4 tears on one Purolator oil filter

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I ran this filter on my 2012 Silverado, Purolator L12222 about 8 months and 5k miles (oil is PP 5w-30). This truck did a lot of short tripping but it doesn't get too cold here in the Portland area. This is pretty severe service and the OLM ticks down twice as fast as if it was going on long trips. The OLM was at 12%. The oil was collected and will be analyzed soon.

In the pictures it is kind of hard to see but the pleats adjacent to the metal seam there were tears, on both sides of the metal seam, both top and bottom for a total of 4 tears! Very disappointing to see 4 tears on one filter. I had to look really close to see the tears as there is still alot of oil on the pleats so the pictures didn't turn out so well. The last two pictures I tried to get the best shot of two tears on the same end of the filter, both adjacent to the metal seam.

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No more "Pure-Oil-Later" due to "Torn-Media-Later".
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The size of this filter is extremely undersized for the application. Which engine do you have? Minimum on a Silverado is the 4.3L V6 and this filter is smaller than the L14610 which is used in the Civic 1.8L.

I wouldn't put full blame on Purolator for this, GM spec'd an undersized filter.
 
Man, this is not good at all.. we are such a small sample group.. I cant imagine how many of these could be failing on vehicles that aren't owned by oil/oil filter enthusiast...

Sent a big email to Purolator about this earlier today.. will see what they have to say.. I've already started buying Fram Tough Gaurds to replace my beloved PureONE
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
The size of this filter is extremely undersized for the application. Which engine do you have? Minimum on a Silverado is the 4.3L V6 and this filter is smaller than the L14610 which is used in the Civic 1.8L.

I wouldn't put full blame on Purolator for this, GM spec'd an undersized filter.


Would filter size really come into that much play on a 5k run? I'm not being smart, I honestly don't know. I would think they bypass should open before it allows any tears... I still feel like it may be a defect in the filter.
 
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I've never cared much for Purolator filters. I normally buy Champion labs filters, e-cores and AC Delco classics. If I were going to use another inexpensive filter, it would be a Chinese made filter like a Driveworks or a Pro Gauge, not a Purolator. Maximum efficiency is really not that important to me.
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
The size of this filter is extremely undersized for the application. Which engine do you have? Minimum on a Silverado is the 4.3L V6 and this filter is smaller than the L14610 which is used in the Civic 1.8L.

I wouldn't put full blame on Purolator for this, GM spec'd an undersized filter.


It's the 5.3L V8.
 
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Originally Posted By: actionstan
Would filter size really come into that much play on a 5k run? I'm not being smart, I honestly don't know. I would think they bypass should open before it allows any tears... I still feel like it may be a defect in the filter.


I found tears way back in May 2011 ... see link below.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...sic#Post2260902

This filter was on a 3.5L V6 Altima with a very clean engine (car only had 45K on it then). This filter has the same amount of total media area as the filter specified for my 5.7L V8 in the Z06.

The media just tears from the oil flow pressure (delta-p across the media) trying to bend the widely spaced pleats near the seam flat.
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice

I wouldn't put full blame on Purolator for this, GM spec'd an undersized filter.


Huh?

If Purolator is going to build a filter for the application, it needs to perform to the level which the application demands of it. Period.
 
Four tears instead of 2 is like finding a four leafed clover.
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Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: actionstan
Would filter size really come into that much play on a 5k run? I'm not being smart, I honestly don't know. I would think they bypass should open before it allows any tears... I still feel like it may be a defect in the filter.


I found tears way back in May 2011 ... see link below.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...sic#Post2260902


This filter was on a 3.5L V6 Altima with a very clean engine (car only had 45K on it then). This filter has the same amount of total media area as the filter specified for my 5.7L V8 in the Z06.

The media just tears from the oil flow pressure (delta-p across the media) trying to bend the widely spaced pleats near the seam flat.


