Conference napalm::musclecars

    
    I forgot to look up what kind of headers I have on.  I believe they
    are Hedman's.  The thing I like about them is that they don't hang
    below the frame like the old ones did.
    
    RE: .48:  Chris, I mentioned that I had relocated my oil filter(s).
    I didn't mention that I used the TransDapt kit.  A LENGTHY STORY about
    my experience with this kit:
    
    	The first adapter kit I bought (without the hoses), I cracked the
    	adapter that the oil filter goes into.  THIS IS VERY EASY TO DO.
    	I was using teflon tape and was screwing in brass fittings.  The
    	part is poorly designed in the sense that it is not very strong
    	between where the two fittings go.  You can get them in fairly
    	snug (to the point that you think they may still leak) and tighten
    	one of them just a smidgen more and the adapter will split on you.
    	
    	ALSO, the adapter that goes to the engine block (where the oil
    	filter used to be) was poorly manufactured.  The threaded bore
    	was not perpendicular to the o-ring flange.  You could see this
    	by screwing in a steel threaded rod that you use to mount the
    	filter or adapter to the block.  I went to several shops here in
    	the springs and found a total of six of these adapters - ALL of
    	which had the same perpendicularity problem.  I ended up buying
    	the one that was the closest and still had to take it to a machine
    	shop and having it machined correctly.  BTW - some of these were
    	so bad that you could see a tenth of an inch of gap between the
    	o-ring and the block wall!  And yes, we checked the perpendicu-
    	larity of the block and hole.
    
    	Being the a$$hole I can be at times (one reason for my knickname),
    	I phoned TransDapt and was given the so-called "engineer" that
    	designed these parts.  Holy-shmolley what a bone-head this guy
    	was!!  I have never in my life spoken to such a dumb human-being!!
    	This guy was bragging about all of the things he has designed for
    	FRAM and for TransDapt and how great of an engineer he was and that
    	he has never had a problem and-on-and-on!  He was obviously a very
    	arrogant mechanic who licked enough butts to be able to call him-
    	self an engineer.  BTW - this guys tells me "Let me give you an
    	inside secret.  Kind of like Doctors and Lawyers have trade
    	secrets, I'm going to give you an mechanic trade secret.  DON'T
    	EVER CHANGE YOUR OIL."  No joke, he actually told me this and he
    	was SERIOUS!!  "Don't ever change your oil," he says, "they add all
    	of these additives in the oil and you don't need that crap.  Let it
    	break down.  I'll tell you what I do, I take out one quart of oil
    	every six months and I put in one quart of oil every six months and
    	that's it."  At one point he told me, "you won't hear this from
    	anybody else because it's a trade secret..."  Ya, I won't hear that
    	from anybody else because there isn't anybody dumber!!  HA! 
    
    	Needless to say, I will never use TransDapt parts again.
    
    
    	Hammer.
     

    
    BTW - I used Aeroquip stainless steel braided hoses and anodized
    aluminum fittings.  If you think about what you need before trying
    them, you shouldn't have a problem.  I like my set-up a lot, it looks
    and works great.  The reason I was asking is "what if I want to go
    back to original or near-original"?  
    
    I opted to use two seperate filter holders rather than the dual set-up
    adapters.  I looked at the dual set-ups, they were straight-through
    tubes with cross-drilled holes feeding the filters.  It seemed to me
    that once the filters were filled with oil, the incoming oil would take
    the path of least resistance being straight through the tubes and thus
    by-passing the filters.  In order for them to work, the first hole in
    the tube would have to be a FEED hole and the second hole would have
    to be an exit hole.  But this wouldn't work when the filters are in
    series because you can't have both of the first holes as feed holes and
    both of the second holes as exit holes!  You'd have to look at the
    adapters to understand what I'm talking about but, as I said, I opted
    for two seperate adapters and it works great.
    
    Hammer.

    If TransDapt is junk, who makes remote setups that are decent?  I am in
    the market for a remote setup for the Vega.  The TransDapt kit is the
    only one that I've ever seen.
    
