Bosch Premium shedding endcap plastic into engine!

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Quote:
...I don't see how this excess potting material which was hidden from view until dissection, some of which tore off on its own accord and went through the engine and into the pleats, was in some way my fault?

Read none of that information (potting tore off, went through engine and into pleats) in the OP or the subsequent follow up post. Quoted only you words and used them only to comment on. Nor do I see anything in that matches that description in the pics. Also I don't see any of so called "plastic" still in any of the pics, or material pointed out now as found 'in the pleats'.

So maybe I've misunderstood what you meant, but on the points and wording I referenced, that's what I based the reply on.

In any case and most important part, clearly being unsatisfied with your findings is to switch to one of the many other aftermarket brands available.

Cheers


Original post - "Upon inspection of the filter media, I found several smaller pieces of what appeared to be the same plastic"

Second post - "some of that debris looks like it went out the center hole, through the engine and was caught in the pleats"

In the third pic, lower left, you can see a piece of this thin plastic / resin / excess potting lodged up against the pleats.

My use of the word plastic might have been a bit generic / inaccurate but it was based on the appearance and feel of the material I found. It is of the consistency of a plastic bag / black trash liner. At the point where it meets the potting material, it gets thicker, and part of the excess I tore off is thicker, but the large piece that was larger than the diameter of the center hole (which only appeared when the metal end cap separated), and the smaller pieces in the media, are of the consistency and appearance of the material of a plastic bag / trash liner.

Now that I've re-explained again, I'm still waiting to hear from you how me tearing this off is the cause of the manufacturing defect.

 

[Sayjac]

"In any case and most important part, clearly being unsatisfied with your findings is to switch to one of the many other aftermarket brands available.

Cheers"

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix

How big was the piece or pieces caught in the pleats? If a big piece went down into the engine it must have broke up into smaller pieces along the way because a big piece couldn't make it intact through most engines and back to the filter because of the size of the passages and the screen on the oil pump pick-up.


See the third pic for the biggest piece found on the pleats lower left.

Another couple of pieces were smaller in the pleats but I didn't investigate those fully.

I did this at the end of a long day yesterday and had my daughter quickly take photos which didn't come out so good. The main finding of a large quantity of excess material is pretty evident though and the main issue. I would say that most of it was held back by the metal end cap but some of it tore off and went through the engine.

If I get some time, I'll remove the filter from the recycle bag and get some better photos as well as a date code.

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
"In any case and most important part, clearly being unsatisfied with your findings is to switch to one of the many other aftermarket brands available.

Cheers"

LOL. I hardly need to be told that piece of advice, especially repeated 3 times.

Still waiting to hear your explanation for this statement:

"'IMO', once you "tore them off" then it was/is something you created/caused"

Or maybe just retract that statement.

 

[Sayjac]

Nah, just put you on ignore now and be done with you permanently and chalk it up to experience.

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Nah, just put you on ignore now and be done with you permanently and chalk it up to experience.

Classy! Putting me on ignore makes no difference. You weren't reading what I was saying anyway!

 

[AnthemBassMan]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Quote:
Purolaters filters have always sucked.

Well 'if' they've always sucked, to paraphrase Spaceballs, perhaps now they've gone from suck to blow?

It's Mega Maid!!

L8R,
Matt

 

[UltrafanUK]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
"In any case and most important part, clearly being unsatisfied with your findings is to switch to one of the many other aftermarket brands available.

Cheers"

The answer is to switch to a real OEM oil filter. If you really can't afford them, then check prices for Mann filters that are made in Germany.

Does anyone know if the Bosch filter in question was made in Germany ??

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: AnthemBassMan
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Quote:
Purolaters filters have always sucked.

Well 'if' they've always sucked, to paraphrase Spaceballs, perhaps now they've gone from suck to blow?

It's Mega Maid!!

L8R,
Matt

Yes it is! And just one of many quotable phrases from the Mel Brooks classic.

Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
...Does anyone know if the Bosch filter in question was made in Germany ??

No, this is an M&H Purolator made filter, made in the US.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Nah, just put you on ignore now and be done with you permanently and chalk it up to experience.

Good idea! That way he can keep the other guy company that I have on Ignore.

 

[UltrafanUK]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Originally Posted By: AnthemBassMan
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Quote:
Purolaters filters have always sucked.

Well 'if' they've always sucked, to paraphrase Spaceballs, perhaps now they've gone from suck to blow?

It's Mega Maid!!

L8R,
Matt

Yes it is! And just one of many quotable phrases from the Mel Brooks classic.

Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
...Does anyone know if the Bosch filter in question was made in Germany ??

No, this is an M&H Purolator made filter, made in the US.


Ahh! So it's not a real Bosch filter.

Thanks, as I sometimes use Bosch filters, but they are ones made in Germany.

 

[Tony10s]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Originally Posted By: AnthemBassMan
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Quote:
Purolaters filters have always sucked.

