[Marko]

Just wondering if it’s a big deal if I don’t have a new oil filter primed after an oil change. I’m gonna take my car in to have it changed.

Health issues prevent me from doing it myself.

I never primed the filter on my 03 Cobra when I used to change it. And it’s fine.

[Gen6 softtop]

Ive always primed it, I think that is referring to pouring some oil into the filter before installing it otherwise you could starve the engine while filter primes and fills. I'm sure whoever changes it will do it also

[danhr]

You will be fine. Just remmeber to lube up the seal with oil prior to.

Lots of cars, you can't even prime the oil filter, because they are mounted horizontally.

[Marko]

My 03 Cobra is mounted horizontally

Yes. I’m talking about adding oil to a new filter before installing

Most oil change mechanics don’t do it. Unless you request it. Even then, they still might not do it.

[ChevyRules]

Truthfully, it probably doesn't do much harm to not prime it as pointed out, it's not possible on some cars given how their filters are oriented. There is still going to be a film of the old oil over the metal parts so there is some protection and can't imagine taking more than 1-3 seconds before there is oil flowing out of the filter since it is being pumped under pressure.

But it also doesn't hurt anything to prime it.

[Wierd Harold]

Waste of time ,only takes seconds to fill by cranking egine over to startup.People got this idea from priming diesel fuel filters.

[Boost Creep]

The filter on the LT1 is vertical so you can prime it. Only question is how are you going to prime it and get it to the shop that is changing the oil. Might get messy unless you can prime it in the shop just before hand.

I've always primed filters on cars I cared about. The less time the engine is spinning with no oil pressure or air going through the system the better.

[Mr. Wyndham]

It won't matter. There's enough oil residue on the internal parts to protect for that fraction of a second it will take to fill. It's not like you've got the throttle down while starting it.

That said, if I remember to do it, I pre-fill/prime the filter. But if I forget, I'm not upset.

[Rock-It Man]

It's an old wives tale.

[KLG]

Well, priming the oil filter certainly does not hurt anything. I've been doing it for decades!

Many years ago, I noticed the oil pressure would build to normal levels faster on a primed filter than an unprimed filter. On today's engines that may not be the case, in addition the engine oil quality is superior compared to years ago.

Even on my F150 with the 5.0L with a horizontal mounted oil filter, I prime it by saturating the filter without leaving excess oil that might run out when installing.

For the cars & trucks I have owned over the years, I have never read in the owner's manual that oil filter priming was suggested.

The only vehicle manufacturer that I have experience with that suggested priming the oil filter was Harley-Davidson. This was back in the late 70's or early 80's when HD was converting to cannister-type oil filters.

--KLG--

[archer1965]

These cars have a 10 quart oil pan and push 40 psi at startup, no way the engine will be starved of oil.