PurePro

[SpitIX]

Anybody ever hear of "PurePro" oil filters?
Jiffy Lube put one on my daughter's '97 Civic.
Filter is white with blue markings and is marked as follows:
PurePro
PH3593A-L4459A
Made in China
#Filpac

A search on Google turned up nothing.
I've have never seen or heard of them.
Thanks.

 

[newtoncd8]

Interesting, the first numbers represent Fram and the second set is a partial (just missing the "1" for "L14459") Purolator number.

 

[SpitIX]

Actually it was the "made in china" that caught my eye. Externally, the filter looks fairly well made. I'll cut it open this week and measure it and post the results.
Knowing Jiffy Lube's reputation, though, I'll bet they get them very cheap and sell them very high.
My daughter paid 20 US$ for a straight oil change with four quarts of oil and a filter and a dirt cheap squashed paper oil pan drain plug gasket instead of the aluminum crush washer Honda uses.
Thanks.

 

[newtoncd8]

My daughter paid 20 US$ for a straight oil change with four quarts of oil and a filter and a dirt cheap squashed paper oil pan drain plug gasket instead of the aluminum crush washer Honda uses.


I think this is why Jiffy Lube (and other fast lube joints) seem to have a problem with stripped oil pan threads. They have to overtighten to compensate for not using the proper crush washer. Just my $.02.

 

[Propflux01]

Oh No....Made In China....

 

[TC]

More like, "Ahhhhh! Made in China!!!" I've never heard of a major brand filter made in China. I've bought Frams (gulp...) made in Mexico and Purolators made in India, but presumably those filters were foreign manufactured to Fram and Purolator design spec's and quality control requirements. In other words, cheap labor, but reasonably good materials and engineering from a known company (I'm giving Fram way too much credit here).

But with this PurePro filter, I'm wondering is this literally a Chinese filter line with an American sounding name applied for mass marketing through lube outlets here? I wouldn't freak out about a Purolator brand filter carefully made to Purolator spec's in China. But I WOULD have a problem with a Chinese brand, made in China and sold here, posing as some American "house label."

I guess my suggestion to friends would be:

1. DON'T go to "Jiffy Lube" type shops. Go to a regular mechanic or take advantage of auto dealers' coupons for oil changes.

2. If you do go to Jiffy Lube, etc., buy a cheap $2-$4 Super Tech, AC Delco, Purolator, or STP and then deliver it to Jiffy Lube for installation, asking for token credit on the bill. That way, at least you know what you're getting. And NEVER pay for synthetic oil unless you watch what's actually poured into the engine.

[ November 03, 2003, 01:11 AM: Message edited by: TC ]

 

[SpitIX]

I cut it apart and here's what I found:
Filter element with metal end caps.
One inch diameter bypass valve on bottom of element uses a flat, spiral spring.
ADBV is black rubber or maybe silicone.
Filter element has 78 sq/in of paper.
Everything actually looks well made and if you didn't know where it was made you would be hard presses to tell this filter from any of the run-of-the-mill, made in USA filters.
However, the filter can is the size of the now discontinued "305" Honda OEM filter which has about 120 sq/in of paper. The PurePro has only 78, which is the size of the filter element in the new, smaller, Honda OEM filter.
So, while the can is large, the filter inside is actually quite small.
Wix does this in some of its filters. The #51334 is an example of this large can, small filter construction.
Thanks.

 

[edwardh1]

I have seen that with the wix, big can small filter element.
Misleading i think

 

[TC]

Sounds like with the PurePro you get decent construction with substandard media area. The Wix cartridges can be misleading since they have additional pleats when compared to some other makes (51 pleats versus Mobil 1's 40 pleats, for example). The #51334's small cartridge, for example, has 134 sq in, while the comparable Champion filters (Mobil 1, Bosch, STP) have about 108 sq in.