I'm looking at getting coolant filtration for my XJS however I'm not impressed with the dinky inline ones various sites offer that are little more then a teabag strainer jammed in a plastic tube.

I'm wondering if anyone here has thoughts on splicing in a diesel truck spin-on coolant filter system as pictured below:



I was thinking of adding it to the return line from the heater core? I'm fairly certain the green outlined hose is the return coolant line...

 

Where the heck would you find room to mount a big filter ?

Years and years ago many V12 owners were using Tefba filters (are those the ones you were referring to?). As I recall the consensus was that they worked great and captured lots of debris....but after all that was gone (2 or 3 filter cleanings later) there was nothing more to filter out.

It's hard to argue *against* any kind of filtration but, personally, as a purely practical matter, considering engine bay clutter, I'd consider rigging up some sort of temporary system to clean the system every few years rather than a permanently plumbed system.

That said I think the truck filter system would be fine if you can find room. You'll probably have to re-bleed the system after each filter change though.

Others will chime in.

Cheers
DD

 

My opinion: no need to to fit a filter if the cooling system has been maintained right...

Regarding hose: the hose you'be highlighted is the heating feed hose. The return goes into the metal pipe along the chassis rail on the other side of the car.

 

100% agree. Coolant filters are a complete waste of effort and quite unnecessary. At best they mask a system full of rubbish that needs a proper flush and service.
Also, shoving a great big filter like that into the circuit is bound to affect coolant flow and pressure adversely, a risk I think it would be unwise to take with the engine. Believe me, the risk to your engine from a blocked filter is infinitely greater than from a bit of crud at the bottom of the rad or the block. My car has done 130,000 miles over 32 years and has never had one.
Greg

 

Absolutely. If it needs a filter, why not simply give jt a good flush with clear water and then fill it properly.

I've got some crud in my engine cooling passages. I'll flush it with clear water and done... But that'll wait until the engine is ready to run

 

Agreed, but so many have *not* been maintained right, as we all know!

Even after a good flushing out debris can and will continue to become dislodged *over a period of time*....and then captured by the filter if one is installed. Eventually it'll all be gone....at which point the filter becomes superfluous.

Cheers
DD

 

Though I agree with you, Doug, Greg has his point. The filter will clog up if not maintained (we are again at maintance) and a clogged filter will cause more damage than the filter could prevent...

 

I've never heard of coolant filters before. Sounds like yet another perfect solution for a non-existent problem. Am I missing something?

 

I have a glass bowl AC Delco fuel filter slated to go into one of
the bleed lines to pickup crud. These are found in many 50's and
60's vehicles.

Betcha' Doug's seen a few of these

The glass will compensate for the small size and give a real time
view of the coolant condition. The use of the bleed line keeps the
flow restriction out of the mainstream flow circuits.

As for the need for filtration, in addition to left over crud
from neglect, casting sand bleeding out as castings erode ....
there is solids dropout and formation from the coolant itself.
Typically these are crystalised silica and silaca gel.

Both stationary and OTR diesels commonly use coolant filtration
and even have filters that introduce anti-corrosion additives back
into the coolant during use.

Factory coolant filters are also found in pleasure craft and aircraft.

 

Lots of cooling systems have debris floating around. How much of a problem this presents depends on how much debris there is and how worried you want to be about it. If really clean fluids are important to you, you can filter the coolant and rest more easily.

I've drained supposedly clean cooling systems and then poured the old coolant thru a paint filter and have been surprised I what I saw.

I'll try to find some pics, from others, showing what was captured in the Tefba filters when they were all the rage.

OTOH, cooling systems are not as delicate as, let's say, fuel systems....so they can tolerate a certain amount of debris with no ill consequences.

I've never used a coolant filter personally but it's hard to argue very strongly against the filtering of fluids IMO

Cheers
DD

 

That could be due to there being no confined spaces where the coolant
has to flow. The crud just flows around relatively large passages unlike
engine oil around journals.

