When you guys change your oil, do you pre-fill the filter with oil before screwing it on.

 

Yes... I believe it gets oil flowing a little quicker.

 

Yes I prefil the filter. That is what the maintenance manual says to do.

 

Actually a very reputable dealer in Carson NV was saying at one of their seminars for Diesel owners that they no longer allow their Techs at the dealer to prefil filters with oil. It is completely unfiltered and if one spec of foil gets in there from the top of the jug it can cause an oil cooler nozzle to clog and blow the engine. He said that the 1-2 seconds their is no iil is a better thing than risking an engine failure. I always pre fill and still do, I just check a bazillion times that nothing gets in it.

 

Well being Dodge listed it to be done in the owners manual they must want it to done for a very good reason even if some Dealers thinks it will not hurt anything. I think the dealer is only looking at the extra time it takes to fill the oil filter and that they are paying the guy to fill it up as time wasted. The less time they spend on an oil change is extra $$ in their pocket.

 

i always fill mine, if you don't your oil pump is starving for those few seconds... over time... who knows, every diesel school i've ever been to (CAT, MTU, Fairbanks Morse, Pratt & Whittney) taught us to "fill if you can". could save in the long run... just my .02

 

Not to dispute what you guys are saying, as I'm sure it helps engine life, but I've never pre-filled filters and had some high mileage motors that still ran fine. JMO

 

I prefill mine, too, however I think the point about making sure that no foreign material gets in there is absolutely critical. Anything in the center of the filter will get pushed directly into the oil gallery, where it could block oil to rod bearings, main bearings, cooling nozzle, or anything else.

Also, I think the point about it probably not making a big difference is also valid.

I think most people drain and refill the oil on a warm, recently run motor, and then start the engine after filling to check for leaks, so all the upper motor parts are probably still well coated in oil, at least for the couple seconds of idling it takes to bring up the pressure.

Anyway, I will continue to prefill mine, but I'll always be very careful to make sure no speck of anything gets inside the filter. I'm not sure I'd trust some of the folks at the discount oil change place to be that careful, though.