Purolator oil filter build date code etc...

[pbm]

I know this info has been posted before but a 'Search' doesn't find it.
I even tried 'Google'.

I just removed an old PowerFlo oil filter with a 'U' in the 4th position and I'm trying to determine when it was made.

The filter was a 4477 and was run for approx. 9K in a Corolla 1ZZFE (with 235K) using Havoline Synthetic. It looked very good with no tears and fairly evenly spaced pleats.

I feel pretty good about all the Purolator Classics that I used in the past but I wouldn't use them anymore because of the tearing issue.
I wonder if Purolator cheapened their filter to meet a price point for Walmart?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Letter A = 2009.

 

[pbm]

ZeeOSix:

Do you have the chart that tells what all letters stand for?
I have seen it on BITOG before but I can't find it for the life of me.

Thanks

 

[earlyre]

what's the whole Code?
in 2009 they changed aspects of their filter lines(names, packaging Designs, etc) they also changed their date coding format.


the Current (post 2009) Format Runs thusly:
F06A08E2
F = Fayetteville, NC Plant
06 = Month (June)
A = Year (2009)
08 = Day of Month
E = Production Line
2 = Shift

so the filter above, was made on June 08,2009.

with this format, we won't Hit U until 2029.

I forget their Previous date code system...

 

[tommygunn]

Do you have the full date code?

 

[earlyre]

From: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3421920/Purolator_classic_issues

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser

If I need to look into it further I will translate these codes to see when they were made:
the classic has F10 C07D1 manf code and the Premium plus has F02 V04D2 manf code.


F10C07D1 = Oct 7, 2009

F02V04D2 = Feb 4, 2004

C = 2009 so V = 2004.

Keep the pretty metallic blue Purolator, wax it up nice and shiny and keep it as a souvenir.

so by that i'd venture a guess that u=2003.
and Most Manufacturers say that their filters have a 5-7 yr shelf life, after which it shouldn't be used.

 

[MrQuackers]

I recently cut open a P1 that I got at a thrift store. Code: F02U28B2

www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3485552/Purolator_PL14670_cut_open#Post3485552

Note that this can has the new sandpaper exterior. So some letters were skipped over with the new system implemented?

 

[pbm]

Thanks guys.

So this filter was a Purolator Classic clone (PowerFlo) that was over 10 years old when installed. It was run nearly 10K and looked good. It definitely shows that the older Puros were well made.


I really do wonder if Purolator quality went down when they started selling for $3.27 at Walmart?

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: MrQuackers
I recently cut open a P1 that I got at a thrift store. Code: F02U28B2

www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3485552/Purolator_PL14670_cut_open#Post3485552

Note that this can has the new sandpaper exterior. So some letters were skipped over with the new system implemented?


Correct. It was incorrectly assumed by some that since 'A' is 2009 as posted and first identified by Mustang2008Z in this thread that the code subsequently worked backward too. Your filter and one other newer P1 with yellow texture posted here relatively recently and having a 'U' year code prove that not to be true.

I believe the 'U' year is most likely 2008, it being last letter used before the new 2009 'A' code.

 

[ZeeOSix]

^^^ Hard to say exactly what letters out of the alphabet they are using in the year code. Industry standard is to not use letters like "I", "O", "Q", etc because they look too much like numbers.

 

[Sayjac]

Just to clarify for the OP inquiring about the 'U' year code on the PowerFlo. Mustang2008Z as linked above first correctly identified the most recent Puro date code system and 'A' is 2009. That is not in dispute.

Some then assumed that the previous years code was then also backward indexed with Z then being 2008. One poster in the linked thread went so far as to make a chart using that assumption to identify the years working backward from 2009.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...res#Post3360927 Using that assumption 'U' would have been 2003.

However now two of the newer yellow texture P1's with the 'U' code have been posted, one linked above by and another posted previously. The newer yellow P1 was first introduced 2008-2009 year time frame. In 2003 the P1 was the older blue can, so 'U' could not be that year. Now that the two 'U' year code P1's have been posted, 'U' most likely indicates made in 2008 using the P1 as basis.

 

[ZeeOSix]

As already mentioned above, Purolator probably does not use certain letter of the alphabet - as many do in industry. Knowing what letters are not used, then a correct chart could be made.

The only way to know for sure is to contact Purolator and ask them for the "Rosetta Stone" to their manufacturing date codes.

 

[goodtimes]

The Bosch oil filter site lists a WS model, workshop, that has about the same ratings and general contruction of the current classic. So I think the classic may have changed from before, and they introduced a lower model. The Bosch premium seems to correspond to the Pureone, and the Bosch Long Life to the Puro Synthetic. I don't think Purolator has a corresponding model to the distance plus.
Like others I am wondering about the tearing, always trusted Purolator without question before Bosch bought them.
The Long Life has the wire mesh, but what about that feature? How about small pieces of wire coming off or left from assembly? The synthetic media is weaker to require a mesh backing?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Really haven't seen any major issues here on any full synthetic media filter with the wire backing.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: sayjac

Correct. It was incorrectly assumed by some that since 'A' is 2009 as posted and first identified by Mustang2008Z in this thread that the code subsequently worked backward too. Your filter and one other newer P1 with yellow texture posted here relatively recently and having a 'U' year code prove that not to be true.

I believe the 'U' year is most likely 2008, it being last letter used before the new 2009 'A' code.


Originally Posted By: sayjac
Just to clarify for the OP inquiring about the 'U' year code on the PowerFlo. Mustang2008Z as linked above first correctly identified the most recent Puro date code system and 'A' is 2009. That is not in dispute.

Some then assumed that the previous years code was then also backward indexed with Z then being 2008. One poster in the linked thread went so far as to make a chart using that assumption to identify the years working backward from 2009.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...res#Post3360927 Using that assumption 'U' would have been 2003.

However now two of the newer yellow texture P1's with the 'U' code have been posted, one linked above by and another posted previously. The newer yellow P1 was first introduced 2008-2009 year time frame. In 2003 the P1 was the older blue can, so 'U' could not be that year. Now that the two 'U' year code P1's have been posted, 'U' most likely indicates made in 2008 using the P1 as basis.


sorry about that guys, that was me with the chart (now Deleted)...got a little overzealous one night... more than willing to take my Lumps. feel free to bash away.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Only Purolator has the true date code Rosetta Stone.