Mitsubishi OEM worse than Fram?

[3000GT VR-4]

Since I have owned my car I have always used the OEM Mitsubishi oil filter because I was told by one of their mechanics that it had a special valve in it that aftermarket filters didn't have. After seeing numerous websites with oil filters cut apart to reveal their innards, I decided to cut apart the filter on my car. It has a rubber anti-drainback valve and a plastic bypass valve. I didn't see anything in there that most aftermarket filters don't have. What really troubles me, though, is that the filter element doesn't have any endcaps. The edges of the element pleats are all glued to each other. The oil can't go into the ends of the pleats, but I don't see how it is going to go sideways through the media into what would be a void on the center-tube side of a normal filter since there is no void there - the sides of the pleats are touching each other. So where is the oil going to go? Through the bypass valve! This makes no sense to me. They charge a premium price for a filter that is probably in bypass all the time. The filter has the Mitsubishi logo, name and part # on it and says it's made in Thailand. I wonder how much extra wear I've racked up over the years by using the dealer part?

 

[benjamming]

Do you have a picture of the filter after you've cut it open?

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I was pleasantly surprised that the Filter position in our 04 Outlander is vertical. I put on a supertech filter and will probabgly keep using these inexpensive Champion filters where anti drainback is not a concern. On My Toyyotat Tacoma I think it is worthwhile to spend more on a filter that has a good antidrainback valve due to the filters position.

The only contempt I had for the mitsubishi filter was that they must have a 600 pound gurrilla installing them. That and the drain plug that must have been impacted on!

 

[3000GT VR-4]

quote:

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Originally posted by benjamming:
Do you have a picture of the filter after you've cut it open?

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No pictures, but the element looked like and asterisk * from the end - all the pleats were glued flat against each other.

 

[Mickey_M]

quote:

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3000GT VR-4:
.... What really troubles me, though, is that the filter element doesn't have any endcaps. The edges of the element pleats are all glued to each other. The oil can't go into the ends of the pleats, but I don't see how it is going to go sideways through the media into what would be a void on the center-tube side of a normal filter since there is no void there - the sides of the pleats are touching each other. ....

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Take a look at these Toyota 90915-20004 photos and see if they look anything like your filter:

http://mkiv.com/techarticles/parts/toyota_filter/

The one on the left is the 20004.

 

[3000GT VR-4]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mickey_M:

quote:

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3000GT VR-4:
.... What really troubles me, though, is that the filter element doesn't have any endcaps. The edges of the element pleats are all glued to each other. The oil can't go into the ends of the pleats, but I don't see how it is going to go sideways through the media into what would be a void on the center-tube side of a normal filter since there is no void there - the sides of the pleats are touching each other. ....

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Take a look at these Toyota 90915-20004 photos and see if they look anything like your filter:

http://mkiv.com/techarticles/parts/toyota_filter/

The one on the left is the 20004.

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I wish it were that nice. Actually it looked more like the one on the right, but with no endcaps and the pleats were smashed together and glued to each other where the endcaps should be. The media pleats are about standard thickness, maybe 0.025", about 1/10 the thickness of the radial portions on the photo on the left.