KEEPING KLEEN

Text: Kevin Baldwin Pictures: Wayne Mitchelson

An ex-work colleague of mine, a successful truck salesman, often used to tell me the tale about a particular brand new DAF truck he once sold that went on to cover a million miles before eventually being retired. A feat in itself, but more amazing was that this truck was still on its original engine. What's more, the engine hadn't had so much as a rebuild, re-line or re-bore. In fact, the engine was so good, the operator scrapped the rest of the truck and sold the engine on to an eager buyer. The reason for the engine's extended longevity according to my source and endorsed by the operator of the vehicle, was put solely down to one thing. The truck had been fitted with a Kleenoil Filter from new.

CARTRIDGE PAPER

The Kleenoil Filtration System is a bypass filter that works by continuously diverting a small amount of the engine's oil through an additional 'Kleenoil' filter. The Kleenoil filter cartridge is contained within a remotely mounted aluminium filter housing and is made of 'densely wound pure coniferous wood pulp paper' and it looks a bit like a roll of toilet paper!

A regular oil filter filters down to around 25 to 40 microns, too small to be visible to the naked eye, yet still large enough to do damage to your engine. The gap between any of the moving surfaces in your engine is around three microns. If you take a tiny 10 micron lump of muck that will have sailed straight through your genuine oil filter unnoticed and then try to squeeze it into a three micron space, what you're effectively trying to do is akin to shoving a house brick through a washroom mangle. No wonder wear occurs in your engine. This is where the Kleenoil filter works its magic.

                                                                  

IT'S A KIND OF MAGIC

 The Kleenoil filter has the ability to filter any contaminants in your oil down to less than one micron, remember that an expensive 'genuine parts' filter can only work 'at best' down to approximately 25 microns. The Kleenoil system also scores over the standard filter by its ability to filter out one of the most harmful enemies of your engine's lubrication system, namely water. The combustion process together with the constant heating and cooling process of your engine creates moisture that will react with the oil in your sump. Moisture reacting with the chemical additives normally found in any engine oil will lead to a reduction in the effectiveness of your oil, resulting in sludging, a build up of corrosive acids, and a host of other nasties, ultimately leading to a premature end for your engine. We change the oil in an engine to purge the poor insides of your favourite lump of iron of the accumulated 'cack' carried by the old oil.

By adding the Kleenoil filter to an engine, its ability to filter out even the tiniest particles means not only are you virtually eliminating wear on the moving parts in your engine, the oil is now constantly being recycled as its passes through the high density Kleenoil filter element. This means your oil stays as clean and fresh as the day you poured it out of the can. Because you're now running on dean oil all of the time, oil and filter changes can now be extended to up to ten times their regular interval. When your normal oil change is due, you simply change the Kleenoil filter element, and forget about changing the oil. I know it sounds like mechanical suicide, but you're gonna have to trust me on this one!

In the increasingly cut-throat world of the transport industry, double-shifted trucks can soon rack up the sort of mileage in a single day the rest of us might take a month to complete. Therefore it's not uncommon to find a truck operator carrying out once a month oil changes. Take a large fleet of trucks, multiply the number of trucks by the litres of oil contained within a truck's sizeable sump, add in a large number of oil filters, plus workshop down-time, and you can see why the Kleenoil system has found a loyal following within the industry. One satisfied customer has driven over half a million miles without a single oil change. The Kleenoil system also lends itself to the typically 'mucky' world of plant and large off-road machinery. Many underground mining locomotives and stone crushers have Kleenoil filters fitted as standard equipment.

Because of the lowly 6000 mile oil change interval on my 300Tdi Defender and the fact that I'd covered 25,000 miles in the past 18 months, I thought I'd find out if they could supply me with a system to fit the Land Rover.

Good news folks, they can. Even better news is, the whole installation kit is affordable, dare I say, downright cheap. The job can be easily completed at home but you may need a 1/8 BSP tap.

First you'll need to find a home for the 'Light Duty' (sump capacity up to 15 litres) filter unit, checking you have enough room for the under-slung pipe connections and enough clearance above the filter unit. The available space under the bonnet of a 300Tdi Defender is limited, luckily the 300Tdi timing case comes with a handy flat area with four vacant bolt holes where the air-con unit goes on Discos. No chance of air-con on this basic truck so instead it provided me with a handy mounting position. All I had to do was make up a mounting bracket from a piece of aluminum angle but you should manage without..