    Mark

    Mark, check the Summit catalog. I don't remember the name of the
    manufacturer, but they carry adapters that are machined from billet
    aluminum. They should be much stronger than the cast pot metal that
    TransDapt sells.
    
    Harry
    

    RE: 51
    
      Sounds almost exactly like the horror story I had installing my
    Trans-dapt kit. The threaded rod was too long so the adapter wouldn't
    seat against the stock mount, trying to tighten the fittings so they
    wouldn't leak hoping that the housing wouldn't crack, etc...
    
    Chris

    >	self an engineer.  BTW - this guys tells me "Let me give you an
    >	inside secret.  Kind of like Doctors and Lawyers have trade
    >	secrets, I'm going to give you an mechanic trade secret.  DON'T
    >	EVER CHANGE YOUR OIL."  No joke, he actually told me this and he
    >	was SERIOUS!!  "Don't ever change your oil," he says, "they add all
    >	of these additives in the oil and you don't need that crap.  Let it
    >	break down.  I'll tell you what I do, I take out one quart of oil
    >	every six months and I put in one quart of oil every six months and
    >	that's it."  At one point he told me, "you won't hear this from
    >	anybody else because it's a trade secret..."  Ya, I won't hear that
    >	from anybody else because there isn't anybody dumber!!  HA! 
    
    
           Well we did hear it from somebody else 
    
    
     
      our own John K. According to the story he never changed the oil 
      and the car went over 175,000? miles.
    
    
                                Rich 
    
    

re:  Hammer, Chris

I've had the TransDapt kit on for about 2 years now and it went together
without problems.  The machined castings were square, the 3/4" stud wasn't
too long or short, etc.  I used a pipe 'dope' made by Loktite and screwed
things together without a leak.  The only addition I made was screw-type
hose clamps at the hose ends.  I didn't trust the grip of the hose barbs.

Did you guys just get the kits or what?  Maybe TransDapt found out what
this bozo 'engineer' was saying, and the quality of his work and ditched
him by the time I got my kit.

On the braided hoses, I've been looking in the Summit catalog and see that
Earl's makes a line of SS braided hose material and a pant-load of fittings.
Problem is, the temperature range goes from -40 to 300 degrees F and I'm
not sure what the typical temperatures are for oil in a passenger vehicle.

My van is configured to tow up to 3500lbs although I don't pull anywhere
near that, more like a 1/2 ton (little pop-up).  Under normal conditions,
what may I expect to see for the highest temperature?  Hammer, I guess that
temperatures aren't a problem, then, with Aeroquip hoses?

I need to replace the hoses this year, and I want to use more substantial
hoses.  My choices are trying to get Ford engine oil cooler lines as used
on the police packages or use a product like the Aeroquipt or Earl's line.

Opinions, anyone?

Chris

re: .58

Thanks, Hammer.  a couppla questions, tho.  What is the stated life expectancy
for the Aeroquip rubber/braided-SS hosing when used with engine oil?

And do you have a phone number for Aeroquipt?

Chris

    
    A long time.
    
    Ha-ha-ha!  That's a really tough question; one that would depend on
    the engine, mostly on the temperature of the oil.  When they test such
    hosing they run samples through millions of temperature and pressure
    cycles.  I would imagine they'd last longer than most of us own our
    cars.  And they would certainly last until the next time we decide to
    rebuild the engine and engine compartment.
    
    As far as getting Aeroquip hosing and seeing other such products, most
    of it is sold through dealers and not directly to the public.  "Earls"
    products are Aeroquip products with a little more overhead tacked on.
    I deal with a company here in CO Springs called "Warren Fluid Power".
    They handle a lot of DEC's pneumatic equipment.  What you'll want to
    do is find a manufacturing mechanical engineer or tech and just ask
    around until you find out who your nearest vendor would be.  If that
    doesn't work, I can ask the guys here to phone Aeroquip and get a name
    of a dealer in your area.  Be sure to find out if they handle
    Aeroquip's performance line, a lot of dealers don't.  "Warren" does
    because of all of the racing out here and in Denver; it's a big market
    for them.  Get a copy of the performance catalog #JC2; it's got a
    racing engine on the cover of it.  BTW - I ended up spending on the
    order of $200 for my dual filter set-up.
    