Well 'if' they've always sucked, to paraphrase Spaceballs, perhaps now they've gone from suck to blow?

It's Mega Maid!!

L8R,
Matt

Yes it is! And just one of many quotable phrases from the Mel Brooks classic.
...

I love that movie!

 

[Omahaug]

What you're seeing is what other people including myself have seen with Purolator oil filters. Their potting material (what you call "plastic") appears to weaken after use, not sure if heat cycling or the oil does it, end result is by the time you cut it the metal end cap is off or close. I've had this happen to me on 2 out of 3 Purolators (one Purolator Classic which tore as well, one Group 7 jobber) and stopped using them.

Those hanging bits you're referring to is just excess potting. Calling it a "plastic endcap" is confusing, it's just potting in the form of the metal end cap. It's thicker toward the rest of the potting and thinner toward the center tube because of the way they apply it under the media only. If you look down center tubes with a flashlight often you'll see a startling variation among how much potting they have at the bottom there. I've seen some Purolator's with a lot visible down the center and some with almost none. It was there before you used it, you either didn't look down the center tube or didn't look hard enough. Problem is in most other filters the potting adheres to the end cap but in Purolator oil filters it doesn't. They probably put a little too much in yours.

Could any of it have gotten pumped through the oil system? Nobody can know for sure without you tearing the engine apart. It's definitely a problem (albeit minor on their scale of mishaps) and you're not imagining it. Sucks when a company puts out garbage and make you worry about something we used to take for granted, think of it as a lesson learned. There are plenty of good brands, like sayjac said just pick a different filter next time to worry less.

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: NoNameJoe
What you're seeing is what other people including myself have seen with Purolator oil filters. Their potting material (what you call "plastic") appears to weaken after use, not sure if heat cycling or the oil does it, end result is by the time you cut it the metal end cap is off or close. I've had this happen to me on 2 out of 3 Purolators (one Purolator Classic which tore as well, one Group 7 jobber) and stopped using them.

Those hanging bits you're referring to is just excess potting. Calling it a "plastic endcap" is confusing, it's just potting in the form of the metal end cap. It's thicker toward the rest of the potting and thinner toward the center tube because of the way they apply it under the media only. If you look down center tubes with a flashlight often you'll see a startling variation among how much potting they have at the bottom there. I've seen some Purolator's with a lot visible down the center and some with almost none. It was there before you used it, you either didn't look down the center tube or didn't look hard enough. Problem is in most other filters the potting adheres to the end cap but in Purolator oil filters it doesn't. They probably put a little too much in yours.

Could any of it have gotten pumped through the oil system? Nobody can know for sure without you tearing the engine apart. It's definitely a problem (albeit minor on their scale of mishaps) and you're not imagining it. Sucks when a company puts out garbage and make you worry about something we used to take for granted, think of it as a lesson learned. There are plenty of good brands, like sayjac said just pick a different filter next time to worry less.


Yes calling it a plastic endcap was confusing. I corrected that in my second post. When the actual endcap came off with no removal force plus the sheen of dark oil on the potting, it is just what it looked like, especially the smooth side (see pictures).

As to it being there before and not noticing it, I inspected the filter before install and before cutting and it was not. The reason I suspect is that the metal end cap actually has quite a deep center behind which the excess was hidden. Only when the filter was cut and the metal end cap loosened was the large excess freed to become a hanging piece in the center of the tube. It was so large I would have seen it before cutting the filter.

And I did find pieces in the filter pleats, so yes some of the excess did circulate through the engine.

But otherwise, thank you for verifying the issue and explaining it far better than I did!

And yes, I'd already decided to move to another brand some time ago. One of the reasons for posting this was to ask whether this new style Bosch was similar to the latest Pure One.

 

[CharlieBauer]

As promised, I retrieved the filter from its recycling bag and took more pictures.

Date code is F11E18G1. November 2013.

First up, both end caps with potting material stuck on. Note that the potting material on the detached end cap looks like oil but isn't.

The consistency of this material, like most of the excess material is like a piece of a plastic bag.




Next, views of the area where I tore off the very large pieces of both thin hanging and thick excess potting which are pictured in my opening post.







Next, pictures of the interior to show excess potting in the dome end end cap.




And last but not least, pictures of several pieces of thin potting material, like pieces of a plastic bag, caught in the pleats.





The good news is the guy who said this is my fault put me on ignore so we shouldn't hear from him again.

 

[Black_Thunder]

ah that sucks, i have one of these on my truck right now, makes me wanna change it.

 

[Xrs2zz]

Wow, that filter is scary. Sending pieces through my engine is the last thing I'd want from a filter.

 

[CharlieBauer]

I'm still trying to figure out how someone in this thread came to the conclusion it was my fault. He / she hasn't come back yet to provide more expert commentary.

 

[wwillson]

Lock time