Donaldson Oil Filter

[William Willard]

Has anyone used the Donaldson ELF7300 oil filter on their 400 ISL ?

[OneRVer]

Not the 7300 but I do use the Donaldson on my CAT 3126 and Onan Generator. They cost more but I feel they are worth it. I use synthetic oil and only change my oil ever couple of years or so. Have never failed an oil test.

As a matter of fact. I use Donaldson filters on all of my vehicles.

[dons2346]

Don't know if it is that specific one but I do use Donaldson oil filters.

[OneRVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneRVer Not the 7300 but I do use the Donaldson on my CAT 3126 and Onan Generator. They cost more but I feel they are worth it. I use synthetic oil and only change my oil ever couple of years or so. Have never failed an oil test. As a matter of fact. I use Donaldson filters on all of my vehicles.

I left something out. Even though I only change my oil every couple of years or so, I do change out the filter every year.

[spike45]

Engine lube filter service intervals are based by the OEM engine company on the crankcase capacity, fuel consumption and lube oil replenishment volumes (average). All filter manufacturers will test their lube filters for the dust holding capacity. It is a means of grading some of the performance of a filter. But that particular test is of little relevance. If you had to depend on the lube filter to trap ingested dust you would find the cylinder bores and rings to be worn excessively. In the matter of the Cummins engine, the standard filter is a Venturi product that contains two filters in one spin-on shell, a full flow and a bypass filter. The bypass section is what removes the most serious offender to long engine life, organic sludge byproducts of combustion. Only Baldwin comes close to that original intent in that Baldwin has a bypass section however it has not been as effective as the stacked disk section of the Fleetguard Venturi filters (LF9xxxx). Donaldson and Luberfiner do not use bypass sections at all, just large full flow area. Donaldson has claimed in the past that they exceed the OEM filter performance. I agree they do.....in the matter of dust capacity and small particle efficiency. Dust removal is of little consequence in any engine lube oil filter. Sludge removal is for diesel engines.

[OneRVer]

Spike, I had always thought that the CAT filters were made by Donaldson. Well I find that is not true, CAT make their filters. What do you know about the CAT filters?

[spike45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneRVer Spike, I had always thought that the CAT filters were made by Donaldson. Well I find that is not true, CAT make their filters. What do you know about the CAT filters?

Caterpillar applied filters are manufactured by Advanced Filtrations Systems in Champaign, IL. It is a joint venture in that Donaldson operates the manufacturing. They do not make any filter product for anything other than Caterpillar. Caterpillar for years (including the 20 years I spent with them before coming to Fleetguard 21 years ago) only believed in cellulose paper media for their engine lube filters. They always said that going after smaller micron particles was not what was needed. But in recent history (last 5 or 6 years) they have now started to marked 'high efficiency' and 'advanced high efficiency' lube oil filters. They are nothing more than cellulose and some synthetic fibers. They do have one product that is 100% synthetic media.

High efficiency media in full flow engine filters is really a waste of effort. That would include the same products we make for those applications. Engine lube oil filters do not collect dust. Higher and higher efficiency does not provide any better protection for the engine. They do, however, provide for much more oil flow at cold start up due to lower restriction than cellulose. Cummins has, for years, advocated bypass filtration. Cat utilizes it somewhat but nearly like Cummins. Bypass filtration and certain types of centrifugal oil cleaning apparatus will do more for long engine life than the best high efficiency lube oil filter. The enemy long engine life is organic sludge compounds that are best removed by bypass filtration of centrifuge. Cat is not into centrifuges except in their large mining engines.

If you prefer to use Caterpillar filters on your Cat engine that is good. You can expect less harping from them if you should have any lubrication related issue in the engine. However, remember this; they cannot require you to use their filter in order to maintain your warranty. That would be a violation of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act as administered by the Federal Trade Commission. Better filration is available but you will need to consider some form of bypass product or filter with a combination of full flow and bypass. Or you could install an oil cleaning centrifuge. If you care to contact me directly, I can make much more specific recommendations. email me at gary.a.spires@cummins.com

I work with all brands of engines not just Cummins.

