Has anyone here really had an oil filter fail?

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Starting a freshly-rebuilt engine (we'd just changed the break-in oil), I watched a filter swell and rupture. Only the operator seeing spraying oil & killing the engine saved it. It was a Fram, of course.

I have never had the anti-drainback valve in a Fram actually function.
 
pulled an STP cartridge filter out of a mazda3 that had a huge piece of media missing. the engine has never really sounded the same after.
 
I had an AC Delco filter PF52 with the inlet side and outlet side (screw-on part) joining together
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Other words nothing in between the both in and out side! You could stick a pipe cleaner through the top where the anti-flow flapper was suppose to be and touch the screw-on threads
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Problem was that the whole case was this way and I used 4 of them so far..........



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Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I did recently. It was a RP 20-400 filter. My car out of the blue developed a nasty lifter ticking sound. I check the oil, it was full. I had a MC oil filter and swapped it out. The tick is gone. I did not change the oil because I did not want to dump $40 worth of oil way early if it wasn't needed. This UOA will be interesting
Dusty


Did you cut open the filter to see what the "problem" was?
 
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Purolator PureOne. Quakerstate 10W-30. 89 Ford Ranger. Less than 800 miles. Filter completely staved the engine of oil.


Ford Focus 2.0
Current o/c running Nextgen Maxlife 5w-20 with P1. 4000 miles on o/c. Have had a ticking lifter noise since the day I changed the oil.

Should I try a different oil, different filter,or both next time?
 
If you have lifter tick when hot try a 5/30 rather than a 5/20 and it's not a good idea to use HM oils unless you have leaks you can't cure. I always use a manufacturers oil filter, but I presume there are some good equivalents if this exact engine model is a common one.

Originally Posted By: jorton
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Purolator PureOne. Quakerstate 10W-30. 89 Ford Ranger. Less than 800 miles. Filter completely staved the engine of oil.


Ford Focus 2.0
Current o/c running Nextgen Maxlife 5w-20 with P1. 4000 miles on o/c. Have had a ticking lifter noise since the day I changed the oil.

Should I try a different oil, different filter,or both next time?
 
Originally Posted By: skyship
it's not a good idea to use HM oils unless you have leaks you can't cure.


How come?
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Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: skyship
it's not a good idea to use HM oils unless you have leaks you can't cure.


How come?
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HM oils contain seal swellers that help stop leaks, but if your engine does not have leaks then you have to continue using it, because if you go back to normal oil the seals shrink and you might then start an oil leak. So if you start using HM oils it can be a one way trip and they also tend not to have a low enough cold rating as most are either 15/40 or 10/40's. In reality if you have an oil leak a can of good quality stop leak works better.
 
I've only had a couple filters that rattled after use, or a threaded plate problem and maybe a leak once in a while can't remember who made them or what they were labeled. Over the years we have done thousands of oil changes and not seen many problems. We have used Wix at work since the mid ninties so over all the filter makers do a fairly good job. The biggest improvement I think has been expanded use of anti drain back valves as that we really hear a reduction of noise on start up.
 
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The more interesting answer for me would be:

What % of oil filters that you've cut open have had a non catastrophic failure

(In other words they weren't in fact filtering the oil but the oil got to the engine just fine)

This would give an indication of how many engines effectively end up running without filtered oil.
 
Originally Posted By: skyship
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: skyship
it's not a good idea to use HM oils unless you have leaks you can't cure.


How come?
21.gif



HM oils contain seal swellers that help stop leaks, but if your engine does not have leaks then you have to continue using it, because if you go back to normal oil the seals shrink and you might then start an oil leak. So if you start using HM oils it can be a one way trip and they also tend not to have a low enough cold rating as most are either 15/40 or 10/40's. In reality if you have an oil leak a can of good quality stop leak works better.


I disagree.

They even make 5w-20 HM oils now and while there is no 'need' to use a HM oil on a vehicle you have serviced since new; for instance, it won't just swell seals. It 'will' try to condition seals that have gotten tough and hopefully are prior to failing and not beyond saving.

It's been a long time since HM oils had OD problems seal swellers in initial formulation. Today, they are much more balanced and are not 1 way trips. What's the point in waiting until a leak develops only to use viscosity thickener and thus ruin any cold start advantage you would want by avoiding the slightly thicker than same grade PCMO(non-HM) in the first place?
 
Originally Posted By: MarkStock
The more interesting answer for me would be:

What % of oil filters that you've cut open have had a non catastrophic failure

(In other words they weren't in fact filtering the oil but the oil got to the engine just fine)

This would give an indication of how many engines effectively end up running without filtered oil.


One out of about 10 I've cut open. But I'd say this failure I had is a rare case, but obviously it can happen.

See link for details:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...902#Post2260902
 
I had a Fram that just wouldn't quit leaking around the gasket. Upon close inspection, the gasket had a small defect. Could have happened to any filter.

I've cut open three e-core type filters, one from a car of my own and two from friends' cars. Two of them had the dreaded "square hole" in the media. I have yet to cut open any other filter with torn or otherwise compromised media. I don't use e-cores for that reason.

Dad had a just-installed Fram nearly explode on him. The can was ballooned out so huge it's a wonder it didn't burst. He figured an oil pressure spike from a stuck pressure release valve caused it. The engine needed to be rebuilt anyway so we just went ahead and tore it down. Now that I look back, I wish I'd cut open the filter to see if perhaps the media had collapsed.

One thing I'll give to Fram: they have sturdy cans.
 
Bovine droppings! I WATCHED an OCOD actually BURST on startup. It split at the crimp (where the can meets the base) and sprayed three quarts of 20W-50 everywhere (what a godawful mess that made). Thankfully, the driver saw the spray and killed the engine before it blew. Replace the filter (NOT with another Fram), refill the oil, clean up the mess (what a mess), good to go.
 
Originally Posted By: jorton
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Purolator PureOne. Quakerstate 10W-30. 89 Ford Ranger. Less than 800 miles. Filter completely staved the engine of oil.


Ford Focus 2.0
Current o/c running Nextgen Maxlife 5w-20 with P1. 4000 miles on o/c. Have had a ticking lifter noise since the day I changed the oil.

Should I try a different oil, different filter,or both next time?


Motorcraft filter + VWB 10w-30 cured the ticking.
 
Back in the early '80s I had an OCOD leak at the seam.
I spotted this 750 miles from home at the far end of a road trip.
Put the filter on just before the trip and lost about 1/2 quart.
 
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