My Theory on why Purolator Filters are Tearing:

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

actionstan

Joined
May 22, 2013
Messages
488
Location
Ohio
I have always wondered about this.. and feel this could be why, or at least part of why purolator filters are tearing so often. This is concerning the filters for my Saturn SL1 99. If you look at WIX's by-pass relief numbers they are: 8-11 (I am fairly certain this is the correct rating for Saturn.) http://www.wixfilters.com/Lookup/PartDetails.aspx?Part=51348 Compare that number to Purolators which is quiet a bit higher: 12-15 http://www.purolatorautofilters.net/resources/Popup/Pages/PartDetailPopup.aspx?partnum=L10241 Maybe the rips are due to the by-pass not opening at the correct time for some engines, and instead the filter media is giving way. Just a thought.. let me know what you think. (coincidentally I believe other members have posted torn L10241 filters)
 
Last edited:
I doubt it's that; something changed in the manufacturing process it seems to me, because Purolator's have always had those psi ratings for their bypass valves and people were cutting them open for years and never had the tearing problems until the last year or so.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I doubt it's that; something changed in the manufacturing process it seems to me, because Purolator's have always had those psi ratings for their bypass valves and people were cutting them open for years and never had the tearing problems until the last year or so.
Yup. I've cut open many Purolator filters before this whole mess and they've all been fine.
 
Originally Posted By: actionstan
If you look at WIX's by-pass relief numbers they are: 8-11 (I am fairly certain this is the correct rating for Saturn.) Compare that number to Purolators which is quiet a bit higher: 12-15 Maybe the rips are due to the by-pass not opening at the correct time for some engines, and instead the filter media is giving way.
If an oil filter is designed to open the bypass valve at 15 PSID, then the media better be designed to take that plus some additional PSID for a safety margin. If not, then the filter isn't even designed correctly. Purolator tears are mainly caused by the large V-spread on the pleats next to the seam, and the media is oblivious on the weak side because just having that little extra oil flow force on the pleat due to the large V-spread is enough to tear it. The tearing is caused by 2 or 3 factors all adding up in the wrong direction. I doubt the bypass valve setting is one of them. Purolator filters using those same bypass valves and settings for years were never tearing media like today.
 
To me it simply looks like Purolators cant handle extended drain intervals. When I see Puro's cut open at 3000 mile interval they look perfectly fine and then as i see other people cutting open their Puro's at 5, 6 even 7K mile intervals i see quite a big deterioration in the media. Seems like Puro's have not caught up to the relatively new aggresive mfg OCI's by changing their media. At least in my opinion this is what i see.
 
Originally Posted By: deven
To me it simply looks like Purolators cant handle extended drain intervals. When I see Puro's cut open at 3000 mile interval they look perfectly fine and then as i see other people cutting open their Puro's at 5, 6 even 7K mile intervals i see quite a big deterioration in the media. Seems like Puro's have not caught up to the relatively new aggresive mfg OCI's by changing their media. At least in my opinion this is what i see.
To be fair, they don't CLAIM they are extended-drain filters (except for the Purolator Synthetic, which hasn't had a problem anyway). That said, I routinely ran PureOne filters to 7000-9000 miles for many years without issue. I don't think its extended drain related. Granted, I used to just cut open every 2nd or 3rd filter, not every single one like I do now. But I personally have never had a torn Purolator out of maybe 15 filters I've opened. All were either PL30001, PL20195, or PL24651 and again ALL run well past 6k miles, often to nearly 10k. Not "extended" by some peoples' definition, I know :-)
 
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
Maybe they need to go back to the Purolator string to keep the pleats evenly spaced
Interestingly.... the last PL30001 I opened had a string.
 
