Mitsubishi filter @ 40,000km +

[Motu]

My last filter autopsy got killed, I hope the sensitive types can cope with this one. I used to cut open Mitsubishi filters when I worked at the dealership, and thought they were good quality, but have never seen one with cardboard end caps. There is a hole in it and some some debris on the bottom of the pleats. The antidrain valve is a bit strange, surely an assembly fault, I can't see this happening in service, the filter is vertical so not a problem really.

The 4G15 had no oil showing on the dipstick , but the mileage was put on pretty quick, unlike the last one which was over 5 years on short trips.

 

[ZeeOSix]

With that many miles on the filter, in what was probably an abused engine due to lack of maintenance, I'm not surprised at the looks of this filter.

 

[cos]

That doesn't look horrible for a rough 24,855 miles.

 

[Falcon_LS]

I'm not sure if this is the cheaper version of the MD352626 factory filter, or if it was the MZ690116, but that is definitely not the same as the factory filter made by Toyo Roki. Is this the Chinese made or Japanese made version?

 

[Motu]

It is made in Japan. It was last serviced at a Mitsubishi dealer, and MNZ sources everything but engine oil direct from Mitsubishi Japan, they don't get a cheap filter repainted to use here. I've cut them open before and was impressed by the quality...this one looks awfully Framish. Maybe Nissan and the French are getting Mitsubishi to seek cheaper options ?

 

[Falcon_LS]

When the "Value" line of oil filters (part numbers starting with "MZ") first came out in the late 2000s, there was a substantial increase in the cost of Japanese Toyo Roki filters; used to be $4.90, but shot right up to $9 with the introduction of the cheaper variants. The "Value" line was going for about $5.70, and they were initially made in China, later Japan.

I cannot speak for the Japanese "Value" line of filters, I don't know who manufactures them, although I have been told some batches are supplied by VIC. I have never cut open a VIC filter, but I have cut open one of the early Chinese-made variants in the late 2000s. I wasn't particularly impressed with its construction in comparison to the factory filter made by Toyo Roki, which was no longer made available.

I ended up switching to Hyundai filters made by MANN+HUMMEL before switching back to the Toyo Roki MD352626 when it became available again, and finally to the Fram Ultra. It's a downright mess changing the filter on the 12-valve 6G72 in a Pajero, so the less I have to mess with it, the better. I am quite surprised to see cardboard end caps in the one you have cut open though.