Virgin FE7317 cut open w/light to bypass seal area.
- Thread starter Sayjac
- Start date
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
If that was true - you could shake it and hear it rattling …
Not connected is it … ?
But we don’t hear it rattling do we ?
Some use a coil spring right ?
The gap never changes despite pressure on the bracket as seen in numerous videos.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
I'm trying to load your pic where I can write on it, but not succeeding. You see the bead between the tube & the end cap? That is what I'm talking about. That is not oil, as evidenced by the oil running down the bracket, is it's either adhesive to bond the tube to the end cap, or sealant to do that in addition the giving the bracket a surface to seal against.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
How much pressure? Where applied? Granted, I haven't seen every video on this, but you would have to plant the bracket on a bench & really lean into it to try to replicate the assembly pressure. Or drill holes in the end & shine a flashlight down the tube. That is the only way we will see it under operating conditions as assembled.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
Yes, that is what I'm talking about. That's oil? A consistent bead like that with the filter tilted? Are you sure?
100%. C&P I did Saturday. If I still had it I’d wipe it clean for you.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
OK, well that disproves that theory.....
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
No, it wouldn't rattle if its held securely in place. If you dent the can & distort it, it might rattle. The coil spring is in the poppet valve, a separate item fully contained in the bracket with this design.
I think I know the design you're talking about, where the bypass is achieved by the filter raising off the base being held in place by a leaf or coil spring. I can't wrap my head around how pressure from the outside causes the element to lift off the base toward the outside. This is not that design.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Back to the original dome end poppet style. Some are held together with a stamped spring and some with a coil spring.
The (call it whatever) is inserted into the end cap bore and that area is greater than the poppet area. Right before the poppet acts as a PRV - the force on the (spring or bracket) is greatest and therefore does it’s best to seal. Do I think it’s airtight or light tight? No, but it’s not likely the path of least resistance to oil flow …
More for chits and giggles
This could be the reason why bypass is letting in light. This is from video on Amsoil filter where he points out ROUGH finish on rim that interfaces with valve assembly. This could prevent a perfect seal at these areas. Pic on top is from Amsoil filter. Pic on bottom is from tear down here on Titanium filter, which doesn’t pass light through. Surface on the rim looks very smooth in comparison.
This could be the reason why bypass is letting in light. This is from video on Amsoil filter where he points out ROUGH finish on rim that interfaces with valve assembly. This could prevent a perfect seal at these areas. Pic on top is from Amsoil filter. Pic on bottom is from tear down here on Titanium filter, which doesn’t pass light through. Surface on the rim looks very smooth in comparison.
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I also observed Whip City rocking the bracket/leaf spring back and forth trying to get a good seal. It doesn’t appear to sit flush in the end cap at all. He could get a gap on both sides and one side or the other. Also agree the finish is poor as Sayjac has been pointing out and now Ronn.
Again, my take on all this that the light getting through indicates very tiny “crevasses” where the rough surface (shown above) allows light in. At worst, this would allow a minute amount seepage to “leak” into the flow of filtered oil. Sure, it’s a flaw…probably not in design ,but in manufacturing. Is it “material” to overall performance? If all the ISO tests are legitimate (as well test on Fram filter comparison posted here) then the answer seems clear…..at least to me.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
Ya, I saw that, seems the light was coming through on the "sides" where the metal is the thinnest. But, then again, when the bracket is installed in the can is there force pressing the bracket inward (squeezing) to push the sides down at the center?
I see in Whip's pics the ridge you're talking about & I now see that the element in your pic is tilted away from the camera, so oil is pooling there.
I consider my self fortunate to have easy access to great alternatives. OG Titanium, Car Quest Premium, and Microgard Select.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
Ya, it doesn't take much opening to let a huge amount of light in. Take for example the recent solar eclipse. We were just outside of totality, 90% of the sun was covered & it didn't really look any different than if a large thunderstorm was overhead (yes it was cloudy). My point is that with only 10% of the sun's light available, there was still a lot of light.
But I still think the test as provided here is flawed in that the bracket is not installed as assembled.
garageman402
$100 Site Donor 2024
You say "OG" Titanium? As in the original media in the OG Ultra? Word has it that's gone, too, replaced with the same media as the "new" Ultra. In fact the "new" ultra is new again. They replaced the tube with a larger diameter louvered tube so the pleats are shorter & less likely to rip or get "wavy".
Yes!! My AAP still has OG 7317’s!!!
I’ve been posting build dates mostly first quarter 2023.