Oil filter

[WWShop]

Maybe a stupid question but its one I don't know the answer to. I searched here but didn't really find anything. Question is:

How do I know that the oil filter in my car is working properly?

I'm not a car guy but do simple maintenance and I never really know how well my filter is doing. I was using fram but read they aren't all that great and recently switched to Wix.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Dagny]

some things just require faith.

 

[billp603]

You answered your own question with this "I was using fram but read they aren't all that great and recently switched to Wix."

If you really want the deep answer you can have your oil tested when it's drained, or spend hours reading the articles and forums at Bob is the Oil Guy

I've relied on faith and put 200K+ on a couple of vehicles with Wix or Motorcraft filters

 

[sberry]

You will never notice any difference.

 

[WWShop]

You will never notice any difference.

Thanks for the responses guys! I figured I wouldn't notice a difference, but wasn't sure if there was anything to look for when changing oil.

 

[tigeraid]

You definitely won't notice from a driver's standpoint. But yes, parts guy here, and WIX is significantly higher quality than Fram. You did the right thing.

There are things you can do to analyze the oil, but you kinda have to know what you're doing. You can also send the oil away for testing, as mentioned. But as long as you're using quality stuff, that's basically it.

 

[firebirdparts]

There is this idea that Fram is not made as sturdily inside as other brands, but even if that's true, the fram still works fine. Any of them will filter oil.

Anyway you just put a filter on and make sure it's got 1 gasket, not zero and not 2. Then you assume it works.

 

[Higgins]

I've been a change the oil every 3,000 miles for many, many decades.

I purchased a GMC truck a number of yrs ago, and it would notify me when the oil needed to be changed. One time it was over 10,000 miles...

So, over time, I've moved from changing oil from 3,000 miles up to 6,000 or so! However, I still changed the oil filter around 3,000 miles. It was amazing how full of gunk they were. So with newer oils i'll change around 6K plus a filter at 3K or so !!!

Just my two cents!!!

AL

 

[sberry]

I have a couple I have religiously changed oil on at 30k. Engines outlasted the car. I am probably well over 15 now on my little work van. I had it in for other work a year or 2 ago, had a filter, had it up, changed it. I dont even track it anymore and unless something goes wrong I can fix easy it is on its lifetime change. Looks aint all but it looks fresh when I dumped it at 20 last time. I got another one doesnt act the same, dont trust it not to get coolant contamination so it gets it more regular. I will agree,,,, Fram did have some issues at one point, I think they are well past that and all this **** is moot for most/many common cars.
I see a couple tests on Bobis where a guy ran 50k on some Dodge car and test showed 20 or 30 percent yet. All depends on engine. We tested some old engine stuff, back in the day they might need it, 60/70 stuff but we went from 100/150 hours to 1000 and it still tests good, we add some though. I changed it out last time just due to fact filters were old.

 

[doublearon98]

I change filter and oil every 5k miles. Mobil 1 full synthetic oil and accompanying filter

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[gungatim]

define "working". the oil bypasses the filter by design; only a portion goes through the filter. like a swimming pool, eventually at some point all the oil eventually gets filtered, but you never have completely filtered oil at any time other than when you first fill the crankcase...

I hate oil/filter debates, but will add that when I worked at a parts store, we cut open every brand we sold (fram, purolator, store brand, delco, etc.) and compared them. the only real difference was Fram had the filter bonded to cardboard instead of steel on the ends. big deal. the factory filters actually had less filter media than the aftermarkets, and the store brand was indistinguishable from the oil brands (valvoline, quakerstate, etc.)

just food for thought...

 

[bob15]

define "working". the oil bypasses the filter by design; only a portion goes through the filter. like a swimming pool, eventually at some point all the oil eventually gets filtered, but you never have completely filtered oil at any time other than when you first fill the crankcase...

I hate oil/filter debates, but will add that when I worked at a parts store, we cut open every brand we sold (fram, purolator, store brand, delco, etc.) and compared them. the only real difference was Fram had the filter bonded to cardboard instead of steel on the ends. big deal. the factory filters actually had less filter media than the aftermarkets, and the store brand was indistinguishable from the oil brands (valvoline, quakerstate, etc.)

just food for thought...

The media might look the same but it can have different micron ratings and different material make-up. Some filter media (especially on fuel filters) will separate and shed water better than others. The amount of pleats and pleat size also matters. As for the bonding of the media to the end caps, the better the bond, the less likely you will have an unwanted bypass of dirty oil/fuel. For a couple years I worked in a filter manufacturer's R&D lab and can say without a doubt that our OEM/aftermarket filter were identical expect for the print on the outside of the can.

OP, using Wix filters is a good choice.

 

[MattDanger]

I typically cut the old filter open and check the media for shiny bits every time i do a change. As a bonus, the gutted cans make great little containers.

 

[sberry]

I have never cut one open. If I really wanna know its with a complete sample.
But ar the risk of being a smart azz daving yhe casings screams compulsive junk collector.

 

[Firebrick43]

define "working". the oil bypasses the filter by design; only a portion goes through the filter. like a swimming pool, eventually at some point all the oil eventually gets filtered, but you never have completely filtered oil at any time other than when you first fill the crankcase...

I hate oil/filter debates, but will add that when I worked at a parts store, we cut open every brand we sold (fram, purolator, store brand, delco, etc.) and compared them. the only real difference was Fram had the filter bonded to cardboard instead of steel on the ends. big deal. the factory filters actually had less filter media than the aftermarkets, and the store brand was indistinguishable from the oil brands (valvoline, quakerstate, etc.)

just food for thought...

Maybe you don't like oil filter debates cause you don't understand how they work. They has not been an automobile engine with bypass filtration like you described in 50 plus years.

Oil filters on cars are full flow and have media pore size around 30-40 microns. The bypass valve only opens in cold weather when the oil is very thick and could not flow through the media as a result(or the filter is plugged with dirt) The pressure differential opens the bypass valve and as soon as the oil is warm enough(therefore thin enough) then it flows completely through the media

Bypass filters like you describe were the earliest systems. Now days they are placed on large Diesel engines (In addition to the full flow filters) and some stick aftermarket ones on ther autos. They are about 5 microns and many refer to them as polish filters or microfiners