# Heard on KHOW Radio: Someone thought an oil pump could fail and INCREASE oil pressure

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [September 1, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604 "2023-09-01T04:16:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604/1 "2023-09-01T04:16:14Z")

</div>

Driver heard the oil filter burst. (Mazda 3?)  
After a mile, thengine “froze”.  
Tow truck operator said the oil filter was missing. They found a trail of motor oil on the pavement.

Possible that a failing oil pump could INCREASE pressure and blow the oil filter off thengine?

Thank you.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 10:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604/2 "2023-09-01T10:43:48Z")

</div>

Yes.

But what fails is the pressure relief valve that prevents excessively high pressure.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 1:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604/3 "2023-09-01T13:35:10Z")

</div>

> [@Robert-Gift](#):
>
> Tow truck operator said the oil filter was missing.

I would have to ask, was the whole oil filter missing or just the outer casing or shell? I think this video was once presented previously and I’m not sure “Quality is Job One…”

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/2/d/2d8efa9eec54432c2cc44da93d578d2587d78a64.jpeg "How Car Oil Filters are Made") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiKbyi9fEmE)

Back in the late '60s I worked at a Ford Dealership and the Service and Parts Department closed down at 6:00 PM. The employees all parked at the backside of the lot and one of the Parts guys had a late model Fairlane that he drag raced and he had really tricked out. It was late fall, really cold, but no snow yet and when he started his car, a blast of oil blew out in all directions from under his engine. We looked to see and the outside canister of the oil filter (a Ford OEM Filter right out of the Parts Dept) had blown off and only the screw on mounting base remained on the engine. If I remember right, he had installed a High-Volume Oil Pump. After that, he installed some type of adapter that allowed the installation of two oil filters side-by-side. This way each filter only had half the volume of oil pumped through it…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604/4 "2023-09-02T16:40:05Z")

</div>

> [@LoudThunder](#):
>
> > [@Robert-Gift](#):
> >
> > Tow truck operator said the oil filter was missing.
> 
> _… was the whole oil filter missing or just the outer casing or shell?_

I assumed the thin metal casing. Or does that car have a canister?  
2018 Toyota RAV4 has aluminum? canister.  
2021 Letsuck RX350 has a plasticanister. Same filter as RAV4.  
2023 RX350 has spin-on oil filter.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rainflurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cab0a1/32.png) [@Rainflurry](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rainflurry)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604/5 "2023-09-02T18:57:59Z")

</div>

Yikes. I won’t be buying any Khyber brand oil filters anytime soon. That’s certainly not how Wix and Fram filters , for example, are manufactured.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/heard-on-khow-radio-someone-thought-an-oil-pump-could-fail-and-increase-oil-pressure/192604/6 "2023-09-02T20:35:36Z")

</div>

It’s interesting in any event how they manufacture a low-tech construction method filter. I’m presuming the spring shown at the very end of the process provides an emergency bypass path if the filter element gets completely blocked w/gunk. It seems like the two quality-control weak spots in the vdo are (1) the length of the filter paper isn’t measured, and (2) the pleat ends are simply overlapped, which seems like it would allow a path for grit to bypass the filter.

The vdo appears to show fuel filters being manufactured rather than oil filters. For a fuel filter I think I’d prefer a “no-bypass” version.
