- Joined
- Oct 3, 2020
- Messages
- 26
I'm not even sure this worth the trouble of posting, but I noticed something very strange about a brand new Honda A02 oil filter that was still inside it's unopened shrink wrap that I just had to share it.
The bypass valve inside the filter (opposite the threaded opening end) was wet with what looked like a very large drop of liquid. In 50 years of changing oil on cars I've never, ever seen something like this before on any new oil filter. In the attached photo, the liquid I'm talking about is that dark black glob with the white specs on it you see toward the bottom of the opening. The rest of the small black circle is the bypass valve. I bought two of these filters from my local Honda dealer a month ago. Both were wet inside. I cleaned the liquid off and noticed a very strong solvent smell on the rag and also still in the filter. The parts guy at the dealer is a decent fellow, so I took them back to show him. When he could clearly see the wet spot thru the plastic wrap inside the other unopened filter, he just had a deer in the headlights look. He'd not seen anything like this before either. His best guess is that it was some sort of lubrication used on the bypass valve in the manufacturing process or assembly of the filter. When he lamented that he'd have look inside every oil filter from now on, we both had a laugh. The only reason I saw the liquid in the first place is that I still had a 3rd filter on hand that I bought over a year ago, and noticed that the inlet holes on the taping plate were a tad bit different. Even though both filters were the same A02 "genuine" Honda filters purchased at the same dealer. So I gave them a closer inspection. The old filter was dry of course. My parts guy saw the difference in taping plate holes right off too, without me even mentioning it. We speculated that with all the supply chain issues the last few years Honda, or the manufacturer, changed something even though all 3 say made in the USA. Well anyway ... enjoy!
The bypass valve inside the filter (opposite the threaded opening end) was wet with what looked like a very large drop of liquid. In 50 years of changing oil on cars I've never, ever seen something like this before on any new oil filter. In the attached photo, the liquid I'm talking about is that dark black glob with the white specs on it you see toward the bottom of the opening. The rest of the small black circle is the bypass valve. I bought two of these filters from my local Honda dealer a month ago. Both were wet inside. I cleaned the liquid off and noticed a very strong solvent smell on the rag and also still in the filter. The parts guy at the dealer is a decent fellow, so I took them back to show him. When he could clearly see the wet spot thru the plastic wrap inside the other unopened filter, he just had a deer in the headlights look. He'd not seen anything like this before either. His best guess is that it was some sort of lubrication used on the bypass valve in the manufacturing process or assembly of the filter. When he lamented that he'd have look inside every oil filter from now on, we both had a laugh. The only reason I saw the liquid in the first place is that I still had a 3rd filter on hand that I bought over a year ago, and noticed that the inlet holes on the taping plate were a tad bit different. Even though both filters were the same A02 "genuine" Honda filters purchased at the same dealer. So I gave them a closer inspection. The old filter was dry of course. My parts guy saw the difference in taping plate holes right off too, without me even mentioning it. We speculated that with all the supply chain issues the last few years Honda, or the manufacturer, changed something even though all 3 say made in the USA. Well anyway ... enjoy!
