FE Oil Filter with Reduced Outside Diameter?

[jayb]

I'm pretty sure that I've seen an oil filter that will fit an FE, but has a smaller outside diameter; anybody know who makes such a thing, or have a part number?  Where the oil filter adapter is on my race car there is limited room, and having a filter that is smaller in diameter by 1/2" or so would make it much easier to service.  Thanks in advance for any help on this - Jay

[turbohunter]

A Wix 51085 is much shorter.
It might be a little thinner but not by much.
However, because it's shorter the grab grooves make it thinner at the end.

[bn69stang]

Jay  i run a motorcraft  FL 300 filter on mine , its a shorter filter and clears my sway bar napa as a filter that is similar as well .  Bud

[rcodecj]

I use a FL400S.
It holds about a 1/2 a quart less.

Edit: forgot to say it is smaller in diameter.

[afret]

My Jomar filter which looks to be the same size as a regular filter for an FE is about 3 5/8" in diameter.  The Canton filter I have on the street car now is about 3" in diameter.

I think you can tell it's skinnier than the stock type filter:

[drdano]

Are you not familiar with the ball peen hammer header clearance device?  I think the same tool could be used here.   

[machoneman]

Maybe an Oberg?

http://obergfilters.com/

I only mention this as Jay's engines I do believe have quite limited running time and the screens allow easy checks of any (gulp!) metallic filings.  I've crewed (long ago) on a few dragsters that used an early version of the Oberg with great success. Again, I would NOT run one on a regular street engine nor one that wasn't torn down (i.e. a real race engine) on a regular basis. JMO.   

[Barry_R]

The FL400 is a tiny little thing.  It will go on the same place as an FL1.  Don't look big enough.  Must work OK since Ford put them on everything for many years...  You can call it a weight savings.

[bn69stang]

If you have room to use a different adapter , there is one that came off the 360- 390  1/2 ton 4 by 4 s its  up a bit and forward . When i pull my motor to do the tranny , heads and cam i was gonna give it a try to see if it gives more room in that area .. Bud

[Heo]

Volvo 1962 to present i think. Atleast as long as they
had ironblocks

[jayb]

The FL400 is a tiny little thing.  It will go on the same place as an FL1.  Don't look big enough.  Must work OK since Ford put them on everything for many years...  You can call it a weight savings.

Weight savings!  Now there's something any racer can get behind LOL!  The FL-400 is the one I was thinking of, I think; the picture on Summit's web site looks familiar.  I will try one of those; thanks, guys!

[Qikbbstang]

In filtration when it comes to increasing the amount of surface area of media across the board the results are exponentially beneficial in every aspect of filtration performance. Conversely when reducing the amount of media things get worse exponentially.
    I'd warn against using any off the shelf re-usable/washable wire cloth media filter for the ability of cleanable wire mesh to capture particulates in an endurance motor is right in with no filter at all. The standard for the FE is the FL1 size - this is fine for a stock FE oil pump. Start running a high volume pump and you are assured it will be bypassing often.  You can not fit ten pounds in a five pound sack. Just because a small shell size filter fits the same filter mount as a FL1 does not mean it can handle the volume of a FL1.
    A FL400 4.7"x3"dia will only contain a fraction of the filter media of a 5.2"x3.8"dia FL1.. FL400s are standard on 4 and 6cyl motors. The FL400 will fit/run on an FE but certainly there will be a higher delta-P through the filter regardless if it is in bypass or not as a result of less capacity.  Bypass means a percentage of oil is not filtered at all how much is Russian Roulette
        I'd advise locating the oil filter(s) where there is room rather then short changing the filter. Pumping 2-20GPM of oil through any filter takes power. (think about what it takes to hand pump bulk oil out of a 55gal drum.) Differential pressure from adding/deducting filter area is exponential. IF one filter produces 5psid at a given flow it is normal to find two of the same filters in parallel will only make 1 or 2psid at the same exact flow.  This concept goes on, two filters will exponentially perform better in capturing smaller particles, contaminant capacity etc . The large remotely mounted racing oil filters with 3/4" lines used by NASCAR teams and Pros are awesome and with some homework you can find Mobil 1 spin-ons that fit the race mounts that offer daily driver filter quality micron ratings for about $12 @ Auto Zone 

 Jay IF you must go with a smaller can filter at least try for a racing version which will obviously have less efficiency but greater flow capacity or try for a true premium synthetic media model which (will have a wire cloth media support layer facing the inside of the core) this should offer greater capacity then standard cellulose/syn medias.

[fe66comet]

I tried a filter mount on my FE with the Moroso front sump kick out pan. The filter I found was so small I decided to go with a remote manifold from Canton racing. It was something like 50 bucks and came with bolts and uses 1/2 pipe fittings. I haven't bought the remote filter mount yet but the options are limitless there and best of all installing a cooler is cake.

[jayb]

BB, somehow I knew I'd hear from you on this one 

I wouldn't go with the smaller filter unless I had to, since I have about a dozen Mobil 1 filters on the shelf.  I'll see if I can find a racing version as you have suggested...

[Qikbbstang]

I seriously doubt you'll find a Mobil1 Racing Oil Filter. Looking at the web just now I discovered Mobil1 has some synthetic fiber blend filters not a true synthetic media -- big difference. Seems Mobil may have offered some true Syn media - wire backed but not all are.  Funny if the large center hole filters they sell were Syn media and the regular common size filters were syn blend --- of course the auto stores offer all same brand filters at one price.  I recall looking into a large Mobil1 filter seeing the wire backed syn media and thinking someone is losing their ass on this filter, it was a fraction of my cost.

This ding-bat in video below needs a good whack in the head with a rubber hose ( the rock hits the filter and cellulose media BS) But it shows what a true Syn media is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=floUZGP6NZM

[Ratbird]

Seems to me a filter that does a better job would also get clogged sooner and need replaced more often. (Speaking solely about the filtering aspect of the filter)

[Qikbbstang]

wire cloth backed microglass fibers. These fibers are much smaller then the cellulose or plasitmeric  fibers in cheaper medias. The result is there is a lot more holes or void space in the media so they flow well, have low resistance, can hold a lot more debris and do a far superior job on capturing/holding particles.   Think of the microglass fibers as needles vs polly- fibers as toothpicks vs cellulose fibers as pencils in size.

[fe66comet]

I have a filter mount that faces forward, it came out of a F250 4/4. That would work if you have room?