However, the solids are no friend to water pump seals when they
crystallise and no friend to heater cores when they settle out.

Any silica would definitely not be impeller friendly, with or without
cavitation.

Water pumps are relatively cheap and easy to replace, so no one
complains too much when they wear out. Imagine the hue and cry
if instead it was the crank.

 

My diesel truck with 300000km has had ELC Cat EC1 semi truck coolant (the best money can buy) since I bought it a decade ago and my coolant filter as seen above still collects sand and gunk it is never enough to just flush the system.

Isn't the flow to the heater core controlled by that valve just up from the outlined pipe anyway? Id imagine a filter on a hose like that wouldnt be so bad its not like its on the main inlets to the radiator

 

My XJ8 has now next to 200.000 km and is 20 years old... I have had to work on the cooling system a couple of times (once replacing two hoses under the intake manifold together with the thermostat housing, then I had to replace the hoses to and from the radiator and finally I drained the system to change the chains).

The coolant was absolutely prestine each time and there is no limescale or so inside - even though I use tap water (my area has dreadfully hard water) and cheap antifreeze. No filter required. The radiator isn't clogged up nor is there anything in there to justify putting in a filter...

It is, as Greg and I agree on, always to do with regular maintance. Coolant NEEDS to be replaced around every 2-3 years. No matter on what engine. No matter how much you drive or where you live. You could live in Siberia or in Death Valley, the antifreeze still needs changing. If you simply ignore the fact, you get build up in the channels and radiators.

But IF you were wanting to fit a filter, then you want the heater outlet. You can grab that, if you open the bonnet, on the LEFT side of the engine (the side with the crank case ventilation) and follow a black pipe, which runs alongside the main chassis arm. The pipe ends at the front near the radiator. This is the ideal take off, as it is rather low down and you can possibly fit a small filter down there without restricting the flow of water. It is sucked and pumped there at the same time...

 

While we're on the subject of cooling systems are there any real downsides to putting a small shop vac to the radiator inlets and forcefully sucking the coolant/crud back out the top? My car tends to run hot even after multiple flushes I wondered if its just the top of the rad thats full of crap.

 

Let's presume that all cars have sand and gunk in the system. There's been millions of cars built over the decades without coolants filters, yet not one has suffered any sort of issue.

What problem are you trying to fix?

 

How "hot" does "running hot" mean? Does the temperature gauge go into the red?

These engines will cool nicely when cared for. The system though is a little "tricky" so be aware... I'd go through a few things to see what could help:

1. thermostats
Are they working right? Are they old and maybe not opening far enough? Do they open at all?

2. air pockets
Has the cooling system been blead right? These cars don't self-blead so you need to manually let the air out. I think either Greg or Grant posted the most effective way to blead (lift front left wheel off the ground, with engine running, open blead screw, let air out until it pees water everywhere, done - that is the short way). Air pockets will cause heat spots...

3. blocked radiator
The best system will only work if the radiator can provide enough flow. If it is blocked due to sediments blocking the vains, then it will effect the cooling. You can remove the radiator and reverse flush it (bottom exit, pump water into it, the worst of the worse will come out or better should). If that doesn't work, a recore will also be a good choice...

Most people though seem to think the engine runs too warm. Most of the time it doesn't and only the gauge is making it look bad. Best way would be to get an infrared thermometer and see what the engine really has for temperatures...

 

Worry over debris in the coolant


Cheers
DD

 

A couple examples

http://www.brianschreurs.org/neptune...s/sctee375.jpg

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/GanoCleanout.jpg


Cheers
DD

 

For what it's worth, I raised the issue of coolant filters with my garage, who work on Ferraris and Porsches and other high-end European cars (plus one old Jag) and the guy was adamant that it was not worth it.
I tend to agree with those who say it's better just to flush and replace every so often. Thinking about it, if coolant filters were so vital, wouldn't they be standard, like oil filters?

 

It comes down to upper management/cost controls vs engineers.

See the following video as evidence of what I'm referring to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfVq...ature=youtu.be