Oil Filter break

I acknowledge the possibility that something could have hit the filter and broke it off and the possibility that there was a defect in the nipple. I hereby assign those probabilities of .00769 and .00000432 respectively.

I also acknowledge the possibility that a barely-trained meatball at the quickie-lube joint overtorqued the filter using a ratchet and filter wrench, cauing failure of the nipple. And if the oil is routinely changed there, it’s probably been done numerous times until it finally failed. I hereby assign that scenerio a probability of 99.99241% or greater.

Unfortunately for the OP, it’d be impossible to prove that the ham-handed fella at the quiockie-lube caused it…unless, of course, he has a SEM in his basement.

Well, you should definitely hang onto that filter with the broken nipple inside, if only for the sake of owning a rarity. If you had access to a mechanical engineering professor at a local state university or college, he/she should be able to look at the fracture and tell you pretty definitively what happened.

But, again, proving who actually caused the fracture is probably impossible.

We did find the filter and the “quickie-lube” place claims they film all oil changes. So, if he used a wrench it would be on the film. In addition to the oil change they did a transmission service. I’d never been there before and now wish I had never gone. They have unfortunately stopped returning my calls.

We do get posts where people inform us of various components in the valve train breaking. I am speaking of tensioners and the bolts retaining the tensioners, unexplained catastrophic failure happens. I am having trouble with the image of a person tightening a filter so tight that it breaks the block the threaded nipple screws into but this same torque did not crush a rather weak filter housing.

Benny could you post some pictures of the broken parts? you use the “attach file” option over on the left. Let’s get a look at these parts.

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Unfortunately, I’ve been taken for a ride on this one. At the time this happened, I had the flu and was really sick. I just wasn’t thinking as it all went down, was just too sick. I told the guy from the lube place where the filter came off and by boyfriend even went to help him find it, he took the pictures of the truck while it was on the shop on the lift and said he would email the pictures along with the name of the lab the filter was being sent to and all other relevant info.
He is no longer answering my calls and he never emailed any of the info to me. That’s just rude. So now I’m starting from scratch with out the filter in hand.

Find a lawyer friend and ask them to give the shop a friendly call.

My guess is that the last guy to install a filter on this vehicle could, with a little prior experience installing filters or simply tightening nuts and bolts, could feel that the filter was not tightening properly so he stopped right there, short of pulling the filter mount pipe stub apart, started the engine, saw no filter seal leak and then sent the truck on its way to leave the problem for the next filter changer. It didn’t, however, turn out that way.

What was the idea behind “sending the filter to a lab along with relevant info”? something like “Automotive CSI”?

“Sending the filter to the lab…” Yeah, right. Pretty sure the next thing from them will be, “Uh…the filter got lost in the mail on the way to the lab.” The filter sleeps with the fishes.

Automotive CSI Rule #1: Never let the suspect touch the evidence against him (see also: OJ Simpson trial–although that wasn’t automotive).

Nobody has to overtighten the filter for that to happen. Simple metal fatigue or an odd narrowing of the wall of the threaded tube could cause it. You probably won’t be able to prove that anybody is at fault. You also can’t prove which shop did the overtightening if that caused it.

On Dec. 15, 2010 I had my oil changed and transmission serviced at Xpress Lube.
A week later I left town and parked my truck at the airport parking lot. A week later I picked up the truck and on the way home the oil filter broke off and the engine seized.
I called Xpress Lube and they had a manager call me back right away. He notified me that the filter needed to be retrieved to be tested. My boyfriend went to meet him and found the filter for him on. I was told that this happened before and they might replace the engine and asked me to get a quote for the cost of the engine.
He sent the filter for testing on Jan. 4, saying it would take 6 days to process. At this time he asked me to text him my email address so he could send me the information about the lab and photos. I did so.
I called him on Jan. 6th to ask what I should do with my car because I could not keep it at the shop it was at.
He did not respond.
I texted him on the 7th and left a message and he did not respond.
Left a message that if he didn’t return my call I’d have to contact a lawyer, and I did.
He did not respond.
I left a message on the 11th, 12, 13th with no response.
I called the main office on the 13th and asked to have his boss call me about the matter.
He did not call me back.
I called the main office again Jan 14th after the shop called again and said I needed to remove my vehicle. I told them someone needed to contact me right away about what to do with my vehicle.
That afternoon the original contact called me and said they would not be repairing my vehicle, that they were not liable for the damage and apologized for not emailing me the info he promised stating that he “must have sent it to the wrong address”. He then emailed me the conclusion from the lab.
I talked to him about how I found it inappropriate for him to not return calls, and that I needed feedback about what to do with my vehicle and he told me “I told you what you do with your is at your discretion”. That is a lie, the last thing he told me about my vehicle is think about getting a tow to the dealership.
Truly bad costumer service and I’m out a truck.

My eyes are aching.
Please break the above giant block of text into paragraphs.

And what was the conclusion from the “lab”?

"1. Application checked and found to be the correct filter for the vehicle.
2. Filter checked to be dimensionally correct
3. Threads checked at ?-16 and found to be correct and in perfect shape
4. Gasket correct for the application

The base plate adapter, normally found on vehicles with oil coolers, was still attached to the oil
filter indicating that this adapter came off the vehicle along with the oil filter which is attached
to it. The filter is not defective, but rather the plug adapter came off the car."

So there you have it,“Not Guilty”.The key here is “threads in perfect shape”, as overtightening the filter to the point of damaging the adapter base would be evident in thread stretching. Could you please come down and get your car?

It’s been donated, and they are on the way to pick it up.

But the question remains, what made the filter break off?

Good deal, perhaps some students or learning mechanics will use it for training. As it sits, it is up to you to prove the method of failure (that is if you want someone else to pay for this mishap).What is clear is the oil change shop is not rolling over here.

By now, we know why it broke. The defective part on the engine is what broke. Nothing related to the threads on the filter failed or was deformed so there is no proven fault that points to a quick lube failure to do the job right. It doesn’t mean that they didn’t overtighten it. It just means that there is no proof.

Benny,I will be the one to write the letter for you if you can put me on a path of proof, as it is I will defend “quickie lube” just as hard.