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Thread ID: 106484	2010-01-10 10:29:00	Car: oil filter.	Nomad (952)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
847592	2010-01-10 10:29:00	Hiya For those in the know how - are oil filters cleaned and reused :confused: Did my first oil change :thumbs: Would like to change the transmission oil eventually, let the mechanic do the belts and the fuel filter. It's an Audi. The car does not have a dipstick for the transmission, so how is one suppose to fill it? Unless its underneath one of the covers. Interesting, it also does not have a radiator cap.	Nomad (952)
847593	2010-01-10 11:19:00	If this is an expensive audi, i beg to suggest you take it to some one who can explain it all to you BEFORE you create some VERY VERY EXPENSIVE issues for your self. Oil filter are a disposable, consumeable. They can be partially recycled and should not be landfilled, (because they still contain oil). There WILL be a Coolant pressure cap (probably on a remote or Header tank) and a coolant overflow container, as you have not readily reconised them, get some who knows to identify them for u. audi = very f expensive to fix.:horrified	angry (15305)
847594	2010-01-10 19:39:00	Transmissions don't usually have a dipstick but a oil level hole which is usually located by removing a bolt which then becomes the oil level hole, or sometimes the oil filler hole becomes the oil level hole, when the oil starts running out it is full. Check your owners manual. :)	Trev (427)
847595	2010-01-10 22:36:00	Its a 2001 model. No manual, from auction. Don't like dealers. It appears to be filled underneath the car (trans). No radiator caps so appears the reservoir tank ... We just heard from a mechanic that oil filters are cleaned and reused and want to double check....	Nomad (952)
847596	2010-01-10 23:39:00	....................... We just heard from a mechanic that oil filters are cleaned and reused and want to double check.... Absolutely no way..either you misheard..or the "mechanic" so-called is a bit round the bend. As already said car engine oil filters are disposable items to be thrown away after use. The filter media becomes loaded and embedded with particles and cannot be cleaned to as new. Some filters are designed to be cleaned by reverse flow which will give a bit more life, some industrial "edge" filter units have a handle on top that can be turned to release dirt and the unit is then cleaned by reverse flow. Then there are centrifugal filters which do not have a filter media that can be cleaned out.	Terry Porritt (14)
847597	2010-01-10 23:52:00	I think the mechanic would be referring to the transmission filter as some have a pan filter which can be cleaned. If you want to change your transmission oil then get the mechanic to do it. Although not hard it is a job that is done rarely so chances are you may not have that car for next time around. Get it wrong can be costly, even checking oil levels on transmissions is not as straight forward as it seems.	sam m (517)
847598	2010-01-11 00:14:00	you can wash out and reuse a oil filter IF you really really want to and its in desperate circumstances - ie you just hit your millionth hour of service on your farm bike and you MUST change the oil and filter but its 5am and the truck to get the sheep is showing at 6am and you only have oil and no filter for at least a day till you cang et into town and buy one THEN you might be able to get away with cleaning the filter out with whatever solvent flats your boat to get the bike running so you can finish off the last but thats no.8 wire fix for a no.8 wire problem - you should keep that sorta stuff stockpiled anyway ;) for an audi or any car you dont mess with that sort of thing - a filter is $8 to $20 its not worth the savings if it disentegrates and ruins the engine hell if you get a good relationship going with your local garage or a place like oil changers they will do you a free filter as part of a deal or something - so there is no real excuse to skimp on it :thumbs: i can see a good\violent argument starting about what brands are better and whats rebrnded rebrand retreaded air filters with blah :o	MAC_H8ER (5897)
847599	2010-01-11 00:21:00	Its def the oil filter. Had the car oil changed and someone asked him about the filter that was being cleaned, the mechanic said you can clean and reuse it .... The filter is maybe $50-70 for an OEM.... The gear oil - yeah needs to be level so cannot use the jack stands. Get it done outside. But I have read that Audi does not say anything about it, some say you should do a gear change each 4yr or 40,000km's. But having said that, the Japanese cars we have, never have we been asked by the mechanic to change the gear oil. Don't they we have ever changed that for all the cars we had before .......	Nomad (952)
847600	2010-01-11 00:44:00	The only types of oil filter that can be cleaned, as mentioned, are the mechanical types like edge filters, strainers, and centrifugal filters. Centrifugal filters used to be fitted to trucks, one manufacturer was Glacier Metal. They are actually quite efficient. The average car mechanic and his workshop would just not be clean enough for cleaning filters by reverse flow. He would need a special hydraulic pump/tank unit filtered to a higher standard than the filter he is trying to clean. I can see a good\violent argument starting about what brands are better and whats rebrnded rebrand retreaded air filters with blah Without a flow rig and particle counter/measurer it is not possible for the man in the street to have any idea how good or otherwise any particular brand is. You would have to audit the manufacturer, see where they get the media from and how clean their manufacturing and assembly plant is. When GMs were in Petone I saw their filter manufacturing set up, there were no special precautions taken with cleanliness. Even big name manufacturers like Fairy Filtration can come badly unstuck. Back in the 70s, to keep up with competition like Pall Filters they introduced 1 micron absolute hydraulic filters. These were a joke and cost us a lot of money. They used their standard cast iron bodies which shed particles of up to 30 micron for up to about 30 hours at full rated flow. As a result of our work they then vacuum impregnated the cast iron bodies with epoxy..... but as far as we were concerned it was bye bye Fairy........	Terry Porritt (14)
847601	2010-01-11 00:59:00	Question re: liquids. Some say this oil and stuff ... that adhres to this standard or this accreditation ....... You go into car shops and they have castrol, mobil, etc etc... does one need to be this careful and make sure the standards and accred. are supported ? And also, take a normal car, like a Toyota we have, say going to a Toyota dealer for maintenance vs a mechanic.	Nomad (952)
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