Hello, I think this issue is being "overthunk". Judging by the tears in member's photos it seems plain to me that the pad of glue holds onto the media and the media yields away immediately above the glue. I conclude Purolater has been buying cheaper, weaker media plain and simple. There may be a picture of a tear at a fold here and there but it always looked like the media was thin at the folds and nobody ever said anything about that ever! Kira
 
Originally Posted By: deven
To me it simply looks like Purolators cant handle extended drain intervals. When I see Puro's cut open at 3000 mile interval they look perfectly fine and then as i see other people cutting open their Puro's at 5, 6 even 7K mile intervals i see quite a big deterioration in the media. Seems like Puro's have not caught up to the relatively new aggresive mfg OCI's by changing their media. At least in my opinion this is what i see.
Not true. I have 4 documented tears with 3 different PureOne filters (I have only cut open 6 so far). All are changed at ~3,000 miles (no longer than 4k) and were in use for less than 8 months. All 3 engines were driven normally and were clean inside. The two I posted: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3418531/PL14459_Cut_Open_-_Large_Pics http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3418510/PL12222_Cut_Open_-_Large_Pics I have to disagree with your statement.
 
The real cause might be that Purolater is outsourcing the manufacturing to a new source. I really doubt that make these filters all in one place.
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Originally Posted By: deven
To me it simply looks like Purolators cant handle extended drain intervals. When I see Puro's cut open at 3000 mile interval they look perfectly fine and then as i see other people cutting open their Puro's at 5, 6 even 7K mile intervals i see quite a big deterioration in the media. Seems like Puro's have not caught up to the relatively new aggresive mfg OCI's by changing their media. At least in my opinion this is what i see.
Not true. I have 4 documented tears with 3 different PureOne filters (I have only cut open 6 so far). All are changed at ~3,000 miles (no longer than 4k) and were in use for less than 8 months. All 3 engines were driven normally and were clean inside. The two I posted: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3418531/PL14459_Cut_Open_-_Large_Pics http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3418510/PL12222_Cut_Open_-_Large_Pics I have to disagree with your statement.
I guess I stand corrected! Thats why I love the internet and this site!
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The real cause might be that Purolater is outsourcing the manufacturing to a new source. I really doubt that make these filters all in one place.
Manufacturing of what ... the media? Maybe. They make most of their filters in the USA, look on the box.
 
My theory is that they cheapened it so that you'll step up to the Purolator Synthetic, which doesn't seem to be tearing. Last year, a PL14459 (used in many Hondas) was just fine, and I replaced it with another PL14459, and it's ready to change again. So when I do, I'm going to see if it tore. Interval is 10k for both.
 
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
My theory is that they cheapened it so that you'll step up to the Purolator Synthetic, which doesn't seem to be tearing. Last year, a PL14459 (used in many Hondas) was just fine, and I replaced it with another PL14459, and it's ready to change again. So when I do, I'm going to see if it tore. Interval is 10k for both.
The flaw with that idea is that 99% of the people who buy the filter will NEVER KNOW if it tore or not, and will still have no motivation to move up. If its actually a systemic problem, I think its just an unintended consequence of SOME small change- either in the media or assembly process. Companies don't do things like that on purpose. Even Fram didn't set out to make the orange can fail dramatically and often, either. That kind of thing doesn't motivate anyone to spend MORE money on another of their products... it motivates you to move to someone ELSE's product!
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
Just demote them to shorter drain intervals. 5000 miles or so, maximum.
Poor advice. Time and miles does not correlate to tears. Tears can more or less happen very early in the OCI.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
L10241 from a Harley cut open pics
2
Replies
30
Views
15K
SJohnson
C
  • Locked
Tiny motorcycle filter on a Honda Odyssey van!
Replies
12
Views
5K
Garak
S
  • Locked
Purolator 14612 / 14622 and 14610 / 14620
Replies
4
Views
12K
SuperBusa
S
  • Locked
Purolator bypass?
Replies
2
Views
1K
Sayjac
S
  • Locked
Cannister oil filter on my new Toyota Camry
Replies
10
Views
13K
JustinC25
Top