Well many if not most of the Fram Extra Guards (orange cans) have widely spaced pleats and you dont see these kind of failures. I think the media Purolator uses on these is of poor quality. I took a new one that I cut open (14610) and the media tears easily with little force, literally felt like tearing some paper. I did the same thing to a Fram orange can and it didnt tear.
 
Originally Posted By: actionstan
Man, this is not good at all.. we are such a small sample group.. I cant imagine how many of these could be failing on vehicles that aren't owned by oil/oil filter enthusiast...

A small sample group actually runs the risk of leading to results that are not generalizable to the entire population. Cutting open 5 Purolator filters is not indicative of all Purolator filters sold around the world.

Again, I encourage folks to realize that all the oil filters cut open on BITOG are a percent of a percent of all oil filters on the market. Literally nothing can be drawn from these can openings except the enjoyment of seeing an oil filter post-application.

Now if we were to cut open a few hundred or thousand oil filters, then we would be closer to having a sample size that is valid.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
In the pictures it is kind of hard to see but the pleats adjacent to the metal seam there were tears, on both sides of the metal seam, both top and bottom for a total of 4 tears!

They're miniscule, probably permitting less oil to bypass the media than the typical imperfections in the bypass valve.

The assembly appears to be proper, and the glue held where the pleats attached.

The problem seems to be the filter media. If Purolator recently changed suppliers or the supplier provided a new media they need to revisit their sourcing or specifications.
 
Other than E cores, I do not recall many tears on other brands.Most old filters go in the trash and go un-reported.
 
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Well many if not most of the Fram Extra Guards (orange cans) have widely spaced pleats and you dont see these kind of failures. I think the media Purolator uses on these is of poor quality. I took a new one that I cut open (14610) and the media tears easily with little force, literally felt like tearing some paper. I did the same thing to a Fram orange can and it didnt tear.


Obviously, the make-up/strength of the media has a factor in the failures. Like most failures in life, it takes multiple factors adding up in the wrong direction to cause a problem. In this case of Purolator media failures, it's a combo of the media's strength and the way the pleats are physically laid out. Put those two factors together and you have a problem.
 
Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
In the pictures it is kind of hard to see but the pleats adjacent to the metal seam there were tears, on both sides of the metal seam, both top and bottom for a total of 4 tears!

They're miniscule, probably permitting less oil to bypass the media than the typical imperfections in the bypass valve.


I'd disagree with that theory. Those 4 small tears are going to bypass way more oil than any imperfect bypass valve. And besides, the bypass valve has to seal basically 100%, otherwise how could a filter in the ISO bench test come out with 99.9% @ 20 microns efficiency if the bypass valve was even leaking at all ... it couldn't.
 
Originally Posted By: Hyde244
Originally Posted By: actionstan
Man, this is not good at all.. we are such a small sample group.. I cant imagine how many of these could be failing on vehicles that aren't owned by oil/oil filter enthusiast...

A small sample group actually runs the risk of leading to results that are not generalizable to the entire population. Cutting open 5 Purolator filters is not indicative of all Purolator filters sold around the world.

Again, I encourage folks to realize that all the oil filters cut open on BITOG are a percent of a percent of all oil filters on the market. Literally nothing can be drawn from these can openings except the enjoyment of seeing an oil filter post-application.

Now if we were to cut open a few hundred or thousand oil filters, then we would be closer to having a sample size that is valid.


Basically, what you are saying is that you think of a very small percentage of bad Purolator filters in the world, it just so happens that most of them have been bought and used by BITOG members who just happen to cut them open. And the rest of the world who bought Purolator filters got all the good ones. Do you know the odds of that?
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Originally Posted By: Hyde244

Now if we were to cut open a few hundred or thousand oil filters, then we would be closer to having a sample size that is valid.


You are thinking backwards IMO. To have this many failures in such a small sample size suggests a widespread chronic problem.

But no we don't have data to develop any certainty to how bad it really is. But like Z06 points out, it is virtually impossible that BITOG'ers just happened to get these bad filters and all the rest were good ones.
 
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