I personally believe in pouring a few ounces in the filter. It will get oil to your vitals a millisecond or two quicker. Some may deem it an unnecessary task. When it comes to things like this, I ask myself whether it will do any harm. In this case the answer is no. Then I ask myself whether it could help. In this case there is a good possibility. If there is some definative proof out there, for or against, I am not aware of it. It's sort of like chicken soup, at worst it can't hurt. At best it'll make your engine live a little longer. In an ideal world all vehicles would come with pre-oilers to give your engine pressurized oil before it starts to turn over.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, Torsion bars cranked up 2.5 turns. Needs one more door.

 

I am sure it is better to fill the filter, but in my truck (97 150, 4.6 V8) the oil filter screws onto the engine at 90 degrees. On top of that I have to snake my arm around the front wheel suspension stuff so I end up with most of the oil that I filled the filter with on me. Well, I was tired of feeling like a salad so now I just lube the gasket and screw it on. I am just hoping it is not going to kill my engine. It can't be much worse than when I start my truck in the morning after most of the oil has dripped into the oil pan overnight. Hopefully at least.
Does someone have a better method? Or do most of us end up feeling like a salad?



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Erik
etimmer@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU

97 150 XLT 4.6L V8
K&N Filter
Vel. Tube (soon)

My Web Page (not much here)

 

I have never pre-filled a filter. If you watch the oil gauge/light when you start after an oil change, the pressure is up as soon as it fires. I think this may have been valid back in the 20's or 30's.

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97 Lariet-sc-4.6-4x off road-auto-3.55 LS-
superchip-K&N-3"
pvc air box mod-Granetelli MAF

 

I 1st tried this a couple of years ago, looking at how the oil system works and low and behold, the engine oil pressure comes up 1-2 sec faster than not pre-oiling. I was sold been doing it ever since. Especialy since vehicals today start at very High idle, 1-2 sec saves that much more wear.

 

I used to pre-fill the filter on my other fords because the filter was near verticle. On my F-150 the filter is almost horizontal and filling just causes messes. The best way I have found to pre -lube the engine before starting is to remove the coil wire and crank until the idiot light goes out, ofcourse that is not feasable on our engines. Have a non-pats key made (so it will not start)and crank the engine until the oil light goes out. Do not try to hold the accelerator to the floor and crank thinking the engine will not start, My old ranger once started full throttle with that method. The starter turns the engine over fast enough to fill the filter in a few seconds and the engine is not hammering on rod bearings with no oil film. There is always a little oil left in the crankshaft that oils the rod and mains until the oil pump picks up by using the starter. This method eliminates that awful sound of an engine starting with no oil press.

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2000 F-150, XLT, SC, 5.4, 4X4, 355 LS, ORP, Black/Silver, class III, single CD, sliding glass, med. gray, keyless, elect. shift, engine date 8-18-99, Superchip. '93 Harley Fatboy Black & tons of chrome

 

98 FWord says:
It's sort of like chicken soup, at worst it can't hurt. At best it'll make your engine live a little longer
___________________________________________
I am on my fourth F150 but have never heard of this. What say you Ford mechanics? Is chicken soup the way to go? Is Campbells okay? I'm out of chicken noodle. Would chicken with stars be an acceptable substitute? Should I mix it with water or milk? Milk makes it thicker, but I'm thinking water would make it thin enough to start lubricating quicker on cold mornings.
Perhaps Kosher? Oy Vey!

 

98 FWord says:
It's sort of like chicken soup, at worst it can't hurt. At best it'll make your engine live a little longer
___________________________________________
I am on my fourth F150 but have never heard of this. What say you Ford mechanics? Is chicken soup the way to go? Is Campbells okay? I'm out of chicken noodle. Would chicken with stars be an acceptable substitute? Should I mix it with water or milk? Milk makes it thicker, but I'm thinking water would make it thin enough to start lubricating quicker on cold mornings.
Perhaps Kosher? Oy Vey!

 

I think I tried it one time in my 98 F-150 (with the remote oil filter). I don't see the need to do this though, as the oil pump primes the system almost instantly after an oil change. There is already oil in the most important parts of the engine.

If it is easy to do..sure..it can't hurt.

