3 years possible on M1 filter

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Messages
748
Location
CA
Mobil "guarantee" their M1 filter for 15000 miles when used with fully synthetic oil.

If I do 5k a year, do you see any issue leaving the filter on for 3 years?
 
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
For better speculation, please include operation conditions, such as frequent short trips vs infrequent long trips.


A 100 mile round trip every week or two for say 3500 miles a year.

1500 miles on shorter trips.
 
Is it possible? Yes. Recommendable? Probably not. Anyways, it is not advisable to do an OCI over 3 years - if you are changing the oil, it is always a good thing to swap out a fresh filter.
 
My Personal Opinion--->If I was a gambling man I would put my money on the filter before the oil!

What oil of choice will be used?
 
Originally Posted By: FoxS
Mobil "guarantee" their M1 filter for 15000 miles when used with fully synthetic oil.

If I do 5k a year, do you see any issue leaving the filter on for 3 years?


I never let an oil change go past 1 year.
 
I'd email or call Mobil's tech support. Just a hunch but I'd bet they either worded it incorrectly or left out the "or one year" waiver which is typical of the extended drain products.

I don't think I'd run the filter much past 2 years, which I've done on occasion. I think 3 years would be pushing it though.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DragRace
Good grief really?!

Come on people oil and filters are cheaper then a motor replacement~!


Not about the cost. If its safe to go 2 years / 10k or 3 years / 15k, then I can do 1-2 oil changes with a mittyvac and only go under the car every 2-3 years.
 
3 years is no big deal. I routinely go 4 years on cheap Purolators with cars I don't drive much. 15,000 miles and 3 years on a M1 filter is no sweat IMO.
 
I would not worry about the filter so much as the seal. The seal is most likely not designed to last that long, even if it is made of Viton. Note: Opinion stated here, not fact, as previous poster mentioned call Mobil technical line and if you are lucky you will get somebody knowledgeable. I am an engineer, and I work in the high vacuum semiconductor industry. We have Viton O-rings fail all the time for a 2-3 year service period. Please note, this is installed as a vacuum seal in a clean room and not exposed to heat cycling and or toxic chemicals at a fairly low differential pressure of approximately 14.7 psi. If they can fail in this environment, I am almost certain they are more likely to fail on a vehicle. As you may or may not know, if the seal goes, it will most likely be catastrophic damage. In my opinion, it is not worth the risk for saving ten bucks.
 
3 years and 15k miles is EASILY within their capability, presuming all mechanical conditions are in good shape.

I have a few vehicles that see multi-year OCIs; never ever had a problem with a filter for 3 years. Nor the oil, for that matter.

The whole ".... or one year ..." oil and filter change mantra is predicated on the product supplier taking an ultra-conservative approach to limiting warranty for the purpose of protecting their liability exposure. It has NOTHING to do with watching out for you. If they didn't place a limit on the warranty, then by definition, the warranty would be "limitless" and you could use their product indefinitely. Hence, they pick an arbitrary limit that well suits their proverbial CYA mantra and don't worry about what we have to spend.

I fully understand that "oil and filters are cheap". That is a "cheap insurance" mentality. And in the absence of facts and data, it makes sense. Read that again - in the ABSENCE of other information, it's a fail-safe conditional response.

But those of us who do extended OCIs and FCIs, and track UOA and PC data, pull valve covers for inspections, do compression checks, and investigate filters with autopsies, can assure you that multi-year changes are perfectly safe and doable, as long as your equipment is in good mechanical condition. We use data, not dogma, to manage our equipment.

So, if you're not into making your own decisions on data and facts, and would rather stick to OEM (corporate predicated self-protective) mantra, then by all means, dump synthetics and premium filters every 5k miles ... because that methodology is only "cheap insurance" in the absence of good information.


