Purolator Failures

[jhskier25]

So...I'm much newer to the oil filter world here on BITOG than I am on the oil side of things. I see a lot of gripes here about Purolators tearing and I understand that can be a serious problem, but are there any cases here on BITOG where an engine failure has actually been caused by a faulty Purolator? Or are we just splitting hairs?

 

[Volv04Life]

We mainly gripe about it because it couldve happened. Nobody wants to flirt with a oil-related engine failure.

 

[Mr Nice]

Splitting hairs on a frog's wart...

 

[FetchFar]

Given that a few people on BITOG have argued that larger particles running around inside your engine DON'T increase wear (yeah, I know, those people will argue anything), I personally believe the SAE engineering tests I've seen, the MicroGreen.com people, and other articles I've read saying that increased particles mean increased wear. .... So, you just paid over $20,000 for that new car, do you want more wear because of a cheap Purolator filter?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Torn filter media is something that is not supposed to happen, so why take the chance on using filters that are susceptible to tearing - unless you just don't care about filtration, or you like to play the odds.

Just because an engine didn't completely blow-up doesn't mean there could be some slight risk of damage caused by the torn media. Guess it boils down to how much risk you like to live with. To a few it might be no big deal, to the majority I think they want to use a filter that doesn't tear.

 

[FowVay]

The by-passing of unfiltererd oil is something that will show damage over the course of years and hundreds of thousands of miles. It isn't something that would happen once and a person would experience the results.

If the filter failed to the point of clogging then of course that could cause acute damage but the torn media that is often mentioned here would be something that would lead to chronic failure.

Filters are implemented for a reason and if compromised media is going to be a common issue then maybe the need for filtering should be reconsidererd altogether. Personally I feel that the Purolator brand is not a quality product and I don't/won't use them. I have personally experienced the torn media on numerous filters and engine applications and can think of no excuse for this except poor quality.

 

[Chris142]

a torn filter is kinda like bringing a pretty girl home then finding out that shes a man.

 

[antiqueshell]

I'm more concerned about part of the torn media escaping the filter itself and plugging an oil passage or oil pump screen.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
a torn filter is kinda like bringing a pretty girl home then finding out that shes a man.


That's one way of looking at it!


Part that does worry me is that it is not just purolators anymore....

 

[Ram01]

Never had that problem with a farm orange can . But yet everybody bash them smh

 

[440Magnum]

Running one OCI without any filtration shouldn't significantly shorten the life of a healthy engine, with good oil, in an average operating environment. Most people probably have had a filter that wasn't filtering at least once in their driving career (just my guess).

But the grumping is because a filter SHOULD be something you can count on. There seems to be a problem with at least a certain date range of Purolator Classics. Its not like Fram orange cans where the whole design is substandard. Its a quality assurance issue, not a design issue.

 

[901Memphis]

I still like the PureOne air filter.

 

[DB_Cooper]

I remember the old air cooled VWs only had a course metal screen in the sump..no oil filter, just the screen.

Those things would run a long time on straight 30w oil and most of the time the bottom ends were fine at 100k miles. They might drop a valve or wear out the pistons..but the bottom ends were OK.

Torn media on a modern oil filter should not happen..but I don't think it is the end of the world on an engine.

 

[crazyoildude]

Having an engine shop i never saw this happen but we usually dont look to far we see a problem and rip it down and rebuild it... We stopped buying the purolator oil filters (group 7) we now use driveworks at $1.75- $2.25

 

[Merkava_4]

WIX is the new standard in oil filters now.

 

[FetchFar]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
a torn filter is kinda like bringing a pretty girl home then finding out that shes a man.
So... both makes you scream, run down the street, questioning everything?

 

[123Saab]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
a torn filter is kinda like bringing a pretty girl home then finding out that shes a man.


How did that work out for you?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: FetchFar
So, you just paid over $20,000 for that new car, do you want more wear because of a cheap Purolator filter?

My peeve is the relatively high efficiency of the P1 and Bosch Premium, all for a good price, combined with this current mess. What's the point of 99.9% or 99% efficiency with a tear in the thing. That 99%+ goes down the toilet.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
WIX is the new standard in oil filters now.

It's been my standard for many years.

 

[hatt]

How many "don't torn media even matter" threads has there been? We should just get it over with and start arguing about whether or not engines even need filters.