Using a cardboard template I simply measured up and marked the position for the four mounting holes and transferred these to my aluminum bracket. Once in position I could offer up the filter unit and mark the position for the two holes to take the Kleenoil's U-shaped mounting bracket. The filter hung in such a way that I could easily route the 'in' and 'out' oil pipes in the space between the engine block and the injector pump.

 

 

You then need to decide upon a suitable point of entry for the oil return pipe back into your engine. On most applications, you can simply 'tee' into the sump plug, but if you plan on going off-road, this kind of vulnerable fitting throws up some obvious drawbacks, not to mention some potentially disastrous consequences. It doesn't really matter where the oil returns back into the engine, so have a look round to see if there is anywhere suitable to tee into. Kleenoil usually goes straight into the rocker cover, but because the sound insulation on the underside of the 90's bonnet rubs on top of my rocker cover this had to be ruled out. I opted to fit the supplied fitting into the side of the cylinder head 'rocker tray'. This was drilled and then tapped with 1/8 BSP tap to take the screw-in pipe union. Both drill and tap were first dipped in grease to prevent any swarf entering the rocker tray itself.

The oil pick up is taken off the oil pressure switch on the oil filter head, using the supplied tee-piece. The oil pressure switch is unscrewed, screwed into the tee-piece and then the 'tee' screwed back into the filter head. An additional copper washer was required on the tee piece to get the fitting to tighten up in such a way as to leave the positioning of the feed pipe accessible.

Using the length of oil pipe supplied, two lengths of pipe - one for the feed and one for the return - were routed from the filter to their respective unions, measured and then cut to size. The oil pipe is high pressure hydraulic hose, so I needed to use a hacksaw to cut it, sparks an' all! The Kleenoil kit came supplied with two piece, self-sealing, screw-on pipe fittings of the type anyone used to messing around with hydraulics will be used to. These were fitted to each end of the oil pipes, after first sliding on a length of convoluted protective sleeving. Again, this was supplied with the kit.

The two pipes were then routed to their respective destinations, making sure that they were screwed into the Kleenoil filter head following the 'in and out' flow arrows cast into the body of the filter unit. To finish off, the oil feed and return pipes were cable tied for security, and a little trimming of the under bonnet insulation felt panel was required to comfortably dear the top of the filter assembly.

 

INCREASED CAPACITY

Obviously it makes sense to do this job when changing the oil and filter, just remember you'll need to add more oil to make up for the capacity of the the Kleenoil filter and its associated pipework. Start and run the engine just as you would after changing the oil, but allow the Kleenoil filter enough time to fill before you switch off to dip the oil. Whilst you're waiting for the filter to fill take a moment to have a good look round for any leaks or drips.

For further information contact: Kleenoil: 01977 682810

Email: KleenoilCdukonline.co.uk Website: www.kleenoil.co.uk Overseas readers please note: Although a UK company, Kleenoil has distributors worldwide.

The Kleenoil filter is changed in line with the recommended service intervals. The oil and standard filter interval can then be safely extended up to 10x the recommended interval, eg. 300Tdi Defender 60,000 miles. In practice many people prefer to opt for annual oil and filter changes. The Kleenoil kit costs £125 including all parts necessary to carry out installation plus six spare Kleenoil cartridges. NB. Price includes next day delivery.

FOLLOWED 6 MONTHS LATER BY….

 

KLEENING UP

 

Bit wary of fitting a Kleenoil bypass filter to your engine? This six month update may convince your itch

 Regular readers may recall that way back in December 2002, we ran a feature on how I fitted a Kleenoil filter system to my 300Tdi powered 90, K3MUD. Since we ran the feature, the company has been 'overwhelmed' by the response from Land Rover owners as far afield as the States, Canada, South America and Africa. I first came across the device while working in the transport industry a number of years ago, and make no excuses for being a fan of the product having seen the long-term effectiveness of the system first hand. This was no 'journo blag' in exchange for a glowing report, I wanted to fit a Kleenoil quite simply because I know it works. Nevertheless, there are still the non-believers out there who think fitting this simple and relatively cheap device is tantamount to mechanical suicide for your engine. With this in mind, and having seen all sorts of techno-twaddle and rubbish spouted by 'experts' on various internet forums, Kleenoil contacted me to see whether I'd consent to an independent oil sample test on the Kleenoil-filtered oil in my engine.