    I phoned one of the guys here at "Warren" and learned I was a little
    messed up on the "AQP" line of hosing.  Apperently when-ever Aeroquip
    says AQP, they mean it's the best of their line and can be any of a
    variety of hosing.  They also do come in stainless steel braids; the
    blue polyester one I was thinking of is usually used on trucks -- for
    instance, a 3/8-inch inner diameter hose of this type can handle 2250
    psi!!  Quite a friggin' lot!
    
    Let me know if there is anything else I can scope out -- I'm learning
    some myself here.
    
    Hammer

    BTW - note that the guy at Warren Fluid Power said he sold a LOT of
    this hosing to the race teams.  Of course, they probably replace it
    every week...

re: .60, .61

Hammer,
	Thanks for the info.  I was going to call TransDapt to ask
the same question, but after hearing the horror stories, I decided
not to.  There's a local speed shop that carries Earl's, and if there's
no Aeroquipt dealer nearby, I'll probably go with that.

Chris

    I used the Transdapt hardware with no problems.  Maybe it's because you
    have a pontiac and not a Chevrolet!  I bought it thru JC Whitney, saved
    a few bucks.
    Matt

    re: .62
    
    I get all my Areoquip hoses and fittings from a local industrial
    supplier rather than a speed shop. They carry the line of steel
    fittings rather than aluminum. I have found them to be much more rugged
    and they cost a lot less (not to say they are cheap!). They also carry
    a much higher quality of SS hose. If ounces and looks are not as
    important as performance then check out the steel fittings.
    
    JMHO
    
    Don Berry :)

    
    	Ya, but you have to be more careful with the steel fittings
    	because it's easier to crack the aluminum adapters.
    
    	...then again, if you're buying the anodized aluminum fittings
    	for looks, you have to be careful not to scratch and mash them!
    
    	Re: .63:   Personally, I have no problem with any good muscle
    	car as long as it's real (ie, no pacers, pinto's, etc).  I'm
    	just playing with Pontiacs these days because they seem to hold
    	their value and prestige better than most others.  Well, that
    	and the babes love the old firebirds!!   8-)
    
    
    	Hammer

    	Another source would be some of the mail-order aviation outfits
    found in Pacific Flyer, Atlantic Flyer, or Trade a Plane.  
    
    	A licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic can tell you what the 
    FAA thinks the life of these hoses are.  It's my impression that
    cylinder walls and valve seats wear out more quickly than aeroquip lines. 

re: .16

I just finished talking with an aircraft engine mechanic, who stated
that Aeroquipt lines would most likely last the life of the car.  He
also offered to help build up the lines and tell me where I can get
AN fittings as needed.

Thanks for the data, gentlemen.

Chris

    
    Just a little addition:  my new lines drop out of the block (via
    adapter) and are still really close to the header.  However, the
    flow rate through the lines is fast enough for me to not worry
    about it heating up much from the header heat.  And the oil would
    cool down a little by the time it gets past that heat, through the
    two filters and back to it.
    
    One small advantage of having the dual filters up where the battery
    used to be is that I could cut the wall in front (in this case it's
    the wall that the radiator is mounted to) and bring some cool air in
    across the filters to help cool the oil even more.  I won't do that
    to my 'bird though.  Also, it would be easy to port an oil cooler up
    front since the lines are so close already.  Lots of COOL options!
    
    Somebody once mentioned an attempt by someone to put heat-sink fins
    on an oil filter.  Apparently the oil on the outside of the filter
    cooled up so much that the viscosity increased ("oil thickened")
    enough to appear to clog the filter.  So I guess there is a point
    to going overboard.
    
    
    Hammer.

Hammer,
	Aren't you concerned about the heat damaging the oil lines? After
I installed the kit on the van, the lines could only be routed one way
and that took them to within 2" of the exhaust header.  I fabricated a heat
shield from some sheet metal and positioned it between the header and oil
line.  Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I had visions of this thing springing
a leak (while the wife was driving) and having her left stranded somewhere.
	That's the prime reason for getting the sturdiest hosing I can find.
I don't need a phone call one day telling me that the van spring an oil leak
somewhere between here and New Jersey.

