Does the element in a filter "fall apart" with age

[SumpChump]

I dont push limits on oil miles of service but i am interested in filters.

Does a filter in a new engine ( 4cyl , 15k miles) "fall apart with age? In other words... Is the amount of time sitting in the engine oil a length of filter life factor? Or is it mostly just dirt accumulation?

I have a toyota genuine filter in my Corolla and its done 10k miles of easy driving with 5k oil drain and fills. Would it be dangerous pushing 15k on a filter?

As a side note, how do you think a Fram tough Guard cartridge with the black plastic ends stacks up in quality to a toyota genuine which is open ended except for the hard clear glue bead?

 

[Doog]

Good question! I have often wondered about this exact issues with motorcycles that I have that get ridden 500-1000 miles a year and I do a 24 month OCI (2000 miles on the oil)

I have inspected the 24 month filer and no degradation.

 

[raytseng]

i vote no.
why would it fall apart?
As a comparo, you can look over in the fuel filter forum where there are fuel filters that stay in service for 10years/100k miles, and as far as the filter material staying in fluid and service for 10years, the material is completely normal and not degraded, even though it's cellulose/cardboard looking that you can tear or cut with scissors.

 

[raytseng]

i vote no.
why would it fall apart?
As a comparo, you can look over in the fuel filter forum where there are fuel filters that stay in service for 10years/100k miles, and as far as the filter material staying in fluid and service for 10years, the material is completely normal and not degraded, even though it's cellulose/cardboard material that you can tear or cut with scissors.

 

[Bluestream]

No....Stop worrying

 

[BRZED]

Like the renal arteries narrow with increasing age, which leads to increased blood pressure, a filter gets over time more and more restricted, resulting in increasing oil pressure before the filter. I do not believe the filter medium will under nornal circumstances deteriorate to the point of "falling apart." Maybe if you add hydrochoric acid to the oil, it will eat the filter. Paper is very resilient and only strong acids will dissolve it.

 

[Noobie]

I have more confidence in cartridge filters than regular ones. You see the actual media and its build quality and you also see it once you take it out without having to cut it.
None of the Mann filter cartridges have even got a "wavy" pleat despite heavy sludge, prolonged OCIs and abuse.

 

[Dyusik]

I've put 17k on a plain jane cellulose Mann and it came out looking like it went in, just a different color. Even if it plugged solid, there is a bypass valve. It takes a LOT of miles to destroy a filter. Even then, the neglected filters I've seen came out misshapen and ugly, but holding strong. 15k miles is hardly a test for a decent filter.

 

[Jetronic]

I had a tucson in the other day with no maintenance record. the oil filter crumbled completely away when I tried to get the cartridge out of the cover...

8 years old and 80k miles.

the fuel filter canister made expansion noises as the primary fuel pump tried to prime the diesel pump, this stopped with a new diesel filter...

there was carbon to be found on the oil filler cap, never seen it happen in a diesel before..

 

[DudeNiceRide]

Originally Posted By: BRZED
Like the renal arteries narrow with increasing age, which leads to increased blood pressure, a filter gets over time more and more restricted, resulting in increasing oil pressure before the filter. I do not believe the filter medium will under nornal circumstances deteriorate to the point of "falling apart." Maybe if you add hydrochoric acid to the oil, it will eat the filter. Paper is very resilient and only strong acids will dissolve it.


Agreed. The filter paper/media doesn't really "breakdown". But it does accumulate dirt, debris, agglomerated soot, etc. and over time becomes restrictive.

Its the rubber parts and adhesives that generally have a limited life-span. Adhesives can break-down chemically (i.e. acidic oil chemistry) and physically (vibration, pulsation of the oil system). Rubber parts get harder as they lose their plasticizers from thermal cycling, worsening oil chemistry, etc and also undergo vibration & pulsation. That's why you see a lot of the "premium / longer-life" filters with silicone, HNBR or Viton gaskets/seals. Plus its really easy to put that on a box and market it.