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Toilet Paper Oil Filters... Literally

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 65Luck, May 6, 2004.

  1. KreaturesCCaustin
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 1,258

    KreaturesCCaustin
    Member
    from Austin, TX

    I had one in my '59 GMC when I bought it. It made it to over 417K on the clock before the odometer finally gave out. I drove the thing around for a year before I finally replaced that with a remote that took a spin on filter. I bet that old six had about a half a million miles on it before getting T-boned by a Camaro and totaled.
     
  2. 51chevcoupe
    Joined: Oct 24, 2008
    Posts: 110

    51chevcoupe
    Member

    Personally I think it is a 'shitty' idea. hahahahahaha....... damn I'm funny!
     
  3. Road Runner
    Joined: Feb 7, 2007
    Posts: 1,256

    Road Runner
    Member

    I added a Frantz filter to the fullflow Wix about a year ago and the oil stays clean on the dip stick now between oil changes.
    The TP also removes water during the colder humid months.

    Big rigs and fleet and commercial vehicles use it to extend oil change intervals.
     
  4. kwoodyh
    Joined: Apr 11, 2006
    Posts: 641

    kwoodyh
    Member

    WTF? :eek: Corvair powered Motorhome? Who would of thunk?
     
  5. ramzoom
    Joined: Apr 25, 2008
    Posts: 382

    ramzoom
    Member
    from California

    Had a 57 Country Squire which was all original and ran great with a Fratnz..I lived in an apartment so couldnt do oil changes at home so took it to a jiffy place.. seeing all the young guys come over and freak out when I took out a roll of Scott toilet paper and proceeded to unroll enough paper to fit the roll into the frantz filter..They thought I was nuts..The original owner ran them in all his cars and used Scott tissue so I wasnt about to break tradition..
     
  6. Steelsmith
    Joined: Feb 5, 2007
    Posts: 581

    Steelsmith
    Member

    I first encountered the Frantz filter in the mid '70's. Still have an original sales brochure somewhere ...
    There was a drawback to the TP idea though. During the making of paper products from wood pulp, certain acids are present either naturally or added to the paper during processing. There are remnants of those chemicals in paper products. They can be 'cooked out' during prolonged exposure to heated petroleum, (oil). Those acids are then circulating through your engine. They are a minor concideration, but there non-the less. An upgrade to the original Frantz filter system was adding a mesh screen plate to the interior bottom of the filter canister The toilet paper was then replaced with cotton-waste. The 'cotton-waste' was in the form of mill-ends of cotton fabric or clean rags. These worked fine as a filter, but it became a messy business when changing filter medium.
    Eventually the company discontinued this 'upgrade' and went back to the original toilet paper filter, as the effects of the acids in the TP were judged to be inconsequential to the life of the engine as long as you changed the TP every 1500 miles.
    This information was passed on to me from an old boss of mine who was a vender for Frantz filters.
    Dunno how accurate this info is, but I do know there is acid in paper processing.

    Just a thought,

    Dan Stevens
    dba, Steelsmith
     
  7. stlouisgasser
    Joined: Sep 4, 2005
    Posts: 673

    stlouisgasser
    Member

    I've heard this story for years and have NEVER like the idea. At this point in my life, I now have 40 years of professional experience of using toilet paper for it's intended purpose.....ONLY. I don't like the idea of having something in my oil pan, pump, and gallerys that can can flake/tear off and clog oil passages. Toilet paper just seems to me to be to fragile as a filter media.
     
  8. panic
    Joined: Jan 3, 2004
    Posts: 1,450

    panic

    What is always present in your oil after a few miles of normal service (besides some normal combustion byproducts), especially after short trips and cold weather?
    Water.
    What do all brands and type of toilet paper have in common (and different from any other paper product: stationary, paper towel, xerox, grocery bag)?
    They disintegrate in water. They're made to dissolve in water.
    That's why they have those big signs ("don't throw paper towels in the toilet!")
    Not sure? Ask your local DWSGE Engineer how long toilet paper lasts in a septic tank.
     
  9. corsair
    Joined: May 16, 2009
    Posts: 287

    corsair
    Member

    I believe Franz offers paper rolls specifically intended for their filters because of all the above stated reasons. No worries about dissolving in water, or acids, or anything else.
     