Chris

    
    
    Ya, that kind of heat will definitely ruin the hoses pretty fast.
    The way my adapter is set up it's actually the two aluminum elbow
    fittings that are near the header.  Aluminum, of course, is a good
    heat conductor, so where the rubber hosing is attached to these
    elbows, it may be cooking.  It wouldn't hurt to wrap this area of
    the headers (do BOTH sides) with some sort of heat sheild.  I'll
    probably be doing it within the next couple of months to be safe.
    If you don't mind the looks, it's always best to go balls out and
    get ceramic coated headers (coated inside and out) AND wrap them
    with a heat sheild.  This will keep things cooler around the headers
    and will absolutely cook the headers themselves.  They'll be glowing
    red for hours after a few good runs!  The greater the temperature
    difference between the intake and the exhaust, the more horsepower
    you'll get.
    
    ...gee, did I get off the subject?
    
    
    Hammer.

    
        For those of you looking for a good remote engine adapter; Why not
    just go to the local chevy dealer? They only cost $18.76 and are made
    of billet aluminum. They are factory equipment on 4WD's with remote oil
    coolers.
    
    -john

    I put old heater hoses over the oil hoses to protect them from chafing.
    Did anyone else notice an oil pressure drop after installation?
    Matt

    
    Re: -.2:  Ya, that would be your best bet.  I haven't seen these but
    if they're machined rather than cast, they're bound to be better.
    
    Re: -.1:  I didn't have the equipment to check at the time.  Several
    people told me the Pontiac oil pumps are pretty mean and that I
    shouldn't/wouldn't have a problem.  I'll be sure to check before the
    summer hits.  I'll be tearing into the car soon.
    
    
    Hammer.

John,

Is that for both ends, engine adaptor and remote filter mount.  Do you happen
to know a GM PN, or application?  The dealer will want to know what it is for
year, model, engine, color, mother's maiden mame, etc. or they'll never, ever
be able to find what I need.  :-)

Mark

re:.22

While I saw no noticable drop on the gauge, my first installation gave
me some bad vibes, no pun intended.  I located the filter assembly under
the van and secured it to a piece of sheetmetal used to mount the fuel
filter.  The whole thing underfoot of the driver's seat.  While tooling
about town with your feet flat, I could feel a high frequency vibration
that varied with engine speed.  I touched the hoses and felt the same
vibration and surmised that it's typical of a gear-type oil pump.

The vibration really bothered me, so I fabricated a new bracket and
mounted the filter assembly to that.  The entire assembly is bolted
to the transmission rear mount (rubber insulated) and the vibration
is no longer noticable.

I wonder what kind of whining noise one would get and amplify if the filter
assembly were bolted to, say, the sheetmetal of the firewall or fenderwell?

Chris

    My oil pressure gauge went from 60 to 55psi.  I thought it also could
    have been due to the NAPA filter I used, which might be a 'tighter'
    filter.
    Matt

    When I was able to use a larger oil filter I noticed a drop in oil
    pressure. This is due to greater flow capacity with a 2 qt. filter.
    On Chevy SB's, the by-pass valve will open as much as 50% with a small
    (1qt filter) and around 20% with a 1.5qt. You get 100% flow with the 2
    qt. so If you were running dual filters I'd expect the pressure to be
    down as much as 5lbs. This is good, as your getting MORE oil filtered
    than you were with the higher pressure.
    
    I'm thinking about remotes now that I've seen this string...I'm
    thinking of going with the two filter vs the "dual" adapter.
    2, 2qt. filters in line should get the job done pretty well!
    
    /tb/

This isn't exactly a remote filter question, but...

The kit I have on my van will accept either a PH8A pr PH3600.

The PH3600 is the recommended filter for the engine. This is the
first Ford I've owned that *hasn't* used a PH8!

My question is:  How does the PH3600 filter differ from the PH8A
in ways other than physical size?  May I confidently use the larger
PH8A or should I stay with the PH3600?

If there are no guesses, how about the phone # of Fram so I can ask
them directly?

Chris

    
    
    	FRAM:   401 - 434 - 7000