[Bill-E-BoB]

I've got a '55 Caddy with the 331 engine. I went to do an oil change on it because I don't know how long the oil in there has been sitting...and there's no oil filter on that thing. Is that right??? This may be the most basic and dumbest question ever to hit the board...but what do I do about filtering the oil? I drained & replaced the oil. Is that all I do? Do I change it more often than the ol' 3k/3mo rule? I use 10w30 high mileage oil, is that cool?

[Brian_B]

I have never been near an older Cadillac engine so.....


Back then fords had a canister type oil filter. They were fastened onto the block where a normal filter would go. You replaced the inside part and put the outside back on.


My 56 ford F-100 is supposed to be that way. Someone (somewhere along the line) put a screw on oil filter conversion kit on it. I just use the same FL-1A motorcraft filter as every other ford does now.

Truthfully, I have never seen one in person. Most have been converted for convenience and stopping a mess with oil changes.

[66GMC]

It should be a cannister style alright, according to Wix Fiters part number 51100. (1955 Caddy V8 All)

I had a '55 Pontiac with a (261) 6-banger which I'm sure used the same filter. Wix's online catalog only goes back to '56 (Chevy full-sized pass car) and shows the same...

Mine was mounted remotely on the exhaust manifold, and had two rubber hoses coming up from the side of the block.

[sbchevfreak]

If it does not have the filter '66 showed, it is possible it doesn't have one. I serviced a 1940 Caddy once and it had no oil filter on it. It was 15 years older, though.

[speedydeedy]

I have an all original 55 Caddy at my house right now. I am rewiring it for a friend. It has a canister type oil filter on the drivers side.It is mounted above the valve cover behind the power steering pump.Hope this helps.

[matt167]

until the advent of detergent oils in the 60's, oil filters were optional, so it is likely it does not have 1... however I would not run high millage oil in anything.. not only does most of it have stop leak capabilities. it has a lot of extra cleaners and detergents in it, which might be ok with an oil filter, but w/o the filter, you are carying that stuff thru the engine

[Irelands child]

The second canister back is the oil filter - the forward (and tilted) canister is the power steering reservoir.

Oil filters were standard not optional like those on "lesser" cars like Fords, Chebbies and Plymouths .

If yours is missing, then someone removed it somewhere in the past

Dave W

[Bill-E-BoB]

Originally Posted by Irelands child

The second canister back is the oil filter - the forward (and tilted) canister is the power steering reservoir.

Oil filters were standard not optional like those on "lesser" cars like Fords, Chebbies and Plymouths .

If yours is missing, then someone removed it somewhere in the past

Dave W

Ahhh, ok. I've got that one on there still. The dude I bought it from told me that was the brake fluid reservoir, & I hadn't had any reason yet to question him. I'm a moron. So...how do I service it? Just take the cap off & replace an element like you would do with the air cleaner? Or is it a foam one I have to clean out with like WD40 & compressed air?

*edit*, nevermind I get how to replace it from the other posts in the thread...I just woke up, I'm a little dopey right now.