Going through the filter “first” depends on how you look at things. Modern engines put the filter close to the output of the oil pump, so if you consider the oil pan/reservoir to be chronologically first, then the oil goes through the pump, then the filter, then to the main bearings and rest of the engine.
On some engines, the oil filter is installed with the open end up. Gravity is relied on to help keep particles trapped in the filter, and does a surprisingly good job at it!
Would filling the filter up with oil before installing it do any good? Assuming of course that the amount added to the filter was subtracted from the total oil volume.
I’m a business analyst, not an engineer, so I had to ask an engineer about it this morning. This thought has crossed my mind before but I never thought to ask.
So the engineer’s reply was that fresh oil from the bottle typically has some contamination in it already, and filling the filter would give any grit in there a “free ride” to the main bearings. So, pre-filling the filter is not a recommended practice.
That’s interesting. It seems that pouring oil directly into the top of the engine would have that effect as well.
I usually pre-fill the oil filter when I change the oil on my cars. I doubt it has any real affect on the longevity of the engine, but it does seem to shorten the length of the sickening moment when you first start the engine after an oil change and the oil light stays on.
No, that oil drains into the crankcase where it is sucked into the oil pump then pumped into the filter and then on to the main bearings. Apparently the oil poured into the filter before installation is at the outlet side of the filter and thus does not get filtered at first.