Well, I now have a new appreciation for the "new tech" spin-on oil filter. You'll love this.
The story of the Ford Eco-Bust.
I just got handed a $13,000 estimate for the complete replacement of my Ford Transit's Ecoboost engine. Why? My wife went to a trusted oil change outfit in our small town. The tech who put the shiny new Ultra Guard oil filter on it did not notice that the gasket from the old one was still stuck to the filter mounting surface on the engine. He proceeded to tighten the filter, which didn't appreciate the double seal, causing one of the seals to pinch. They filled the engine with beautiful, golden Mobil 1 5w30 EP, started it up, and allegedly visually checked it. When on the road, higher oil pressure breached the pinch in the gaskets and the oil began pumping out onto the road, as my wife unkowingly drove along, everything sounding normal. A couple days later, she reported to me that the check engine light was on. We had recently had O2 sensors replaced at a local garage, so I figured one of them might have been bad. She then said, "Oh, by the way, the van has been sounding terrible when starting. Once it warms up, though, it seems fine." I went to hear it for myself. I started the engine and it sounded aweful. I immediately shut it down and checked the dip stick. No oil. I looked underneath, and saw a nice puddle of oil. My heart sank. I filled it up with oil, started it again, and saw the oil pumping out onto the driveway. I shut it down quickly and had it towed to the garage. They recommended taking it to the Ford dealer. They found the pinched double-gasket, and said the code was one "they didn't have the ability to deal with." I got the call from Ford a few days ago saying they needed to tear into the engine to see what damage was done. They called yesterday and let me know it would be an entire long block, turbos and all. I told them to put a Ford rebuild in it, which has a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty. (Better than new, for us, which is 5 years/60k. My wife puts 22,000 miles per year on that van).
There are actually a couple other steps and events in the saga, but I don't have the time or space to write them in, so that's the short version.
Here is the good news. I took the garage's receipt, which included the documentation of finding the double gasket, and went back to the owner of the oil change shop. He was very apologetic and immediately took responsibility. He filed an insurance claim right in front of us. The agent asked me to ask the Ford dealer to keep all the parts, including the oil filter. Btw, the service advisor told me that when they cut the filter open, after pouring a little oil off the top, it was as if someone had filled it up with shiny bearing shavings, like beautiful silver sand. Uggh.
At this point, while stinging badly from this, I'm not a huge fan anymore of spin on filters. Why did I not change the oil myself, as I usually do? Because it was winter and it was COLD. That van has a high roof, and it won't fit in my garage, either. I also honestly consider it a fluke. I've never, in all my years of changing oil, had a gasket come off and stick to the mating surface on the filter mount. However, the local garage that discovered it said they've seen it before. What bugs me is that for this to happen, the tech is not looking at and then wiping off the surface, which should be standard procedure. Even if I would have ever had it happen during my own oil changes, I would have seen it when I went to wipe the surface off.
In the end, I applaud the owner of the oil change outfit. He is a man of high character. I've known him for 15 years and it did not surprise me. I'm VERY glad he had insurance, because it is a very small family business and I didn't want to see him financially hurt. In fact, my wife and I discussed it before we went over and were willing to let him pay what he could and then we'd eat the rest. We have always loved that guy. Now we love him even more.
I've been in a state of disbelief over that engine. All the years of taking care of engines, running what I think are the best oils and filters, and tucking my beloved engines to bed at night, and then I lose one seemingly so easily. I now have a new item on the check list. Whenever someone else changes the oil, I'll do a visual inspection of the filter. I've checked them before, and found on rare occasion the filter to have not been tightened enough, but due to bad weather, I didn't check this one, and I don't always do it. Now I will.
I can't tell you how happy I am that my Jeep will have a cartridge filter, front and center, staring me in the face. The first 4 oil changes are on the dealer, so I'll be inspecting the gasket and cap installation after each of those. From then on, as with my old JK, I do them all myself. The Ford pickup, though, goes back to the oil change shop. The filter is a mega pain in the but to get to. Of course, I think they'll be extra careful when they see me drive up. Yes, I'm going back to the same shop. Why wouldn't I? The man stood up and took responsibility. My hat is off to him, and I have the highest respect for him.