Technical wix buyers beware . . .

I stand corrected !

 

We had a Motorcraft oil filter at the dealership that had no threads. Parts used to give it out to guys they didn’t like. Doesn’t mean all of them were bad.
I am a bit concerned about counterfeit stuff. I wonder if anything you get anymore is authentic. Bad shit going on out there!

 

Not hilarious, if you ponder it a bit.
Change your oil, fire it up, let it run for a period of time while you put stuff away and clean up.
Come back and the engine is seized.
Not a good day, huh?

 

I worked at the Grand Auto warehouse/distribution center many years ago. I don't remember what company it was, but they sent representatives to take parts out of another brands box and put them in boxes with their name on it... it was like rebuilt carbs and distributors and the like.

parts companies get bought and sold all the time so what was a good brand 10 years ago may no longer be good at all.
the days one one company owning only one brand are getting fewer and fewer all the time

 

I was pretty close to this stuff when I was still working, but even before I retired fifteen years ago, the filter companies would source some products from competitors in order to have a full catalog of product on the shelves.

The only thing for sure back then was that the vehicle manufactures captive dealerships stocked the same filters, from the supplier that delivered to the assembly line.

The aftermarket parts seen at a parts house or box store could come from another supplier, under contract, either from capacity constraints or because it wasn’t profitable to set up tooling for slow movers and they still wanted to offer a complete part number lineup.

 

As far as I know Mann & Hummel Filter is producing for Purolator, Wix, Napa, Bosch, and many OEM Filters worldwide. We have a plant not far from me and Mann has also factories in the US producing for the US market. They have a cross reference chart on their website so you can chose whatever fits your application. I was using Wix on all my American cars until I found this chart. Now I buy locally made Mann Filters. No sense in shipping things half around the globe if I can get it here too ( saves customs and tax)

 

I own a NAPA Auto Care Center and install NAPA Gold filters. They have been made by Wix, then Mann-Hummel who bought out Wix. Production could not keep up with the supply and had to outsource other manufacturers. Assured us Napa Gold boxed filters are premium filters made to their specifications and quality is monitored what ever continent it is made in and stand behind all filters with a warranty. I have no issues other than a leaking canister crimp every couple years and have been covered with warranty and towing if needed. Just my two cents

 

I just wanted to let everyone know that you all are crazy bickering about brand names of filters, they are all junk and I am not brand loyal I'm not that guy.
I've been fiddling with cars for almost 33 (I was 13 when I got my first car) years old, needless to say oil changes go with the territory, most of my cars were pushrod v8s but I've done inline sixes a few overhead cams and a few flatheads, some engines that have cartridges some engines have had spun on filters and some have had no filters, the one thing they all have in common is I put on whatever I had or whatever was cheap. Some engines were wore out some of them were like brand new but the one thing not a single engine has ever done to me is spin a bearing... If it was from the '60s or '70s vehicle it probably came from Walmart it (used to say tech 2000 now they're called super tech). When I worked at Kragen's I put on Fram or Pennzoil not because they were good or bad but because they were cheap and I got a discount on them and I can order them in for any car I owned.
Hell, I am not even picky about oil except during a cam break in (I will buy actual engine break-in oil)
I've never even worried about Zddp or whatever it's called. I've always figured as long as there's a quality oil (meaning it has a service donut which I think is currently on "SN") I will run it.
I also don't spend tens of thousands of dollars on my engines I rebuild everything in my garage with the exception of actual real machine work because I don't have the tools to do it if I did I would do that at home too but I digress.
So starting hopefully tomorrow afternoon or maybe Thursday I am going to start a garage rebuilt 460 that is mildly built, I bought Lucas break in oil and a Fram filter PH8a that has been on my shelf since probably the 1990s since before they had that grip stuff on them. I am going to follow the cam manufacturers directions for breaking in the flat tappet but after that I'm going to change the oil and I am not kidding I'm probably going to use three different brands of 10/30 from different manufacturers and the next oil filter that is going on is an even older Fram when their emblem was really cool looking.
I found all that stuff in different estate sales if it was good enough 20, 30 or even 40 or 50 years ago it will be just fine in my old dinosaur V8 Ford engine.
As for defective filters, I had a wix split open once on a bone stock 1977 Ford Granada, I changed the oil it was fine, I once had a Fram that they forgot to tap the pipe threads and I had a mopar filter that was stripped you would get it just about hand tight and then it would loosen right back up again.
My point is I don't think it matters on brand, I think being observant, changing your oil regularly and paying attention to the condition of your engine are more important than the brand of oil filter. To the person that originally started this post three or four pages ago, it sucks you got on a bad filter, I promise if you change enough oil you will come across another bad one it doesn't matter on the brand. I think the country of origin is probably more important because there's certain country in East Asia that will remain nameless that isn't known for good quality control and yet somehow they're going to take over this world but that too I digress.

 

Estate sale.... Had a CAT engine in our Dealership 34yr ago that had oil pressure fluctuating as it ran stationary, and when down road, would go to zero. Then back up.

Tech Pulled lube system, and engine finally, lead mechanic was swinging on eng block hung from a chain, said its in there. ... we thought he lost his mind... dang, out of oil galley hiding behind Welch plug..., "tiny oak acorns size of a nickel" found 3x floating in the oil galley. Turns out a creative squirrel was putting acorns in oil filters at customers shop. "Ohio Cat" - Broadview Heights. Be careful if filters are not stored in sealed containers, or at least sealed in plastic.

