K&N Filter Cut Open. Endcap Failure.

[HonorAndHonesty]

This is a K&N off of a 400 C.I. Pontiac. The car was just bought by a friend, we only know what the seller has told us. It has recently been rebuilt with only 5k miles on it roughly. New pistons .30 over and all new bearings ect.. This OCI is roughly 3k to 4k and supposedly the oil was changed after break-in, but we do not know if the filter had been changed or not.

Oil was Valvoline 20w50

The label fell off due to an oil leak from a pressure sensor, but I believe it is a PS2003.

The oil looked fairly dirty and the filter had a lot of glitter and some small aluminum chunks in it. As you can see it caught the big stuff for sure, so the flaw I found didn't seem to affect the filtration ability too much.

So I cut the oil filter and as soon as i pulled the tap plate off the end cap of the filter media came off, The glue obviously failed. Only one side failed, the other side was bonded really well. At first I thought that the oil may have gotten really hot and caused the glue to fail, but only one side did so that doesn't make sense.

The ADBV looked great and was still pliable, no other problems. The louvers were punched out uniformly. No tears in the media.

Who makes these filters, I know it used to be champion labs, but I read that that has changed. I will try to decode the production date.

It seems the guy tried by buying a K&N filter, they certainly are not cheap, but not necessarily a great filter.



Glitter in Oil before I let the excess drain.



Cap came right off. Literally fell off.

 

[OVERKILL]

This is a "Performance Silver" believe. I know the Gold got moved to China, so I'd expect the same would be the case here.

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

Thanks for the pics...What filter did he replace it with? looks like it caught a lot of dirt but I wouldn't trust to use that brand filter again...Why so many filters falling apart these days or is it that more people are cutting them open?

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

K&N never again.

He put a napa pro select on there. The guy at the parts store told them a Napa pro select is the same as the Napa Gold and I didn't think that was the case. I'm probably going to change it again in five hundred thousand miles see what the medal situation looks like and go with a Napa gold or a Fram Ultra.

I told him iff it was my money I go with the Fram Ultra but I said that either one would probably be good

Never again.

 

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted By: rollinpete
Thanks for the pics...What filter did he replace it with? looks like it caught a lot of dirt but I wouldn't trust to use that brand filter again...Why so many filters falling apart these days or is it that more people are cutting them open?


Filters falling apart causes:

#1: cheap filth mediA

#2: poo poor manufacturing quality

 

[Cujet]

Thanks for the info on the K+N filter. I typically use the Pure One filters. They have never been an issue on anything. Not once have I found an internal flaw.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: car51
Originally Posted By: rollinpete
Thanks for the pics...What filter did he replace it with? looks like it caught a lot of dirt but I wouldn't trust to use that brand filter again...Why so many filters falling apart these days or is it that more people are cutting them open?


Filters falling apart causes:

#1: cheap filth mediA

#2: poo poor manufacturing quality


Yes and at a premium price no less.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

So who actually makes k&n? I can't figure out the date code either. Wonder if they all have issues, there was plenty of glue, it just never bonded...

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
So who actually makes k&n? I can't figure out the date code either. Wonder if they all have issues, there was plenty of glue, it just never bonded...


Used to be Champion Labs, but then it was changed to some Chinese company

The K&N Gold filters and the Mobil 1 filters were essentially identical (perhaps different media) save for the nut on the bottom of the K&N. That is no longer the case.

 

[blupupher]

Overkill is correct, it is the "cheap" K&N filter, but still should not look like that.
No idea who makes these. If it is a MIC filter, first I have seen that has louvers.

Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
...

He put a napa pro select on there. The guy at the parts store told them a Napa pro select is the same as the Napa Gold and I didn't think that was the case. I'm probably going to change it again in five hundred thousand miles see what the medal situation looks like and go with a Napa gold or a Fram Ultra.

...

A NAPA Pro Select is the same thing as a Supertech/Pro Tech/MicroGard filter. It is an entry level Wix made filter.
Not bad, but not something I would run for 500,000 miles.

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Thanks for the info on the K+N filter. I typically use the Pure One filters. They have never been an issue on anything. Not once have I found an internal flaw.

I have.

 

[53' Stude]

Thanks for posting the facts blupupher. Not everyone has blinders on

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

[/quote]
A NAPA Pro Select is the same thing as a Supertech/Pro Tech/MicroGard filter. It is an entry level Wix made filter.
Not bad, but not something I would run for 500,000 miles.

[/quote]

I thought that the pro select was more of a jobber filter. I cant wait to cut it open and see what the metal situation looks like.

Time will tell...

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Two things I want to add.

1. The can on this filter seemed thicker than the other filters I have cut open, which were Mostly Frams and a Denso.

2. I tried tearing the pleats, they seemed strong.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

the post-Champ K&N oil filters are made by Daewha

 

[blupupher]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
the post-Champ K&N oil filters are made by Daewha


So made in Korea?

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
the post-Champ K&N oil filters are made by Daewha


Thanks for the info. I tried searching for k&n on this site and came up with nothing for some reason despite there being threads on them.

My friend who owns the car likes going to Napa, so I hope he gets a Napa gold if he goes the Napa route, but I'm going to try to get him to put a Fram Ultra on there.

Either would be much better than the Korean k&n junk it seems.

I wonder if all those k&n fliters have that issue. I wonder why it failed...

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
the post-Champ K&N oil filters are made by Daewha


Thanks for the info. I tried searching for k&n on this site and came up with nothing for some reason despite there being threads on them.

My friend who owns the car likes going to Napa, so I hope he gets a Napa gold if he goes the Napa route, but I'm going to try to get him to put a Fram Ultra on there.

Either would be much better than the Korean k&n junk it seems.

I wonder if all those k&n fliters have that issue. I wonder why it failed...



If he likes Napa, why not Napa Platinum? Same as Wix XP

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: blupupher
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
the post-Champ K&N oil filters are made by Daewha


So made in Korea?


Considering most (all?) if them say "China" on the box, I'd guess no. Perhaps the parent company is Korean but the manufacture seems to take place in the PRC.