White Cans of Death - torn pleat, ADBV failure

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 25, 2007
Messages
732
Location
Huntsville, AL
Some may remember the "Orange Can of Death" thread I started some time ago that caught the attention of many including a Fram representative. So...in fairness...I'm titling this "White Can of Death."

First...filter number one...a Purolator Classic L14610. Filter is off my wife's 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer with 132,000 miles on the clock. Filter had been in service for a little under 5,000 miles, but was on the car for at least one year. The Lancer had been having some issues with the transmission output seals not sealing, so for a while, it didn't get driven much at all. Lot number on the end is F03F17E1.

L14610_1.jpg


First thing I noticed - the uneven pleats. Can't say I've ever seen that in a Purolator before. The rest of the pleats are evenly spaced.

Then I thought I saw a little silver. Upon further inspection:

L14610_2.jpg


Ouch. I will admit that when I pulled back on the pleat with my thumb, the tear got longer, so originally, it was no more than two centimeters long. However, the rest tore easy, with the filter media being brittle and hard.

Next up...a Purolator Classic L14477 from my mother-in-law's Suzuki Aerio with just under 90,000 miles on the clock, and just over 5,000 miles on the filter. Lot number on the end is F04F01E1.

L14477_1.jpg


Same uneven pleats as the above.

The problem here was that after warming the car up, putting it on the ramps, and waiting for it to drain for about 10 minutes, when I pulled the filter off there was very little oil inside, like the ADBV wasn't working properly.

Inspection of the ADBV showed the rubber to not be very pliable, but with no obvious defects. Comparing the ADBV from this filter to the above showed that it was far stiffer than the filter from the Lancer.

Bottom line...I'm not real happy with either of these. Instead of replacing them with Purolator classic filters...I installed a pair of Fram ToughGuard filters.
35.gif


Thanks much,
Ben
 
Date code is 4/10/2014, so not real new stock, so not a surprise. Yep, wide spaced pleats + brittle media = high risk of tears.

I'm still waiting for someone to cut open Purolators that were made after July 2014.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Purolator lovers will not like this post. Be prepare for being called Fram Fanboy.


The replacements were the first two Fram filters I've bought in 20+ years...
grin.gif


-b
 
I observed the same pleat distortion as you when cutting open a Purolator classic this past January.

2002 Lexus ES300 with ~230k mi. Filter was used for 4,150 miles. The filter was new (purchased summer 2014) and only on the car 2.5 months. I was concerned from reading about tears on this forum, so I pulled it off mid-OCI to give it a peak (7.5k oci's w/M1 HM).

It looked much like yours; the pleats very wide but more distorted (wavy) vertically. The ADBV was fine, no tears. As in your picture, on either side of the vertical metal filter seam, the pleats were opening very widely as if the oil pressure was causing the material to be pulled away from the seam. I didn't think the stress on the media was a good thing. I replaced it with a Wix from Napa and will not be buying Purolator filters ever again.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Trav
Thats certainly enough to make someone think twice before buying their products.


Or return their stash like I did a while back.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Send oil filter to Purolator for their opinion what happened.
They don't care, I wouldn't waste my time. Just don't buy them in the future. I have several of these Classics left that I'm probably just going to chuck in the scrap pile, I don't trust them enough to run them.
 
Wow, what a surprise. Another tear.....
OP, good to hear to switched away from this brand. They don't call them Tearolators for nothing.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Send oil filter to Purolator for their opinion what happened.


They do not take filters back when opened, the silence treatment...
 
Glad I've been using the Fram Ultra as soon as they came out. I never (thank goodness)had a problem with the lowest level Fram extra guard filters. But the Ultra is darn good. Glad Fram took negative input from consumers and came back with a great product. That's how ya come back.
 
Last edited:
When I think back to when I first started changing the oil in my car, back in the late 70's, until now, the price on cheap filters hasn't changed much. Quality then wasn't so good and these days I'd guess its worse on bottom end filters. If having a good oil filter is important to you, I'd say spend a little more for one of better construction. I see the op has done so, smart. Good luck.
 
Holy lord, those filters look terrible.

That second filter has a tear also. Zoom in on the bottom, the pleat to the right of the metal seam.

Anyone who runs these filters deliberately needs their head examined.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top