  10. I don't recommend them. We had one on a parts chaser pickup in the early 60s. The condensation in the oil created by short trips caused the TP to break down and pluged every oil gallary in the engine. Thats how TP is designed. To break down when exposed to moisture.
     
  11. Well im gonna find out first hand. I installed the one i bought yesterday. This afternoon i put it on my 64 chev 3/4 with a intergrated head 1981 250 six. Now i have to get some John Wayne toilet paper. Ever take apart a standard oil filter they have paper elements. The old chev gets worked very hard we use it for a wrecker and pull trailers with it. Every time it is driven it is to do some hard job.:) OldWolf
     
  12. I used one as an oil puke can of sorts. My engine is too new to have a PCV outlet in the back of the block and I wanted to run unvented old 283 valve covers.

    I used an aluminum intake that had an oil filler tube. Then drilled through one of the coil mounting bosses into the lifter galley. On the underside of the intake I made a sheet metal baffle to keep oil out. Then, I tapped the hole for 1/4" NPT and threaded in a 90* fitting. From this fitting, ran copper tubing to the oil filter canister, then back up to a PCV screwed into the base of the carb.

    I figured if any oil did get sucked up, it'd collect in the canister.

    [​IMG]
     

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  13. 52style
    Joined: Mar 22, 2009
    Posts: 326

    52style
    Member

    bought a chinook motorhome years ago had a franz filter on it and a grenaded engine

    looked like jiffy lube diddnt change the paper had the mileage sticker on the window still had a few thousand left till the next oil change the toilet paper still had the old oil in it from before the oil change

    i imagine there good as long as you remeber to change the paPER EITHER WAY I TOOK IT OUT WHEN I REBUILT THE ENGINE
     
  14. DaxxRuckus
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 305

    DaxxRuckus
    Member

    Yep, pulled a roll of TP out of the filter housing in my 1959 Fairlane. I've heard of people doing this for years.
     
  15. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,850

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    here's another old post to go with this old post. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151919

    I've never used one, but people seem to like them. you can get new ones on ebay, or parts to fix the older ones like O rings and such.

    they are an auxillary oil cleaner, they pick up big stuff the filter misses.

    the oil still breaks down, it just now breaks down cleaner with less particles in it.

    oil and filter and TP still need to be changed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2009
  16. evldoer
    Joined: Apr 24, 2005
    Posts: 12

    evldoer
    Member
    from leroy wi

    I run one in my diesel pickup(duramax), change the tp about every 1000-1500 miles and add a qt of oil it is fine- no break down of the paper at all. If you ran it longer between changes, I can see a problem with it breaking down though. It is a secondary filtering unit, still have the regular filter on engine, but I rarely change it-actually I cant remember when I changed it!
     
  17. Well it has been a month and the toilet paper filter has not caused any problems also the oil is looking cleaner. i think that it does do what the maker claims. I didnt change the oil when i installed the frantz oil cleaner. I will give the wrecker its yearly oil and filter change soon. i also drain a gallon of coolant from the engine and add a new gallon of anti freeze once a year.:eek: OldWolf
     
  18. Ed ke6bnl
    Joined: Apr 15, 2001
    Posts: 181

    Ed ke6bnl
    Member

    keeps my oil cleaner and I believe the engine cleaner on my dodge diesel 98.5. I am sold on it. change it about every 2000 miles add a quart the add some fresh additive. ED
     
  19. Road Runner
    Joined: Feb 7, 2007
    Posts: 1,256

    Road Runner
    Member

    Funny this post came back.
    I just changed my first TP roll after 2500 miles this morning. - See picture.
    I plumbed mine in parallel with my Wix full flow filter, instead of draining it into the crankcase.
    The flow is slower, as it depends on the pressure difference of the inlet and outlet of the full flow filter, but it still works perfectly. I just don't have to change the TP roll as often.
    Changing it is easier than the full flow filter. A couple of minutes and no mess without one drip of oil.

    The only time you hear someone poo-poo this filter is when they use it as intended and without having any personal experience with it in oil filtering.

    The engine's oil system is no septic tank with enzymes and as you can see, no paper fiber has been dissolved.