 

Has your electricity ever gone out? Did you ditch your power company after that?

Your position is ridiculous. Every single product is going to have some rate of failure. That doesn't mean the company making it has "shit the bed".

 

Not a good day, but not indicative that the brand has "shit the bed". That mode of thinking is indeed hilariously asinine.

 

Did 774 oil changes last year on wix pro-tec filters, 3 defects. Switched this year to stp filters due to a issue with the supplier. 256 oil changes so far and 3 defects this year. Going to happen with any brand though. Find a brand you like or don't, but find a supplier that backs the products they sell. A bad filter can happen to anyone at any point.

 

I use Motorcraft FL1A or K&N depending on witch 440 I'm working on. The only time I’ve had zero oil pressure in a 440 was when the relief valve in the oil pump stuck open at start up. It had nothing to do with the oil fiter.

 

Question, is the oil filter mounted pointing up like a GM? If so, there’s no need for a drain back valve, right?

 

It's hard to trust anything new these days. I do my best to check form, fit, and function before I install. I use AC/Delco on the hot rod with no issues to date.

That being said I had a Napa (Wix) which looked fine, blow at the plate/can seam on an off topic car. Just happened to get a one off reject. Luckily it dumped in the garage and I saw it happen. Shit happens. Got another one and everything was fine. Watch out folks.

 

It lays sideways, horizontal in a big block Mopar.

 

Im the same way poor food , they dont care anymore when you call them out on it. I tell them then dont go back, poor service I leave a penny tip.

Stopped at the local car quest in my little town the other day for a fairly common intake gasket, they wanted 36 bucks for the gasket and 18 bucks for shipping and a week to get it here I said keep the gasket I'll go else where, parts guy said he would do the same if he were me. I havent stoped buying from them I just be more selective. Found one on ebay 34 bucks free shipping got here in 2 days.

 

That's a key point there. Aside from occasional defect filters if you change your oil regularly and don't try to have an oil change outlast a set of tires like some people you'll likely notice zero difference between brands. On my to car the 150+ miles between 2014 and 2016 I drove it I used Castrol GTX and reg old orange fram filters every 3k miles. And engine had 30k to begin with. When I pulled it out to try a supposedly built engine in it(had more power but lasted three days lol) I pulled the pan to look because every oil change the old oil was just as clean as the new oil(even if the old stuff felt thinner to the touch). Inside the pan was spotless. And at close to 160k miles oil pressure specs were dead on with what the factory engineering sheet said it should make brand new. And like I said that was on the "horrid fram filters with no filtration". Meanwhile other guys running other "better" brand filters on 5-6k oil changes were pulling out oil that looked like it came from a Peterbilt. Not to mention twenty less oil psi

 

I'm curious Moe power do you fill your filters before installing? I'm wondering if you would have seen the issue with the holes being blocked prior to installing if so. I maintain a small OT fleet and use a lot of different Wix filters so news of this buy out and your issue scares me

 

Maybe I'll pass changing oil this year, being an election year... I tasted oil other day... few thousand miles left on it.... I figurr..

 

These guys have nice vids. One thing I never realized based on what he said is that most bypass valves when open allow oil to contact the dirty side of the element. WTF!? He said the MANN filter bypass design was different and didn’t do this. As a non-educated person on oil filter design, I would have expected this fact to be the defunct option.

 

Having had worked in the eng, bearing, crank, piston. lubrication field for 15+years..

Engineers in filter group, simply its called...dirty oil is better than no oil.

Cold ambient, can cause slight bypass as well.

If your the guy who revs his cold engine... to warm it up.. well..... I had a neighbor like that, went thru engines like no tomorrow, he had points for tow bill frequency.

 

Yeah, they mention the fact the bypass filter can open when cold. I’m ashamed, as a mech Eng, I had no idea. Always thought of it as a fail safe feature. Living in Canukistan, where temps can be sometimes as low as -35C, I’m accustomed to cars idling high at start up when warming up. My Tundra is really bad for this. Now makes me wonder if the bypass valve ever opens. Always used Mobil synthetic in my cars though, but not sure if it helps to avoid bypass valve opening when oil is cold. I can tell the difference though with syn gear oil and the difference it makes in my AWD 97 Lexus LX450 in the cold while driving until things heat up.

 

Some by design .. push down against spring in bottom of can, to bypass. Depends, many designs.

 

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I truly wish they'd done a Baldwin with the others...

 

I had very good Engr experience with Baldwin as a Supplier.

 

since engines didn't have filters prior to the early/mid 50s, any filter is probably orders of magnitude improvement.

 

Always liked my NAPA stores. Spent coin there to keep them in town. Bought a certified 4 post lift thru them. It was heavier, wider, longer and USA made than anybody else locally.

 

How many Briggs and Stratton air cooled lawnmowers... miraculously survived..

 

Briggs & Stratton. Still largest producer of small engines. One site 9M / yr.

MTD was in my home town.. many B&S engines.


https://www.briggsandstratton.com/n...ow-to/browse/history-of-the-small-engine.html