What the Oil Filters Does...

You may take your oil filter for granted, but this small, inexpensive part of your vehicle's lubrication system plays a vital role in protecting the engine from premature wear. Each moving part in the engine and the cylinder walls requires clean oil for proper lubrication and lasting life. The oil filter cleans the oil as it passes through the filter element or filtering media. This prevents abrasive contaminants in the engine lubrication system from damaging engine parts.

The Better you understand your engine's lubrication system, the more you"ll appreciate the vital role your oil filter plays. When the engine is running, oil enters the oil pump through a screened intake. The screened intake--or oil pick up--is located in the crankcase near the bottom surface of the oil pan. The oil is drawn through the screen intake and forced by the oil pump through the oil filter.

Resistance to oil flow

Shelly full-flow oil filters for automotive applications use arch-pleated, prescription-blended media. When new, the media with a maximized number of pleats has less than 2 psi pressure drop when filtering oil at a rate of 4 g.p.m. at normal operating temperature. This low initial restriction to oil flow protects the vital engine parts more effectively. Part of an Oil Filter.