I don't see this as an issue. My understanding is the function of the inner steel tube, is to keep the filter media from collapsing. Filtered oil does not necessarily need to pass through the tube. The flat fiber pad is what seals between the in and out sides of the filter. I would think that by design, the steel tube shouldn't come all the way to the fiber pad. If it did, it could interfere with the fiber pad properly compressing and sealing against the boss.