with metal lines and bolted to the block. They did not have a replaceable filter inside the can like the vastly improved later version @stakeside posted. The "service installation" kit probably includes lines, fittings, and brackets. How often did the filter get replaced? Probably not very often. Later on when you could just change a filter by taking a lid off (see @stakeside's pics), I think people were changing them more often, about every second oil change.

 

These are all "partial flow" oil filters, meaning they do not filter oil on the way to the bearings. They filter a little of the oil pump's excess capacity. That is way more effective than it sounds. On the upside, they trap much smaller particles than a modern full-flow oil filter on a modern car does. Also they cannot block flow to the bearings if they plug. It was not settled until the 60s which kind was better and maybe not even then.

 

A downside with any of them is that if you don't change the filter at every oil change, and you probably wouldn't be expected to in the 30s, you still have about a quart of old nasty oil left in the engine. My 36 Pontiac has no oil filter. I just change the oil a lot.

 

There's a bunch of pictures of "plumbed in" type filters in this thread:

 

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/291695-oil-filter-for-1930-marquette/

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

If you drive the car 1,000 to 1500 or so miles per year and change the oil each Fall you really don't need one.

[EmTee]

54 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

If you drive the car 1,000 to 1500 or so miles per year and change the oil each Fall you really don't need one.

I'll change the oil in my classic cars annually, but the filter will stay for 2 or 3 years depending upon how many miles I actually drove.  Even that is probably overkill...

[Pfeil]

16 hours ago, EmTee said:

I'll change the oil in my classic cars annually, but the filter will stay for 2 or 3 years depending upon how many miles I actually drove.  Even that is probably overkill...

So, with a typical six or V-8 with 5-quart capacity you contaminate 4 new quarts with 1 quart of used oil? 

[EmTee]

Yes, that quart of oil may have anywhere from 600 to 1000 miles on it.  I do not consider that to be a problem.  The owner's manuals for these cars say to change the filter every other change.  And that was with the oil available in the 1960s...