Unique Mahle filter construction
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You just read it...don't worry about broken metal oil filter tabs...it'll be fine.
... You ever seen any reports of those tabs breaking off? Bet you could put one of those filters on a vibration test machine and you'd never get any of those tabs to "break off". Tell me how one of those tabs breaking off is going to get into the oil pump.It may not just be about metal getting inside the engine. Let's hypothesize that those tabs start snapping off & woops there goes all the oil leaking out of the seam. Human nature allows us to not believe something can happen if we've not seen it happen. This filter seems like a poorly designed filter that needs returned & not run on any engine. I've seen neither of these but I'd not want to run it myself. I'll send my broken ones your way..j/k
If one of those tabs broke off it's not going to cause a leak at the seam. Like I mentioned earlier, that plate is also glued to the base plate to seal it from leaking. If people are paranoid about things they don't fully understand, then I can't help 'em.It may not just be about metal getting inside the engine. Let's hypothesize that those tabs start snapping off & woops there goes all the oil leaking out of the seam. Human nature allows us to not believe something can happen if we've not seen it happen. This filter seems like a poorly designed filter that needs returned & not run on any engine. I've seen neither of these but I'd not want to run it myself. I'll send my broken ones your way..j/k
If your Mahle filter has broken metal tabs, It won't hurt anything, & quit being paranoid b/c you don't understand... @ZeeOSixIf one of those tabs broke off it's not going to cause a leak at the seam. Like I mentioned earlier, that plate is also glued to the base plate to seal it from leaking. If people are paranoid about things they don't fully understand, then I can't help 'em.
My position... Manufacturers themselves don't advocate running damaged filters & insist on returning the product for a fully functional, undamaged, one.
If you think it's "damaged" because you see micro-cracks, then check your paranoid level.If your Mahle filter has broken metal tabs, It won't hurt anything, & quit being paranoid b/c you don't understand... @ZeeOSix
My position... Not even the manufacturers themselves advocate running damaged filters.
You said "even if one broke off, still ok"... That's beyond "micro cracks". I strongly disagree with your assertion that it's not an issue. I've said my piece & you've said yours. ThanksIf you think it's "damaged" because you see micro-cracks, then check your paranoid level.
My claim in the first place is the chances of one of those tabs breaking off is very very low to zero. I bet I couldn't get one to break off unless I actually bent if back and forth from vertical to horizontal (90 degrees) and back more than once. Maybe the OP could test that out at some point. And even if one did break off, the chance of it causing any problem is also very low. The only way it could cause an issue if broken off is it would have to get inside the filter and go through the bypass valve. Again, very low chance of that ever happening. Other filter failures are way more likely than those tabs breaking off in the first place and causing some damage. But like everything in life, people see things differently for many reasons, and make decisions based on their view of the world around them.
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My claim in the first place is the chances of one of those tabs breaking off is very very low to zero. I bet I couldn't get one to break off unless I actually bent if back and forth from vertical to horizontal (90 degrees) and back more than once. Maybe the OP could test that out at some point. And even if one did break off, the chance of it causing any problem is also very low. The only way it could cause an issue if broken off is it would have to get inside the filter and go through the bypass valve. Again, very low chance of that ever happening. Other filter failures are way more likely than those tabs breaking off in the first place and causing some damage. But like everything in life, people see things differently for many reasons, and make decisions based on their view of the world around them.
It appears you and fantastic are going at it just for the sake of jousting
My take: this shoddy foreign manufacturing; I would not be making excuses for it.
Our Subaru FB engine series has big drill going right down to the oil pump with a base down/ top side mount
The Made in Mexico Mahle OC 707 does not use this "suspect" construction
The design, and over seeing of production of that foreign factory is Mahle's ultimate responsibility.
... how do you know that feed gallery in the filter mount is a straight shot to the oil pump? It would have to be for something to make its way to the pump when the engine is off. Can you look down that hole and see the rotors of the pump? I'd say no way. If any of those tabs could be bent 90 degrees back up without breaking, do you really think they are going to break off by themselves somehow?
Made me look!
If any of those tabs could be bent 90 degrees back up without breaking, do you really think they are going to break off by themselves somehow?
Interestingly, the FB series oil pump is part of the TC cover.
Touche' !
There are a few jogs that would likely disallow a 5x5mm piece of mild steel to migrate back to the pump - and it is a gerotor-style at that. Surprising with this design configuration most of the oil drill length are as-cast with a steel cover over them. Yikes!
You know as well as most others here that we've seen metal pieces inside an oil pan before. No need to "prove" this. If oil travels so does metal.
Yeah, but I don't think it is going to get to the pan - a pretty safe place actually. From the filter mount it should get pushed into the filter. These is a remote possibility a smaller chunk could get bypassed with the sub-optimal dome end bypass arrangements.
This is why I open filter boxes before buying at a brick store in person. If I saw what was posted here - or closed louvers or rust or dents or poorly formed threads - it's going to get tossed to the back of the stock shelf with the lid open, maybe folded down into the box so this piece would be passed over.
Pieces of metal that came off areas of the engine after the oil filter. Not pieces that might come off the clean side of an oil filter. The only pieces of any debris that can hurt an oil pump are the ones that exist in the sump that are light enough and small enough to get sucked up by the oil pickup tube and also go through the pickup tube screen.
You're not mentioning torn media. Like those broken metal pieces you claim are just fine in your oil filter that caused it.
You're trying to go off tack and change the focus of the discussion. We're talking about metal pieces. We all know the deal with tearing media, and I've never claimed torn media it nothing to worry about since the 1st day torn media was discovered here.
In this discussion, my position is those tabs are never going to break off in the first place. A mico-crack at the bend of pretty thick piece of metal doesn't mean it's cracked all the way through the thickness. And if in the freak chance one did break off, it's not going to fall down through the oil gallery to the oil pump while the engine is shut-off. If it magically broke off and was small enough to go through a base plate inlet hole, it would get caught by the media. There might be a super freak change that it could go through the bypass valve if ever made it into the filter. My position is that a micro-crack on the bend of the tab is not anything to be super paranoid about. If I had that filter in my hands, I'd do a bend test by bending them up 90 degrees and see if they break off or not. My bet is they don't, and if they don't there is no way they will ever break off themseves during use.
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If one of those tabs broke off it's not going to cause a leak at the seam. Like I mentioned earlier, that plate is also glued to the base plate to seal it from leaking. If people are paranoid about things they don't fully understand, then I can't help 'em.
Not to mention screwed on and pressed onto the oil filter housing. If all tabs failed, and the sealant, there wouldn't be an issue until you remove the filter. the o-ring and outer baseplate would then fall off
The base gasket Oring Could hide potential defects until removal... I agree but could broken metal tabs tear the filter media?
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