Honest question - media tear

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If you do get a small perforation in the media, how much harm can this be? The oil filters from the outer edge in, correct? Therefore, only the oil that gets through the tear is unfiltered, correct? The next time the same oil circulates through the filter it will probably get filtered. If so, I don't see what the big hoopla is over this, it is probably only a small amount we are talking about anyway. I am not saying that it is OK that the media tears and holes get in it, and it should be ignored, but just trying to understand how much harm may actually be done, if any.
 
I don't see it causing any real harm to your engine.

I think the biggest problem is that Purolator seems to be refusing to acknowledge the issue or do anything about it.

I think it would make a lot of people happy if they would just release a statement saying something like "We acknowledge that the issue of torn filter media is unacceptable. We are currently making changes to our manufacturing process to prevent this issue in the future".
 
Oil is under pressure. When oil meets resistance (filter media) it follows the path of least resistance (hole/tear). Oil that flows through the hole/tear doesn't get filtered. If oil doesn't get filtered, why use an oil filter? That's the "big hoopla."
 
Originally Posted By: thomasew
If you do get a small perforation in the media, how much harm can this be? The oil filters from the outer edge in, correct? Therefore, only the oil that gets through the tear is unfiltered, correct? The next time the same oil circulates through the filter it will probably get filtered. If so, I don't see what the big hoopla is over this, it is probably only a small amount we are talking about anyway. I am not saying that it is OK that the media tears and holes get in it, and it should be ignored, but just trying to understand how much harm may actually be done, if any.


The thing is, you're asking this question on an "enthusiast" forum. The kind of people who smell their filters before installing them. The ones that hoard oil in the garages, and also read all the tech specs from the MFR's website. They will know the difference between oil classes and certifications. The average person will not. They will lie awake awake at night knowing their Purolator is at 4962 miles and may be tearing soon to cause microscopic amounts of engine wear that would otherwise go unnoticed. The average person will not.

So to answer your question, yes it's bad. Will anything happen to your engine? Nope.
 
Originally Posted By: gtmaster303
So to answer your question, yes it's bad. Will anything happen to your engine? Nope.
If your air filter has a tear/failure or even a poor fit, and larger particles get through when you do some spirited driving, you won't be saying that...
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Originally Posted By: gtmaster303
So to answer your question, yes it's bad. Will anything happen to your engine? Nope.
If your air filter has a tear/failure or even a poor fit, and larger particles get through when you do some spirited driving, you won't be saying that...

OP is asking about oil filters...
To address your concern I do a lot of "spirited driving" and never once had an air filter tear on me.
 
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I thought this subject was beaten to death on that last long thread
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Here's why I think it matters. First, it shows poor quality control, as has been mentioned. Second, while your engine won't immediately explode from a small tear in the media, just as it won't explode because the filter bypass opens momentarily, that doesn't mean your engine isn't seeing accelerated wear.

When a filter bypass opens, it doesn't necessarily open all the way, nor does that mean that all of the oil is going through the bypass. If it opens because of sudden acceleration, or because the engine is cold, these are usually short-term events. Nonetheless, unfiltered oil does go through at these times.

A tear in the filter is a bypass that's open all the time. The little tears that we've seen in Purolators probably don't pass a huge amount of oil, but a constant flow of unfiltered oil sure doesn't seem good.
 
Depends on who you ask here. I've seen comparisons here to the GM ignition debacle in which customers lost lives, up to anything just short of that.

Having lost an engine to a real cover up/scam complete with faux recalls as shown in this thread, 02-03 Nissan 2.5L owners were left holding the bag for known defective precats that quickly rendered those engines terminal, I have difficulty getting too upset over torn filter media. That and I've only discovered one tear, an L14459 which had two less pleats than previous, ie. less media, a QC issue. That vehicle is still running quite nicely 90-100k miles later sometimes using the PL14610. I've never had a tear the a PL14610 or variant (AAPTG) since posting here and I've used and posted pics of many. So I guess it's relative for me and therefore the opening analogies seem ludicrous.

Unlike Nissan, no engines have been destroyed. Does Puro need to improve QC, sure. And though they haven't provided satisfactory enough answers to this board, I'm relatively confident they are aware of the issue(s).

That said, if one is really concerned, switch brands, there's lots of em. But catastrophic engine failure will not result.
 
Originally Posted By: gtmaster303
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Originally Posted By: gtmaster303
So to answer your question, yes it's bad. Will anything happen to your engine? Nope.
If your air filter has a tear/failure or even a poor fit, and larger particles get through when you do some spirited driving, you won't be saying that...

OP is asking about oil filters...
To address your concern I do a lot of "spirited driving" and never once had an air filter tear on me.

I knew I should have gone into more detail...

(Continuing from my previous post) if those particles that get past your AIR filter don't get removed by your OIL filter something CAN happen to your engine.

While I've never seen a tear in an air filter, I have seen countless fitment issues. This can allow debris through.
 
Why would anyone buy a filter that shows such a high rate of failure? Even if the effects are small I still choose to put my money towards products that have higher quality. Even if the chance of causing engine failure is low from a torn media I choose to reduce my risk by buying filters for the same amount of money that hasnt shown failures.
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Oil is under pressure. When oil meets resistance (filter media) it follows the path of least resistance (hole/tear). Oil that flows through the hole/tear doesn't get filtered. If oil doesn't get filtered, why use an oil filter? That's the "big hoopla."


This is the correct answer. Fluid, like human beings, follows the line of least resistance.

The Purolator fiasco demonstrates how redundant modern oil filtration is......There really is not a lot in the oil to get caught in the filter. Running unfilter oil (And Purolator torn filters provide exactly that) will probably only half the useful life of your engine......It will certainly last long enough for Purolator to not have to worry about it. So, they don't.
 
How many oil filters do you think Purolator would sell if they advertised that all of their oil filters came with big holes in the media.
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Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Why would anyone buy a filter that shows such a high rate of failure? Even if the effects are small I still choose to put my money towards products that have higher quality. Even if the chance of causing engine failure is low from a torn media I choose to reduce my risk by buying filters for the same amount of money that hasnt shown failures.


I agree with this. Exactly how I feel.
 
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