Cutting open oil filter

woodlandfarms · May 28, 2007

Thanks for all the ideas. Problem is my filter is 5.5" across... Big ole hydraulic filter...

jsborn · May 28, 2007

Try a plumbing supply house that sells Ridgit pipe cutters.

Heavy-Duty Pipe Cutters - RIDGID Professional Tools

Cat 32850 6-s will cut up to 6" pipe

patrick_g · May 28, 2007

Get one of those new fangled modern rare earth magnets, the ones so powerful they nearly pull the hemoglobin out of your blood and through the skin to get to the magnet. Put the magnet on the filter. When you cut up the filter examine the part where the magnet is. If any of the debris is magnetic it will be conccentrated there and be easier to find.

Then put the magnet on the new filter. They last for eons.

Pat

woodlandfarms · May 28, 2007

jsborn said:
Try a plumbing supply house that sells Ridgit pipe cutters.

Heavy-Duty Pipe Cutters - RIDGID Professional Tools

Cat 32850 6-s will cut up to 6" pipe

Uhhhh $509. I need a sprayer worse....

jsborn · May 28, 2007

Harbor Freight probably has the same cutter cheaper just sent the page for type and size info.

DieselPower · May 28, 2007

The one I have from Caterpillar will do up to about a 10 inch filter. Cat makes some fairly huge engines.

woodlandfarms · May 29, 2007

jsborn said:
Harbor Freight probably has the same cutter cheaper just sent the page for type and size info.

Cool... Will look into HF...

KICK · May 29, 2007

DieselPower said:
Cat makes some fairly huge engines.

ya think???

wonder why anyone cares what is in the filter, when a UOA will give you a better idea with less effort.

DieselPower · May 29, 2007

Yes a UOA will tell you more and I use them on everything. However, it takes time for a UOA to be processed and the results to get emailed to me. If I cut open the filter at the time I change the oil then I can at least get a good idea if there is anything going on or not that should be taken care of pronto.

As far as effort it only takes a minute to cut the head off, cut off a strip around the diameter of the filter and press out the oil. If I don't see anything I can sleep better until the UOA comes back on my or my customers equipment.

KICK · May 29, 2007

If ya find something in the filter, then what??

pull the pan and start really looking because just finding a little piece of junk in the filter doesn't do you any good.???

its kind of like finding powdered metal or one metal flake on the oil plug magnet.

are you going to take the engine apart to find out where or just keep running it if there are no other issues??.

some things are better left alone.