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Superchip, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55 rear, class III towing package with super engine cooling/Auxilary transmission cooling HD package, Heavy duty shocks, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, factory leather wrapped steering wheel, FORD bedliner, FORD black tubular cab steps, K&N air filter, mar-hyde rubberized undercoating, Modine climate filtration system, Bugflector II, Mobil 1 oil, build 7/2000

 

I think that it is a good idea. I have always done this, although you cannot get much oil in the filters on the late model F150. It does make a difference because the oil light does not go out right away as some people have posted.

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Dennis

 

I go with the chicken soup method. But if it's not feasable then I try to put a few ounces or whatever I can get in there without spilling while instalation of a new filter.

If you think about it, how many times do you change your oil(3-4 times a year). And if everytime it starts without oil 1-2 seconds you could have anywhere up to 1 minute total run time. IMHO running my motor without oil for 1 minute would not be good.

(4 oil changes X 2 seconds)= 8 sec. per year

8 seconds X 8 years= 64 seconds
or
8 seconds X 4 years= 32 seconds

(4 oil changes X 1 second)= 4 sec. per year

4 seconds X 8 years= 32 seconds
or
4 seconds X 4 years= 16 seconds

It's probably lesser of all the above but why take the chance if for a little effort you can prevent this.

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F150IslandBoy
1997 F150 Lariat
SuperCab, Dark Toreador Red w/ Gold, Styleside, 4.6L, A/T, A/C, 3.55 3800 Limited Slip, Class 3 Tow Package, Leather Captain Seats, Sliding Rear Window.
Modifications:
Airaid FIPK, Flowmaster Delta Flow 50 Series, Bugflector II, Viper 500ESP Alarm, Pendaliner Bedliner, Cobra Trapshooter 3 Radar Detector, CARR Tubular Nerf Bars, Ventshade Ventvisors, Ventshade Taillight Covers, NFA 1400 Compact 55W=>85W Halogen O.E. Lights, Durango 255/70R16, Chrome eyelet tie downs, Smoked front lic. plate cover.

 

XceLenT: Years ago, I heard it was a good idea, so I've always done it. With the 4.2, you're right, about half full is all you should fill it because of the angle. Don't know why, but it always seems to absorb more than you think it will, judging by its size. Just make sure you smear the rubber gasket with fresh oil at the same time to make a good seal, and so you can get the darn thing off when it's time to change it.

SHIfTer

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Black 2000 SC short-box XLT. 4.2 V-6, 5-speed, 3.55 limited-slip. CD, remote entry, factory side steps, FORD box liner.

My third F-series: '73 F-100 Custom, 240 cube 6, 3 on the tree, tan, "West Coast" mirrors, step bumper, knitted vinyl seat, AM radio; '98 F-150 XL-SC, Pacific Green, 4.2 5-speed, 3.55 ls, FM-cassette; and '00 F-150 XLT-SC 4.2 5-speed, 3.55 ls.

GREAT trucks!



[This message has been edited by Shifter (edited 10-22-2000).]

 

Why not? Always have and always will.

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2000 F150 XLT 4x4 Short Bed. Amazon Green, 5.4L, SuperCab, ORP, Tow Package, Sliding Rear Window, Electronic Shift, Keyless Entry, LT265-70-17 Tires, Clarion Pro Audio, Herculiner Bedliner, Air Silencer Removed.

1994 SVT Mustang Cobra. #1032 of 6009. Black coupe with black leather int., 3.73 rear, Bassani Exhaust, Aluminum D/S, Bridgestone RE-71 255-45-ZR17

My Home Page

 

What do you experienced folks think about pre-filling the oil filter? Is this a new idea to y'all? I was reading the lengthy threads about filter types, etc. prior to changing my oil (to Mobil 1) this weekend and thought this might reduce the amount of time for the oil system to "refill" or "re-prime" itself. I've only owned one F-150 (a Y2K w/4.2l) and the oil filter is somewhat near vertical (40 degrees or so). I was able to pour in approx 1/3 qt. or so prior to attaching it to the engine with out spilling any. Is this worthwhile or just a waste of time? Waiting for your highly valued responses...

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2K White XLT SC V6 Auto