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Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:24 am

Once broken in, if running an external filter, is it necessary to remove the sump plate and clean the strainer each oil change? Thinking about frequent changes and unneeded wear / leaks.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:39 am

I don't plan on taking mine off, I have an external filter. That screen is only going to catch the big pieces. If I can get it to stop leaking, I am going to leave it alone.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 6:46 am

I've had a CB Maxi2 pump/filter on my 1835cc engine for over 4 decades, back when it was Claude's Buggies. After a decade of experience with this a nd finding the screen pristine, I stopped pulling off the bottom cover and screen, just changed oil and the oil filter.

I also have Maxi2 on my 1600cc engine as well, and after its rebuild I took out the screen at first oil change to take a look, now I do same as above with it too.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 6:51 am

With a full flow filter or any filter for that matter, I would check the screen every couple of three oil changes. As far as leaking just make sure you have the nuts at the proper torque.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:26 am

Around 1973 or 74 VW discontinued the the center drain plug in the strainer plate... because people were not dropping the screen.

So this tells you that the factory wants you to remove the screen EVERY time.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:37 am

Glenn wrote: Around 1973 or 74 VW discontinued the the center drain plug in the strainer plate... because people were not dropping the screen.

So this tells you that the factory wants you to remove the screen EVERY time.
True. But those vehicles did not have oil filters.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:40 am

Cusser wrote: Glenn wrote: Around 1973 or 74 VW discontinued the the center drain plug in the strainer plate... because people were not dropping the screen.

So this tells you that the factory wants you to remove the screen EVERY time.
True. But those vehicles did not have oil filters.
Filter i on the output, screen is on the input. They actually serve to different purposes.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 12:36 pm

Glenn wrote: Cusser wrote: Glenn wrote: Around 1973 or 74 VW discontinued the the center drain plug in the strainer plate... because people were not dropping the screen.

So this tells you that the factory wants you to remove the screen EVERY time.
True. But those vehicles did not have oil filters.
Filter i on the output, screen is on the input. They actually serve to different purposes.

Unless you put your filter on the suction side at the drain.

Maybe they got cheap and figured folks always remove the screen so why give them a drain plug.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 12:44 pm

heimlich wrote: Glenn wrote: Cusser wrote: Glenn wrote: Around 1973 or 74 VW discontinued the the center drain plug in the strainer plate... because people were not dropping the screen.

So this tells you that the factory wants you to remove the screen EVERY time.
True. But those vehicles did not have oil filters.
Filter i on the output, screen is on the input. They actually serve to different purposes.

Unless you put your filter on the suction side at the drain.

Maybe they got cheap and figured folks always remove the screen so why give them a drain plug.
Those "mini sump" filters are a really bad idea. If it gets clogged it can starve the engine for oil. I can't think of any engine that has a filter on the suction side.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 3:23 pm

I’ve owned my ‘74 Super Beetle since 2012. The oil gets changed twice a year, approximately every five hundred miles. Once, I skipped cleaning the strainer because there was never anything there to remove. The next oil change, I pulled the strainer and it was still nice and clean. I cleaned it and the bottom of the plate anyway, because there is this tiny bit of ... what would you call it? Sludge? Yes, sludge. Not a lot, but enough to convince me that maybe the screen doesn’t require cleaning (although I still spray it down with carb cleaner and let it dry), but the interior of the sump plate does attract sludge.

Better to clean it thoroughly and not need to, than to not clean it and wish I had.

Tim

Wed Feb 05, 2020 3:45 pm

The Mexican 1600i-equipped cars did come from the factory with a spin on oil filter pump, so what the owner's manual for that car has to say would be a good guideline for the answer to this.

From the 1995 1600i owner's manual page 35: "Cada vez que se cambie el aceite, hay que quitar el colador y limiarlo." For those that don't understand Spanish, it says "Each time the oil is changed, the strainer must be removed and cleaned."

Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:05 pm

The real reason for removing the screen is to spot bearing pieces or other metal pieces to tell you it is time to pull the motor before it blows up. The filter won't catch them as the screen keeps them in the sump away from the filter. The filter give the motor clean oil between oil changes as without the filter microscopic bits are lubing your motor along with the oil till the next change.

Wed Feb 05, 2020 6:02 pm

When Mrs. Cusser kept driving my 1971 after a stud had vibrated out after 31 years and oil the oil leaked out, the screen did capture the slivers of #2 main bearing.

Slivers removed, oil changed, and stud repaired within a few days. #2 Main identified as the source of slivers after driving 3 additional years like that (yes, oil pressure was a little lower when hot, but no knocking). At rebuild, crankshaft did not even need to be re-ground, just polished.

That 1600cc engine did not have a pump/filter then.

Thu Feb 06, 2020 6:58 am

if you saw what the strainer and drainplate looked like on the average oil change in the 70's you'd know why they eliminated the drain plug...at least 1/4 inch of sludge built up...people were too cheap to go to the dealer and gas stations never dropped the plate...the use of non detergent oils made the situation 100 percent worse back then than it is now...most aftermarket strainers ive seen the mesh is so large its practically useless...but i'd still drop it periodically to keep an eye on things and maybe catch something before it made it through the pump

Thu Feb 06, 2020 7:14 am

Thu Feb 06, 2020 7:29 am

Glenn wrote:
Delicious! Looks like a complete cam bearing set.

Thu Feb 06, 2020 7:44 am

vamram wrote: Glenn wrote:
Delicious! Looks like a complete cam bearing set.
Actually it was the 3-4 cam lobes.

Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:50 am

I just use a Pela oil extractor every 2k miles. If you slant the car a little to the right/rear, you can extract almost everything out of the dipstick tube or at least as good as dropping the plate. The days of oil sludging up an engine with 2k intervals are long gone too. If your engine is making glitter, you're kind of screwed anyhow. It's just a question of how badly you're screwed and how soon.

I'm always on the lookout for glitter on the end of the extractor tube and in the old oil. I just got tired of finding nothing in the strainer. Once you get used to doing an oil change in 5 minutes without even getting your hands dirty and not needing any other supplies other than the oil itself, there's no going back.

It sucks disturbing a leak-free strainer plate every oil change and I don't like putting a lot of wear and tear on the strainer studs EVEN with an inch pound torque wrench.

Thu Feb 06, 2020 1:15 pm

Thu Feb 06, 2020 1:55 pm

Good case in point :)
CLEAN THA SCREEN

What are we, lazy? :lol: