Check For Filters

[joejeep92]

Changed the oil yesterday in my 87 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 with a Mopar filter and usual oil. Today heard noise coming from the engine bay while driving down the road. Pulled over and had no oil on the dipstick. The filter was warped from the factory along the rim and sealed up well at idle when I checked for leaks but when I put it under pressure it sprayed out all the oil and my motor which I have put many hours of labor and probably a grand into building threw a rod. Amateur mistake I made.

[Valleyguy]

That same thing happens when the old gasket sticks to the block and goes unnoticed. Some filters are more notorious than other it seems for doing that.

Couple of years ago a note came in the mail from Honda addressing that very issue with the Element. I've personally never had one do that but I guess if a guy wasn't paying attention he could miss an extra gasket.

Wonder who builds the Mopar filter, especially a warped one. Sorry for your loss joejeep92.

Rick
Homepage: www.power-talk.net
Forum: forum.power-talk.net/

[joejeep92]

No extra gasket. My first thought too

[Beeman]

I see many filters that are damaged in handling, usually dropped while putting them on the shelf. Only factory defect I've seen was no threads in filter.

[Valleyguy]

I read somewhere that Mopar filters were made by various vendors and most of them were not that good. Sounded like government contracting going to the lowest bidder.

Of course if you take the filter to the place where you bought it and voice a complaint they will give you the routine that is seen all the time in the aviation field. Many accidents are blamed on the pilot "failed to maintain flying speed". No kidding, the engine was not working. You failed to maintain the proper oil level. No kidding, it all sprayed out of your faulty filter while I was inside the car where I couldn't see the oil filter area.

So was the filter rim still deformed after you took it off? Interesting, very interesting.

Rick
Homepage: www.power-talk.net
Forum: forum.power-talk.net/

[HermitJohn]

Yea the Mopar filters dont have good reputation. Think WIX or Purolator Pure One. when replacing filters. Napa made by WIX a;nd usually Motorcraft are rebranded Purolator Pure One though they occasionally use other suppliers. "The days when you could trust products with car makers brand on them are gone. Its all about conning consumer out of as much money as often as possible. Quality is not job one. Greed is job one.

[catahoula]

deleted

[mightybooboo]

Sorry to hear that!

[OntarioMan]

I've been using Baldwin filters for awhile now. A friend highly recommended them as do a bunch of folks on the net. The price of the Baldwins isn't that much more than name-brand filters at a big box store... so I buy the Baldwins.

One of my first jobs when I was a kid was in an oil and lube pit at one of those 10 minute oil change places, and I didn't notice an old gasket stuck to the block. That engine blew in about 15 minutes

[Valleyguy]

Originally Posted by OntarioMan

I've been using Baldwin filters for awhile now. A friend highly recommended them as do a bunch of folks on the net. The price of the Baldwins isn't that much more than name-brand filters at a big box store... so I buy the Baldwins.

Same here. I started buying the Baldwin when Grainger started carrying them.

Rick
Homepage: www.power-talk.net
Forum: forum.power-talk.net/

[seagullplayer]

My dad taught me to check three things after you have finished an oil change before you shut the hood.
After the engine has run a minute or so:

1) Check the plug for leaks
2) Run your finger under the filter looking for a leak
3) Make sure you put the cap back on and the dip stick is in.

I don't put the new filter on until I see that the old filter gasket is off.

Works for my Toyota, my Harley and my John Deere...

[Beeman]

Baldwin are good filters, just not conveniently available everywhere.

Good advice about things to check after changing oil. One more thing is after starting the vehicle and all of those checks shut the engine off and let it sit then check the dipstick for correct level.

[catahoula]

Originally Posted by joejeep92

Changed the oil yesterday in my 87 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 with a Mopar filter and usual oil. Today heard noise coming from the engine bay while driving down the road. Pulled over and had no oil on the dipstick. The filter was warped from the factory along the rim and sealed up well at idle when I checked for leaks but when I put it under pressure it sprayed out all the oil and my motor which I have put many hours of labor and probably a grand into building threw a rod. Amateur mistake I made.