LIFE PRESERVER

Just in case you missed the feature, and want to know what all the fuss is about then here's a brief reminder of how the Kleenoil bypass

filtration system works. The standard oil filter fitted to your engine will filter the oil travelling through it down to anywhere between 25 and 40-microns. The flaw with the standard filter design is that the space between two moving surfaces in your engine is three-microns. So you see, it doesn't matter how many gallons of mega-bucks Mobil-1 you pour into your engine, wear will still occur. The Kleenoil bypass filter uses a simple yet far more effective design of a replaceable filter cartridge. This not only filters

 

contaminants down to a single micron, but unlike your standard filter, will absorb all the water out of your oil caused by the constant heating up and cooling down processes that take place everyday of your engine's working life. By removing all traces of moisture, the Kleenoil system inhibits the production of the acids that over time eventually degrade the quality of your oil. Whether £2.99 oil from the supermarket or super synthetic liquid gold, it is this gradual breakdown of the various preserving agents found in any engine oil that determines how often we have to change it. Contrary to popular belief, new oil will not wear out, it's the crud your engine is producing internally that contaminates the oil, subsequently diluting its effectiveness. If you could keep your oil in 'as new' condition then it will go on protecting your engine ad infinitum. That's where the Kleenoil system works its magic, because that's exactly what it does. At your usual oil change interval, the oil and standard oil filter remain untouched, instead you just need to change the Kleenoil filter. Most operators then make the MoT test, an annual oil and filter change also, but rest assured, Kleenoil has testimonies from truck drivers who've covered 500,000 miles on the same oil.

I know it sounds like one of those 'wonder products' you see in the back of the Sunday supplements, but west Yorkshire-based Kleenoil have been suppliers of the trucking and plant industry the world over for almost 30-years, so rest assured this is no 'here today, gone tomorrow' outfit. The system has been fitted to everything from locomotives, canal boats to wind turbines. Unsurprisingly, the transport industry remains the company's key market, especially in North America where the vast distances and high mileages involved means large annual savings can be achieved on frequent oil and filter changes. The fact that no engine manufacturer has a problem with fitting a Kleenoil system to a brand new vehicle isn't a bad endorsement either.

TRIED AND TESTED At the time I fitted the Kleenoil filter to K3MUD it had done some 136,000

miles, still on its original engine. Arguably, 136,000 miles is not a good time to be fitting an engine life­preserving device, as adding a Kleenoil filter will not 'repair' any damage already done internally. However, I had the fully stamped service record to prove it had been serviced from new up until the 120,000-mile mark when I took over ownership. From then on, it had been serviced religiously by myself with regular oil and filter changes every 5000-miles. It didn't use any oil between changes, and having never missed a single oil change, I was confident that the engine was in pretty good shape despite its relatively high mileage. For what it's worth, it runs a big intercooler and a tweaked injector pump.

The oil sample was taken at 151,000-miles having covered 16,000 since its last engine oil and standard filter change, way exceeding the recommended 6000­mile oil change intervals. The Kleenoil filter had been changed, as recommended, in line with the standard factory intervals. The oil sample was taken from the filter head unit immediately after shut-down and although the sample oil was every bit as black as regular dirty engine oil, Kleenoil assured me this was quite

 

DIY package

Kleenoil have put together a comprehensive DIY package for Land Rover owners, including everything you need to install a Kleenoil system at home. Cost is f125, which includes six spare filter cartridges and next day delivery. For more information call: 01977 682810, email: kleenoil@ukonline.co.uk or visit: vvww:kleenoil.co.uk

 

Chunks of the sample results taken from the engine make for baffling reading with the use of words, phrases and elaborate graphs only a respected professor in chemistry would understand. However, the one thing I could decipher was the all-important summing up of the oil sample findings at the bottom of the very last page. The sample analysis was carried out by Moniton Ltd and the results read: 'All additives are at the top of the range expected from a new oil...Viscosity at 82.9 centistokes at 40C is normal. Borom and Sodium levels indicate no coolant leak. This is confirmed by the absence of water. There is a low level of silicone which is a clear indication of oil and engine cleanliness and that the air filter is working correctly.'

It continues: 'Wear metal traces are all low and indicate that very little wear has taken place during this oil change. Conclusion: Oil is still in good condition and fit for further use with an adequate additive reserve. Viscosity is similar to that of new engine oil. Extremely low contaminant level, no water present and no evidence of wear being shown'. Remember this was oil that should have been past its sell-by date. I think you'll agree, having read the results, they are not bad for a 300Tdi that's now showing 157,000 on the clock. Moreover, reading the results of the Kleenoil test, it looks like it's set to be going strong for a few more miles. I'll keep you posted •

Mounting bracket for filter unit made from aluminum angle

 

 Bracket fitted to 300Tdi timing case. Check space available

TEL:01977 682810