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In my continued quest to bring my 1946 Clipper Deluxe back to life I have now dug into the Oil Filter. I originallly changed the oil without messing with the bypass type filter and oil on the dip stick is clean.

When I pulled out the metal canister type oil filter, it was a mess. The oil in it was dark dark black and in the bottom of the housing there was about 3/4 inch of sludge. I have dug out the sludge with a screwdriver. Located a replacement cartridge.

Based on how bad this was, I am wondering if oil was going through it at all? Is there a way to check to see if the oil pump is sending oil up through the filter easily?

I think the oil goes back into the oil pan through the rod that sits in the center of the filter. I am guessing it could be completely clogged, is there a proper way to clean this stuff? Can you use gasoline?

I'd say it has been working perfectly: particulate laden oil arrives at the outside of the filter. Lumpy gooey bits stay on the outside and drop to the bottom of the housing over a (long) period of time forming the sludge. Cleaned oil goes out the center tube, and in your case to the valve lifters next. On later cars they just dropped it back into the crankcase. Chances are your center tube is quite acceptably clean inside, but if you like you can dismount the filter, unscrew the fittings and get up inside the center tube with a gun brush and some carb cleaner.

I think you might be right. After cleaning the gunk out, I opened it back up and it appears oil is running through it. The new replacement canister I purchased at NAPA is not the correct one thought. It's too small. Mine is about 4 1/2 inches in diameter and 4 7/8 to 5" tall. Any idea what that might be. Or is it possible to just clean out the canister or is it best to replace them?

Your question was taxing my memory, but then I remembered the cross reference on this site shows Wix 51080. This is a good number, but be careful about the gasket. If your old gasket is stuck to the lid and not leaking then don't touch it and keep the new one as a spare. Torque the bolt to 15-18 ftlbs. Over tightening any oil filter is not good.

Now that filter is a joke. The reason it saves sludge is because it acts as a condensation trap for vapors that should be drawn out through the siphon tube.

Bypass filtration is used in expensive heavy duty diesel motors to superclean the oil in addition to full flow filtration. That setup uses a three stage process. In the old days the original Pure-Oil-Later used the same concept, but without full flow primary, PCV, good air filtration, and computer controlled emissions, the system was worthless as well

Realistically you are probably just as well off plugging the line and sending the full secondary oil flow to the tappets.

The WIX 51080 is what I bought. It's too small. I assume the diameter is not that important but it's about 3/4 inch shorter than it needs to be so the spring can't hold it down. My oil filter must be different than standard. How would I plug and bypass the oil filter system?

Post a picture please. A NAPA 1080 should be right. If you wish to run without a filter, all you have to do is leave the filter out.

If the Wix or Napa is too small, then perhaps you have a different oil filter canister than normal ones that are found on the Packards. Aftermarket one perhaps.

I use a NAPA 1080 on my 48 Cusom Eight and the fit is perfect.

'46 Deluxe-- For what it's worth, when i changed my '47 Super's oil and filter last New Year's Eve afternoon, and according to the 1941-47 Clipper Master Parts Books, 1942-47 junior and senior take the same oil canister, i went to a NAPA store and bought their oil filter part #1080. I
didn't save the box, but recall it said Napa/Wix, or else
it interchanged to Wix. This is the same as i used in my
'40 120 and long, long ago, a '51, Packard alternately tooling themselves to death while occasionally using the same part through many series and model changes.

The above admonition to make certain you use the correct filter lid neoprene gasket is smart. The gasket should be wide enough to cover the entire flat seating surface.

And while you want to tighten the filter canister lid snug and then some, don't get carried away as you can mildly concave it.

Expanding a bit on the above discussion of bypass vs. full flow filtration, here's an interesting letter in the
2006, No.5 Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Newsletter by Al Light,
Williamsport, PA, which is, coincidentally, where Lycoming was, perhaps still is, based:

"I really enjoyed the editor's comments on the club website about the real value of having an oil filter.

In the early 1950s while at Ford Engineering I was fortunate to hear an argument of "Full Flow" vs. "Partial Flow" oil filtration. The pro "Full Flow" people seemed to
be more interested in the positive sales pitch that this system provided while the "Partial Flow" people seemed to
have a more solid engineering approach. The chief engineer
from Fram Corporation stated the big difference was the
allowable filter pressure drop. The larger the pressure drop, the finer and more material will be caught. With the
full flow system you are restricted to approximately 10 pounds per inch drop across the element, and also require a
bypass valve that will open when this pressure drop is exceeded. This of course is to protect the engine from oil starvation in the event of a plugged filter. With the
partial flow, or sometimes called bypass system, the pressure drop is full engine oil pressure since
the oil discharges from the filter directly into the oil pan and not under any pressure. The system is automatically
bypassed if the filter plugs. It was also noted that a denser filter element is used on the partial flow system.

The Fram engineer summed up his thought by stating the answer to the argument was obtained by considering the following question: "Is it better to filter all of the dirt from part of the oil or to filter part of the dirt from all of the oil?"

He also stated that with the full flow system the bypass valve may open under cold starts and sometimes opens at high engine RPM when the allowable pressure drop may be exceeded. This results in no filtration under these conditions. His other comment was that the biggest advantage to full flow was to catch the machining chips, etc. in new engines. Fram's final approach was to propose the use of a combination system that did both full and partial filtering. I'm sure that this would have increased their filter business. I am not aware of any such system ever being used."


I can only add that an auld aircraft/auto mechanic/machinist/pilot and blown '37 Cord 812-owning friend said they were taught in tech school that a bypass filter will eventually filter all your engine's oil after a drive of 60-70 or so miles.

Another friend with '59 and '63 Lusso Ferraris showed me that one of these cars, and i forget which, came with both full and bypass filters from the Modena factory.

IMHO, if you clean out your oil filter canister as the gent above describes, perhaps drop your engine oil pan to get rid of the inch-deep sludge and lead coating its bottom, assuming your engine has never had serious work since leaving East Grand,

then use a major brand 10W/30 oil and change it and the filter periodically, you'll be in fine fettle. If your original engine's worn but still serviceable, and you don't want or need to rebuild it, you might use a heavier weight oil.

Finally, never, ever start the engine unless you're going to drive the car at least 17-20 miles on the highway to prevent the formation of sludge, varnish, carbonic acid, the latter strong enough to etch concrete so you can imagine what it does to your bearings and rings. If you want to wash, wax, or work on your car outside, push it out the garage.

We still shake our heads at the alleged car buffs who start their engine and run it for a few minutes to show it off in the garage, then switch off the ignition and let the car sit for a month or two or longer.

A couple of years ago I went out and bought several types of canister filters that were said to fit my 1941 Su8 160 motor. One of our MCP club members had an NOS stock of filters squirreled away and he lent me one as a size sample.

Here are the filters I bought:

WIX 51080 Hgt: 4.1875 Dia: 3.750
NADA 1071 Hgt: 4.25 Dia: 3.3750
Fram C134PL Hgt: 4.3125 Dia: 3.3750

Dummy me, I did not write down which of the filters I used, but IIRC it was the Fram. You can see from the measurement there is only 1/8" difference in height, so the ?" you are short would not be fixed with any of these filters.

All filters had metal bodies and cap ends - the Wix had a tab to help in removing the canister during an oil change. Both the Wix and NAPA had cardboard-type gasket at the ID ends, whereas the Fram had a complete rubber gasket kit. All three had a larger diameter rubber gasket for the canister cover. See the photo attached.

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