    This is with Rotella Diesel oil, which has 50% more detergents and 100% more dispersants than regular motor oil, so the oil should be darker on the dipstick, even with my new engine.
    Before I used the Frantz, the oil was almost black running the same distance.

    I get the TP directly from Frantz and the couple of dollars per year are like a minor donation for their efforts over the last several decades.

    This is not intended as advertisement - I am just reporting my personal experience and of course I am happy with the results.

    I like simple things that make sense and work well.
     

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    Last edited: Aug 29, 2009
  20. Ed ke6bnl
    Joined: Apr 15, 2001
    Posts: 181

    Ed ke6bnl
    Member

    here is my set up been working great.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I did pu a newer housing for this one on ebay and we will have my boy have them both powder coated when he does his install on his dodge diesel. ED
     
  21. Florian
    Joined: Jul 29, 2007
    Posts: 219

    Florian
    Member

    I´ve got a 1955 Chevrolet 265cui engine, without oil filter.

    Now my question is, do I have to stick to the stock bypass oil filter or would a single Frantz toilet paper filter do the trick?
     
  22. If you were seriously convinced that this works, you could put the same thing together for about 10 bucks at the hardware store.

    But to believe this thing actually works, you also need to believe that the entire world has been brainwashed by the evil oil companies into regular oil changes and that toilet paper is the best filtration medium, in spite of the millions of dollars spent annually on filtration research. Wouldn't this be original equipment on all new cars? Think of the sales tactics: this car never requires an oil change!

    They provide no independent testing, only testimonials. They offer ambiguous claims like "[FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1]we guarantee the Frantz Oil Filter/Cleaner will keep your oil analytically clean 100% of the time." [/SIZE][/FONT]The website has no definition of what "analytically clean" means, no engineering documentation, and contains several outright lies[FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1].

    [/SIZE][/FONT]This has all the signs of being a scam, and given how long it has been around, I am sure it has been very profitable.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2009
  23. 296ardun
    Joined: Feb 11, 2009
    Posts: 4,682

    296ardun
    Member

    I put one on my 30 Ford roadster with a 324 Olds...didn't have room for the stock filter so mounted it on the firewall, chrome cannister and all. This was back in '61 so the company has been around for a while. I suspect that toilet paper was different back then, none of this super soft stuff....maybe the super soft stuff was never meant to be in a Frantz Miracle Oil Filter?? I do know that the filter worked for me.
     
  24. Probably need the individually wrapped "commercial" stuff.

    Another canister idea if you use it for "period correctness" and don't like toilet paper, would be hiding an Oberg style filter inside.
     
  25. arkiehotrods
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 6,802

    arkiehotrods
    Member

    My '47 Ford coupe doesn't have an oil filter. I think its lack of a filter works every bit as well as a toilet paper filter.
     
  26. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    wouldn't this work even better today since most oils have gone to shit? :D
     
  27. Road Runner
    Joined: Feb 7, 2007
    Posts: 1,256

    Road Runner
    Member

    Here is some data the owner of Frantz emailed me when I send them a link to this post a while back.
     

    Attached Files:

  28. I first dismissed the frantz filter as just plain stupid. Bought one at a auction with some other stuff for $1. Them i googled it and found it does the same thing as the luberfinder filter,s that are used in semi trucks. The peterbuilt i drive has a luberfinder also over a million and a half miles no engine work ever.So i installed one on our 64 chewv 3/4 wrecker. And i am convinced it does what the maker claims:cool:. You still have to change oil and filter regularly. And use John Wayne toilet paper. But folks can think what they want. OldWolf
     
  29. Greasy64
    Joined: Nov 1, 2008
    Posts: 198

    Greasy64
    Member

    I'm surprised the "Banger" guys haven't posted about this. I'm sure they have elsewhere. Seems to me like an engine with non-detergent oil and no filter at all would do better with one of these. With regular oil and TP changes (John Wayne Brand or whatever) seems to me that they could be a good thing.
     
  30. 28 jalopy
    Joined: Jan 16, 2010
    Posts: 208

    28 jalopy
    Member
    from arizona

    I have one just like the pic. but it has a sleeve with cooling fins all around it. Kind like a beehive canister. Is that common? Im gona run it on my flathead.
     

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