And I can understand why some folks do that. They are not interested in popping off valve covers, or messing around with UOAs, or cutting messy filters apart. OK - I get that. Fine by me. In that vain, "cheap insurance" probably is a quick/easy O/FCI swap. But if you are going to follow that maintenance program, then why waste premium products such as syns and high-end filters? There is zero proof that these products protect any "better" in a normal OCI pattern. So why install, and then throw away, products that excel in extended OCIs? There is no "cheap insurance" to using a premium product where a normal product is perfectly capable.

So you have a few choices:
1) use premium products, and greatly extend the OIC/FCI and seek a decent ROI while providing good wear protection
2) use normal products, and OCI annually; there will be a moderate amount of waste but protection will still be fine
3) use premium products, and OCI annually; there will be a huge amount of waste, with no gain in protection over the lesser cost alternative
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: FoxS
Originally Posted By: DragRace
Good grief really?!

Come on people oil and filters are cheaper then a motor replacement~!


Not about the cost. If its safe to go 2 years / 10k or 3 years / 15k, then I can do 1-2 oil changes with a mittyvac and only go under the car every 2-3 years.


Your car,do as you please,but crawling underneath a vehicle gives a person a chance to see if there are other mechanical issues happening,such as leaking radiator hoses,leaking transmission pans,etc.

Preventive maintenance is priceless in my book.
thumbsup2.gif
 
In my research for THIS I asked several engineers about oil filter longevity. They were all comfortable with three years but one told me that syn media would be the safest long term but cellulose or blended is less certain. The media sits in a chemical bath, essentially, but the manufacturer of the media has run tests on that to determine its resistance to deterioration in that environment and the filter mfr will know that. Them sharing that info is another matter but what I was told is that it varies according to the media, with some being very resistant another less so. Since they were comfortable with three years generally, I took that as a rule of thumb but we (the BITOG collective "we") have seen lots longer where no apparent harm was done. I have had several filters in service that long. I pulled a cellulose transmission filter out of my Farmall tractor (a FRAM ( : < ) and it had an early 1980s date on it and showed no apparent deterioration at all.

I suspect a lot will depend on the circumstances. If the oil gets very acidic or full of moisture via poor operational situations or storage, that wouldn't be good. Otherwise I wouldn't be afraid to go three years and beyoned... and I have on some of my farm equipment.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all your comments.

Dnewton - my thinking is exactly as yours and I was after verification / reasons not to leave a filter in too long. I am in CA and my cars are garaged most of the time. Many things on my vehicles last way longer than manufacturer suggested intervals.

My engines are all clean and in good condition.

If Mobil say the filter is good for 15k, then I think I'll run them close to that. The recommended oci for my vehicle is 5k / 6 months. I'm currently at 6k / 13 months. The fluid RX test says to change oil but by no means overdue.

So I'm happy going with 6k-7k on the oil and double that on the M1 filter once I get through my regular filters. Less mess, less effort and less waste for the same money. Makes sense to me.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
In my research for THIS I asked several engineers about oil filter longevity. They were all comfortable with three years but one told me that syn media would be the safest long term but cellulose or blended is less certain. The media sits in a chemical bath, essentially, but the manufacturer of the media has run tests on that to determine its resistance to deterioration in that environment and the filter mfr will know that. Them sharing that info is another matter but what I was told is that it varies according to the media, with some being very resistant another less so. Since they were comfortable with three years generally, I took that as a rule of thumb but we (the BITOG collective "we") have seen lots longer where no apparent harm was done. I have had several filters in service that long. I pulled a cellulose transmission filter out of my Farmall tractor (a FRAM ( : < ) and it had an early 1980s date on it and showed no apparent deterioration at all.

I suspect a lot will depend on the circumstances. If the oil gets very acidic or full of moisture via poor operational situations or storage, that wouldn't be good. Otherwise I wouldn't be afraid to go three years and beyoned... and I have on some of my farm equipment.





Thanks Jim for those qualifications.

I may just cut open my Bosch Premium that's currently at 6k / 13 months
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top