Did your oil light come on? I'd make sure that sensor is working. I used to run a tractor with a murphy switch, low oil pressure and it would kill the engine.

[Valleyguy]

Originally Posted by Beeman

Baldwin are good filters, just not conveniently available everywhere.

You can order them online with Grainger. If you have a local store they can be picked up there with no shipping. You need a business license to get an account though, at least I had to. I should probably have everyone on the forum listed to buy through my account so I could hit their volume discount and we could all buy cheaper

Rick
Homepage: www.power-talk.net
Forum: forum.power-talk.net/

[HermitJohn]

Look online and at ebay. If you want to buy Baldwin/Hastings oil filters, they are available without a buisiness license and cheaper than Graingers if bought in bulk. And from what I hear, they are good filters. But whats thepoint? Wix and Purolator Pure One filters are good too and easily available just about any parts store.

Motorcraft by the way are relabeled Purolator Pure One and are pretty reasonable price, if they are available for your particular application. I mean they probably make a full range of them for most applications, but most of stores dont carry the full line of Motorcraft filters, just the ones for popular Ford vehicles.

And dont forget Donaldson filters. Great filters, very hard to find retail... Also some esoteric Australian filter that is supposed to be the best of the best! Good luck finding one though unless you live in Australia or visit there for other reasons.

Whats wrong is not the few good filters remaining, but why all the other filter brands became just labels to be put on whatever the cheapest generic filter they could find.... Notice that Wix, Baldwin/Hastings, Purolator, and Donaldson are all independent companies making filters as their primary buisiness. They arent some sideline of some mega corporation into hundreds of products and just looking to maximize the last fraction of a cent profit. Are we doomed to experience all products coming from mega global conglomerates that dont give a hoot about anything except maximizing profit to the nth degree? Think so as independent manufacturing companies of all sorts get bought up and just become names and paint colors.

[Beeman]

There are plenty of good oil filters. Just how good do you need your oil filter to be? I have an oil filter cutter and have cut apart a lot of filters and compared them. Very few are cheapos that I'd be afraid to use. I like to use the manufacturer filter, Motorcraft on Ford, AC on GM etc. and have never had a problem. Standard Purolator filters are good filters, no need for spending any more money. Too fine of a filter media will not flow the oil as fast so a lot ends up bypassing the filter defeating what you were trying to accomplish.

[Valleyguy]

Originally Posted by Beeman

There are plenty of good oil filters. Just how good do you need your oil filter to be?

As far as I know I have never had an engine failure due to an oil filter and I have used various brands over the years. Actually never had a catastrophic engine failure on an engine with a pressurized oil system. Wait, I will take exception to that statement (argue with myself as I write this) because I have been at the wheel of a DC-3 on two separate engine shut-down occasions but that was because part of the engine was actually missing.

However, I did feel good putting my Made in USA Baldwin filter on the genny yesterday, almost made me feel like I was doing something good for the country. I do have to wonder if it was made in USA from same type of material or assembled here from imported parts? A whole debate could be on that statement but I don't want to hijack this thread.

We've batted around concerns on the oil filter quality but I wonder if the OP has determined exactly what happened, was the filter totally at fault?


Rick
Homepage: www.power-talk.net
Forum: forum.power-talk.net/

[catahoula]

Originally Posted by Valleyguy

We've batted around concerns on the oil filter quality but I wonder if the OP has determined exactly what happened, was the filter totally at fault?


Rick
Homepage: www.power-talk.net
Forum: forum.power-talk.net/

If I have read the post correctly the filter was warped so the seal failed under pressure. The filter was at fault.

If the oil pressure gauge worked and the oil light came on he would have been able to pull over before he threw a rod.

[Fat Charlie]

I've only seen one damaged filter from the factory in undamaged packaging. Still, that's one more than I should have seen. Chrysler's had so many supplier problems in the last few years that it's hard to tell who makes their stuff. I'm pretty sure that they were Wix a few years ago, though. I happily use them on my cars.

[travis91]

I use Wix on my car, but like a mechanic once told me.. Any decent filter is fine as long as you change your oil every 3-5000 miles. The parts house i deal with Sells wix and the house brand "parts master".