Warning: Wal-Mart Oil Filter ST9688 Defect, Nissan

[86jag]

First Post on this awesome forum. I have learned a ton from you guys.

Anyways... purchased 3 Wal-Mart ST9688 Oil Filters for my 2001 Nissan Pathfinder with the 3.5L VQ35DE motor. 2 of the 3 filters had the wrong threads tapped into the center of the filter. Filter kept acting like it was trying to cross thread. I then tried a Purolator One and a Fram Ultra and had zero issues. The Purolator and the Fram both had 4-5 threads and the distance from the o ring to the threads was .200" while the Wal-Mart Filter had only 3 threads and was .400" from the o ring. SO also concerned the wal mart filter is only grabbing onto the last few threads of the oil filter mount.

History of the Vehicle: Vehicle was purchased 2 months ago with 169K and I am pretty much replacing everything on it. Previous Owner did a lousy job changing oil on a regular basis and there was tons of sludge, and oil leaked everywhere. Also had a check engine light due to an oil actuated cylinder for changing the cam timing was clogged up. Changed rear main seal, oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, PCV valve, and cleaned Cam position cylinder. Due to the sludge I minimized the cleaning of items I couldn't completely remove and clean up cause I don't want to clogged up any oil passages, but I knew there was a ton of loose debris. So plan was to flush it out with a ton of oil changes after running motor for an hour and dumping the oil and filter. Heres a link of my Restoration Thread on the NICO forums:
2001 Pathfinder 4x4 Restoration
Flickr Photos from Car

Valve Cover/Cylinder Head Sludge

 

[Brybo86]

That is a ton of work on an older, non classic, vehicle.

 

[28oz]

Oh man. Seeing a VQ like that makes me want to cry.

Hope it does well for you after being treated like that!

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: 86jag
So plan was to flush it out with a ton of oil changes after running motor for an hour and dumping the oil and filter.

That's not going to accomplish anything beyond making your wallet lighter.

 

[ruhroh]

Have you given the default non-oversized ST7317 a try?

At least go 1000-2000 miles instead of changing the oil every hour....

 

[86jag]

So I am only doing these 1 hour only changes to ensure I don't clog up the oil pickup tube and get the majority of the loose sludge chunks out of there. I am on oil change #3 at the moment. Below is a photo of the pickup tube all clogged up after the first oil change. Hopefully after oil change #3 I should be able to run it for a while.

I haven't tried the ST7317, however the ST9688 isn't very big at all. Wonder how small the ST7317 filter is. Got the truck cheap and was in worse condition then initially thought.

I wiped this off with a paper towel and then let is sit in acetone overnight to melt the sludge on the inside of the oil pickup tube.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: 86jag
So I am only doing these 1 hour only changes to ensure I don't clog up the oil pickup tube and get the majority of the loose sludge chunks out of there. I am on oil change #3 at the moment. Below is a photo of the pickup tube all clogged up after the first oil change. Hopefully after oil change #3 I should be able to run it for a while.

Are you sure that if the pickup screen is clogged the frequent oil changes will clear it? Are you dropping the pan each time as well?

 

[geekster]

That is great work you've done. Enjoyed the photos and the attention to detail. I can tell you really enjoy this kind of work..cathartic no?

 

[yvon_la]

If you found a walmart oïl filter issue you should send It to walmart ,they re pretty sévère now a Day with suppléer on sleeping pill

 

[yvon_la]

Men that is a scary engins, It literallybneed to bé cleaned manually (non moving area)

 

[Hootbro]

Really should be two separate threads, one for the bad manufacture filter and another for the gunked up engine that has nothing to do with the filter.

 

[bullwinkle]

I hope you didn't pay a lot for that Pathfinder, you're going to have serious coin (& work) in that one. Unless you plan on going nuts cleaning with the oil pan off & rinsing all the gunk out, I'd be leaving that sludge alone & changing with PYB every 2000 miles or so.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
That is a ton of work on an older, non classic, vehicle.


More work than that sludged up vehicle is worth. Nothing will clean up that engine other than tearing it down.

 

[myurk]

Interesting, just changed the oil on a new to me Titan and used a ST9688. Felt like it was going to cross thread but I assumed it was my positioning of the filter since I'm not used to this truck. On the third try it did thread on properly, perhaps these filters require a little extra care. The date stamp on mine was some time mid-2016. Good luck with your Pathfinder!

 

[dlundblad]

I don't see 2 of the 3 filters being bad personally. They are made by WIX.

If the threads are at an angle, the base plate design could really matter. WIX uses literally a plate with a threaded hole whereas the Fram and Purolator would have a slightly recessed hole that would help with getting the threads started. This is assuming you used the Fram XG9688 and a Purolator of that size.. the ST9688 is more the size of the Fram xx7317.

The xx6609 and xx7317 have a different baseplate design that I could see being a pain on angled threads.

 

[Errtt]

wow that's a bit of stuff on that pickup tube. I wouldn't see that the same as a somewhat dirty air filter is more efficient - in this case a little overloaded.

 

[cronk]

I have noticed the Wix made filters are sometimes a bit harder to get started on the Nissans than other filters I have used, but I have always been able to get them started. Not sure is the threads on the Wix are just a little tighter or what.
Good luck cleaning up that VQ, they are a great engine and will last a long time with decent maintenance. On those earlier ones with the small sump, I would highly advocate to synthetic oil, once you get it cleaned up. The small sump capacity tends to lead to higher oil temps and the synthetic will handle those better and be better at cleaning up deposits.

 

[86jag]

I will double check the Fram and Purolator Numbers, but it was a Fram Ultra and a Purolator One that was specific to the Pathfinder.

The Wal-Mart filter I couldn't thread on and didn't want to cause any damage so I didn't pursue it any further.

@cronk: thanks for the recommendation, I will be switching to synthetic.

After oil change #3 this is what the mini oil pan and the pickup tube looks like. Since it looks good now I have driven vehicle for 40 miles and idled for about 2 hours.