The engine oil that circulates while performing lubrication and cooling in every part of the engine has the role of scraping and cleaning various dirt in the lubrication path. The oil filter element catches mainly solid dirt and foreign matters among such dirt.
If the oil filter becomes dirty and the filtration performance is decreased, not only the oil flow rate will decrease, but also the oil that passes through the filter will not circulate.
In order to avoid such a situation, it is recommended to change the oil filter once every twice of an oil change.
1. The oil filter catches carbon, metal powder and clutch wear powder!
Summary 1. The oil filter catches carbon, metal powder and clutch wear powder!
▲ The oil filter of the DragStar 250 is an engine-built type. Oil filter is usually a cylindrical shape folded with khaki colored filter paper in a bellows shape. The oil from the oil pump flows inwards from the outside of the oil filter and is sent from the central part of the lubrication path into each part of the engine.
There is a possibility that metal powder generated by wear of those parts is mixed, for engine oil that lubricates metal parts such as pistons, cylinders, and transmissions. Carbon sludge generated during combustion may also be contaminated into the engine oil.
For wet clutch motorcycle, the friction plate facing material worn by the half-clutch is also can contaminate the engine oil. If the oil mixed with foreign matters and circulates inside the engine, it will promote wear in each part and shorten the life of the engine. The oil filter will prevent such kind of trouble.
The oil accumulated in the oil pan at the bottom of the engine passes through the oil filter after being pressurized by an oil pump through a relatively coarse mesh oil strainer.
The oil filter is often a cylindrical shape in which fine filter paper is folded finely so that fine dust can be caught without missing, and there is a built-in type of filter that sets the filter itself inside the engine and a cartridge type filter that housing in a metal case, mounted from the outside of the engine.
The DragStar 250 which introduced here is equipped with a built-in oil filter with a part of the crankcase cover on the right side of the engine as a filter cover. 2. Is the filter change once every 9000km of travel or every twice of an oil change? Which one do you prefer?
Since the dirt adheres to the outside, after removing the oil filter, open the folds of the filter paper, to check whether there is no foreign matters or metal powder between the V-shaped grooves. Compared to the new khaki oil filter, as shown in the photo the filter turned black, but this is not a problem, it is a just degradation of the oil that has been soaked.
When changing the oil filter, it is common to do so at the same time with the engine oil change. According to the instruction manual, in case of a new motorcycle, the DragStar 250 is instructed to replace the oil filter during one month of inspection or after 1000km of travel, for the second time, changing the oil filter is intrusted every 9000km of travel. Since an oil change is instructed to do every 3000km of travel, the changing of the oil filter will be done once every thrice of an oil change.
Although the degree of oil contamination and internal engine wear depend on how the motorcycle is handled and the distance traveled, the manufacturer determines that there is no problem with changing the filter once at every 9000km of travel. In the world, many motorcycle riders follow the routine of changing the filter once every twice of an oil change.
This depends on the way of thinking of each motorcycle owner, but if you can protect the engine with about 10 USD for parts, you may feel safer by changing the filter at the same time when you perform an oil change.
On the other hand, if the replacement span is determined by repeated testing by the manufacturer, it is reasonable to think that every 9000km would be fine. In any case, the oil filter should be replaced at every 9000km even if the oil filter is pulled to the maximum.
3. Changing is easy by attaching and detaching the 3 bolts. Let's maintain good condition by regularly changing.
The cap bolt for fixing the oil filter cover, among the three, only one on the front side is significantly long. When fixing the bolts, it is necessary to tighten the 3 bolts gradually and evenly so that the position of the cover does not shift and the inner gasket does not collapse.
The oil filter cover has been designed like a crankcase cover, the inside shaped is like on the photo shown above. If the cover is removed, the oil will flow out from the engine, it is better to cover the bottom part of the crankcase in advance with cardboard.
The cardboard cover allows the oil in the filter case to be discharged without polluting the engine or frame. This is the amount that remains in the filter case, so even if you remove the drain bolt of the engine first and drained out the oil, the oil will still flow out.
The oil filter cover of the DragStar 250 is an elaborate design that has been adopted to show good as part of the crankcase cover. If the cover is removed, the engine oil flows out from the oil filter compartment, so it is a good idea to put a cardboard with gummed tape on the bottom part of the crankcase cover so that it will contaminate the frame or the lower part of the engine.
The filter paper is soaked in oil and turned black, but you should pay attention to the bottom of the folded filter paper. If there is any shiny metal powder left here, there is a high possibility that the metal parts are rubbing each other and wearing inside the engine. You should pay attention to the abnormal noise from the engine and how the condition of the gear, it would be better to bring your motorcycle in the motorcycle shop.
Also, if there are clay-like deposits or black foreign particles, it may be due to wear of the clutch facing material or carbon sludge. Carbon sludge may be blow-by in which the combustion of gas blows through the gap between the piston and cylinder, and there is a possibility of engine oil that has burned and altered around the camshaft or valve, so it is effective to remove dirt by flushing when changing the oil.
In addition, the simply performing of replacement work is one of the real pleasures of doing the maintenance by yourself that you can read the internal situation of the engine from the parts that you removed.
At the bottom of the filter case, wipe it off with a wipe cloth because there may be dirt that did not jam in the filter paper of the oil filter. Aside from the brown oil, it is the blow-by and carbon stain that appears black. If this is happen together when oil change, you can catch signs of trouble.
Even if the oil is changed frequently, the effect is halved if the filter is dirty. Let's focus on the importance of the function of filtering the dirt inside the engine as the distance traveled increases.
・Oil filters need to be replaced regularly to prevent engine wear
・Changing of the oil filter is once every twice or thrice of an oil change. Even if you pull it to the maximum range, it should be replaced at 9000km of travel.
・Be careful if the remove filter has a shiny metal powder.
◆DIY! “How to change Engine Oil Part 2 (Oil Filter)” Taught by Professional Mechanics.
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