Premium Guard oil filters. A look inside...

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Hi guys! New poster here. I've been reading your forums for a while and must say there is a ton of info here! So I though I'd return the favor and add a little myself.

I just opened up a repair shop, and am looking for a good quality (and economical) filter to use for our oil changes. Luckily this site has given me some good guide lines for criteria.

Anyways, I had one of the soliciting vendors drop off a sample of the filters he sells, so I ripped it apart to see what was inside. I couldn't find one of these disassembled on this site, so I figured I'd share what I found:

The filter is called Premium Guard, and is made in Korea. Cutting it open:

The filter cartridge has metal endcaps and a metal center tube. It has what looks to be a paper filter (feels like paper, sounds like paper, burns like paper). It has 50 folds, is 2.25 inches wide and 48 inches long. The folds were not evenly spaced, but weren't too bad. The assembly itself is quite stout. I could not pull it apart. I could also not deform it by hand.

The metal case is .6mm thick and had good resistance towards bending after I cut it open.

It has an antidrainback valve and a coil spring to hold the filter in place. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a pressure relief valve.

Now on to the pics:

Disassembly:

PG1.jpg


The narrowest folds:

PG2.jpg


The widest folds:

PG3.jpg


After some more cutting:

PG4.jpg


Overall not too bad for a paper filter that costs $1.50, but the lack of a relief valve is a deal braker IMO.

Hope this helps anyone looking at one of these filters.

Any opinions from the pros?

Christian
 
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Welcome!

In that filter's application, the bypass valve is in the engine, so its absence is expected.

What part of CA are you opening your shop in?
 
If I'm not mistaken that filter is for GM applications that don't require a bypass valve because they've got one built into the block. It looks like it says that it is equivalent to a Fram PH3387A.

Otherwise looks like stout construction
 
Racefiend-
I don't have any fancy critique of an oil filter for you BUT I do want to give you kudos for having the stones to open a business in this economy and in California of all places.

Best of luck to you and your business going forward. And BTW- if you are analyzing a filter like this, I'm sure the products and services you will offer will provide tremendous value for your customers.
 
That filter if for a GM engine that has the pressure relief built into the engine. It is not supposed to have one. Look up a L10111. It doesn't have a relief valve either. I'm sure their filters that are supposed to have them do. Good looking filter IMO.
 
I have not seen this filter but not all filters have a relief valve,it depends on the application.Many vehicles have the relief built into the engine and dont require a filter to have one.

Just from the pics,it looks to be constructed well and the spring makes it look like an Affinia product.Affinia is a group that makes aftermarket parts and owns WIX.The anti-drainback valve looks like one that you would find in the Affinia filters that are made for private labels.

Anyone else have any ideas?
 
Thanks for the comments so far guys. The shop is located in Vacaville (quite a ways from Redwood City, sorry)

I did see that thread on the cartridge. A little disheartening, but it was said it may be installation issues. If we do go with this brand of filter, we'll have to keep an eye on what we pull back out to see if this is a recurring issue.

I feel better now knowing this particular application is not supposed to have a relief valve. Any recommendations for a common filter that should have a pressure relief valve? I'll call the salesman and have him bring one over so I can check it out. I'll update this thread with what I find.
 
It looks ok for a cheap filter.A worn engine will load this up with soot and plug it in about 1700 miles.be sure the ADBV is not glued to the baseplate.If it is ,break it loose with wd40 and the proper tool.Don't puncture the valve.
 
Originally Posted By: MrMeeks
It looks ok for a cheap filter.A worn engine will load this up with soot and plug it in about 1700 miles.be sure the ADBV is not glued to the baseplate.If it is ,break it loose with wd40 and the proper tool.Don't puncture the valve.


Couple questions:

1) HOW can you possibly know that,"A worn engine will load this up with soot and plug it in about 1700 miles." ?

2) What are you referring to with, "be sure the ADBV is not glued to the baseplate.If it is ,break it loose with wd40 and the proper tool.Don't puncture the valve." ?
 
Quote:
Any recommendations for a common filter that should have a pressure relief valve?


Fram's PH2 is the number for Crown Vics. The Motorcraft number is FL-820s (which is a much better filter).
 
It looks good for $1.50/ea, comparing this PG filter with Fram at more than $2/ea I would use this filter in my cars for 6-7k miles.
 
From this distance it looks OK, and a lot like the other Korean/Malaysian filters like NPN, but with black adbv. Probably made on the same type of machines, which are probably bought from somewhere else for less $$,to save $$ and make it cheap, is my politically incorrect view. How about getting a USA made? Purolator sells cheap lines I believe.
 
Originally Posted By: Racefiend

I did see that thread on the cartridge. A little disheartening, but it was said it may be installation issues. If we do go with this brand of filter, we'll have to keep an eye on what we pull back out to see if this is a recurring issue.


So I'm curious if a shop like yours is able to get something like Purolator Classics for a good jobber price? The Purolator Classic is a known good filter for the money. Very well constructed and good performance (97.5% @ 20 microns). Customer satisfaction and no insurance claims due to filter failure would be my #1 concern if I was a service shop.
 
Quote:
Customer satisfaction and no insurance claims due to filter failure would be my #1 concern if I was a service shop.


You would think that would be the case, but in my experience most shops use the absolute cheapest oil and filter they can get their hands on, which I suppose is further evidence that what most of us here worry so much about is not very relevant to engine life. I suspect that most shops know that the average consumer doesn't have a clue about what makes a good filter and oil combo, and if by chance someone complains they can easily upgrade that customer to keep him/her quiet.
 
Right now I'm still researching my options. My current suppliers are O'Reilly (CSK) and Autozone. They don't give much of a discount at all, and they don't carry purolator. My other supplier only carries Fram products, and the Extended guards are too expensive. I just set up an account with Napa, so I'm going to see what they carry and my price on Napa Golds. I'm waiting to hear back from another supplier that carries Bosch.

The problem is trying to compete with the places that charge pennies for oil changes. They sell [censored] products, make little money, and then make up the difference upselling [censored] products the customer doesn't need. I refuse to use that tactic. So I need to find quality products that are reasonably priced to compete.

Most people aren't going to pay a premium for an oil change when they think an oil change is just an oil change. They don't realize there's a difference in the products available, and possible consequences for skimping out. I'd love to carry top notch oil and filters, but who's going to pay $50+ for an oil change?

I have a PH8A equivalent of this filter coming. We'll see what it looks like.
 
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