changing engine oil

[Baz and Helen]

Hi just a quick question, I changed the engine oil and filter today but remember a topic about to check the banjo I think thats what it was called, but I never noticed anything when doing the filter, can anyone tell me where it is
many thanks
Baz

[rita]

On top of the injector pump.

[Simon Jones]

Assuming yours is diesel, then the banjo filter is part of the fuel system and is worth cleaning although it might be worth changing the main fuel filter at the same time, especially if you don't know when it was last done.

[Baz and Helen]

Hi thanks for replies, I have changed the filter and engine oil just wasnt sure where banjo was. Will have a look at injector pump tomorrow
many thanks
Baz

[Diplomat]

Unless you have reason to believe that performance is being affected it might be a case of 'If it ain't broken don't fix it'.

There have been tales of parts of the banjo filter getting lost or reassembled incorrectly.

It's not quite as simple as changing the oil filter. Nor is changing the fuel filter (if you want it to start again first go).


Frank

[Bob]

Yep, the Banjo Filter is not part of a regular oil change.

If you're just changing the engine oil leave well alone.

[The Great Pretender]

Banjo filter. What is its purpose? It isn’t there to filter, if it was a finer filter than the fuel filter it would block in no time due to its tiny size.
Mine caused problems twice with no sign of contamination, but I was running 100% veg oil.
It didn’t cause anymore problems, for about the last three years of ownership the banjo filter lived in a cubby hole in my workshop

[Simon Jones]

Paper / material filter elements have an amount of 'fluff' in them which will make its way into the injector pump, plus the rubber fuel hoses between filter and pump will tend to deteriorate over time and the bits will be trapped by the wire mesh before it can damage the pump. Fuel pipes are recommended to be checked / changed every 4 years for this reason. Veg oil also tends to turn rubber to mush faster than diesel.

If the banjo filter is blocking up regularly then that proves that it's doing it job .

[Baz and Helen]

Hi thanks for all your replies, the van isnt playing up so I think I will take advice and leave well alone
many thanks
Baz

[The Great Pretender]

Paper / material filter elements have an amount of 'fluff' in them which will make its way into the injector pump, plus the rubber fuel hoses between filter and pump will tend to deteriorate over time and the bits will be trapped by the wire mesh before it can damage the pump. Fuel pipes are recommended to be checked / changed every 4 years for this reason. Veg oil also tends to turn rubber to mush faster than diesel.

If the banjo filter is blocking up regularly then that proves that it's doing it job .

Not sure I buy the fluff argument, why not have one after the oil filter to protect the engine? The Bosch VP pump is a sturdy piece of kit and pretty basic. Why don’t all IP’s have pre filters?
As I said I found no sign of contamination. Under high magnification inspection there wasn’t any debris. It’s possible it didn’t like 100% veg oil all the time and that was causing it to gum up but there was nothing held in it that could have harmed the IP. Just my personal conclusion from testing.

[Simon Jones]

Key difference with engine oil is that it is recirculated so any filter debris will get caught next time round. You're also not squirting engine oil at up to 15,000 psi through a high precision jet, so filtration is less critical. The fact that it is commonly found to be in need of cleaning tends to indicate the manufacturer went to effort and expense to put it there for a good reason.

[teenmal]

This made me chuckle a wee bit, I have spent most of my life changing/cleaning filters (among other things) on Garage forecourt/ commercial and Aircraft etc dispensing equipment /pumps. I don't think a lot of people would have been too happy if I had purposely left some of the filters in my tool box drawer.

[Simon Jones]

Ah yes, but you would have a very clean drawer

[The Great Pretender]

Key difference with engine oil is that it is recirculated so any filter debris will get caught next time round. You're also not squirting engine oil at up to 15,000 psi through a high precision jet, so filtration is less critical. The fact that it is commonly found to be in need of cleaning tends to indicate the manufacturer went to effort and expense to put it there for a good reason.

Your assuming debris will not get trapped in any oilways. How about petrol injection, it doesn’t have a filter after the filter to protect the injectors that operate at around 50 psi so less chance of debris blasting through?

Teenmal I’m not advocating punching holes through filter elements to avoid replacing them at service intervals. It is possible the banjo filter is there to safeguard the IP from morons like that.

I don’t think it is a ‘fact’ that it commonly needs cleaning, as I said I never found any debris in it and as I asked why isn’t one fitted on all injector pumps if it is needed?
If it needs regular cleaning due not to debris but gumming would you want to fly in an aircraft with one fitted?
It is not a safety critical part until it reduces fuel supply; mine did it like turning on a switch.
Like I said my personal conclusions are from testing, I’m not blindly led from what a manufacturer did nearly 20 years ago and conceived many years earlier is right today. Personally I think the biodiesel we use today causes the gumming and has no detrimental effects to the system other than blocking a tiny filter that isn’t universally used.

[teenmal]

Its really up to You what You do with your filters, as I was trying to explain I was not in that type of situation, I would have been sacked on the spot and probably prosecuted if I had left them out.

This is a guy on the other Forum that had a problem with the engine limited to 2-3000 RPM

Quote..

Thanks for your help guys all sorted was the strainer in the pump something so small cause a big problems.


Take care.