[OneRVer]

Thank you Spike your write-up's on the filters and the one on the radiators are excellent.

[bullheaded]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneRVer Thank you Spike your write-up's on the filters and the one on the radiators are excellent.

x2 Sure beats a lot of opinions. Thanks for factual info.

[spike45]

As far as mechanical construction of the CAT filters, they are unequaled in their assembly. Their products are absolutely beautifully put together. Even my employer, Fleetguard, does not do nearly that good a job. As to filtration, CAT filters are just average. Caterpillar is not a firm believer in bypass filtration for engine lube oil. Cummins has always been a user of bypass filters except on the B5.9 and ISB. Cat has delayed for years the introduction of higher efficiency media. Meaning filters that remove smaller particles and high % rates. Fleetguard was there years ago. Caterpillar has parts warranty on their products as we do. Cat filters are never inexpensive. They are only sold by CAT dealers and OEM dealers who sell and service Cat engines in their vehicles.

[OneRVer]

Please help me understand what you mean by a "by-pass filter". Are you talking about two filters in series or a special built filter?

[spike45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneRVer Please help me understand what you mean by a "by-pass filter". Are you talking about two filters in series or a special built filter?

I do not mean this as any promotional information. If you are interested in having a lube filtration system that can catch the most damaging oil contaminating sludge, you could consider the Fleetguard Venturi Combination filter. It is two filters in one spin on housing. A full flow like your engine came with combined with a bypass filter that filters at a slower rate thus able to capture and hold sludge compounds that full flow filters cannot. Bypass filtration is a filtering method where a small stream of oil is drawn from the pump and filtered slowly and the stream returned to the sump. Full flow filters filter all of the pump output and send the stream onto the engine lubrication system. The early Luberfiner external housing bypass filter systems did a very good job but were very messy to service and required a large "footprint" to install. Later Fleetguard invented the stacked disk bypass filter, LF777 which did the same thing but in a much smaller package. In the mid '90s we developed the Venturi combo filter to do both but without the need for any extra oil lines. The name 'venturi' is in reference to the venturi throat in the centertube of the filter. It creates a low pressure in the threat of the stacked disk outlet tube. With high pump pressure on the outside of the disk pack and a much lower pressure in the middle, a positive flow is created. Once the lube oil exits the bypass section the oil is joined to the full flow. Look at this URL to see more:
Venturi Combo Lube Filtration

[OneRVer]

Stupid question time. Will this filter be good on a HEUI system? Also I am tired of making up bottle's to catch my drips from the slobber tube, minimum drips but still drips. My CAT service Tech does not recommend their crank case recirc filter. I noticed from the above URL that Cummins has a filter for their crankcase. What is your thoughts on this subject. Thank you.

[spike45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneRVer Stupid question time. Will this filter be good on a HEUI system? Also I am tired of making up bottle's to catch my drips from the slobber tube, minimum drips but still drips. My CAT service Tech does not recommend their crank case recirc filter. I noticed from the above URL that Cummins has a filter for their crankcase. What is your thoughts on this subject. Thank you.

Any bypass filtration or use of a centrifuge to remove the combustion byproducts of "gum and varnish" (slang terms for the carboxylate acids formed during combustion) will improve the life of the engine especially if taken to overhaul. BUT in the matter of RV engines and the low operational miles, I really doubt that buying a centrifuge will gain you anything. Same story for venturi. If you kept it long enough then they pay off in reduced cost of overhauls especially for valve train components which receive only splash lubrication and high point contact loads. If you are expecting to operate at extended drain intervals, then venturi makes sense as it will keep the oil in better shape as far as removing spent additives agglomerated with contaminants as listed above along with some soot removal.

As for crankcase ventilation/oil separation, hard to say why your CAT guy does not like it unless it is the matter of buying a product made by a Cummins company. I am guessing you are referring to the OCV not CCV, closed crankcase ventilation. CCV is not available for other than some Cummins engines. OCV can be put on any engine but must be sized according to new engine blowby rating. HP ratings very much affect the sizing of OCVs.