What are peoples thoughts on why an oil filter gasket would fail in such a way. Note this was not installed by myself but by an local chain oil & lube shop.
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wrong gasket, reused old gasket, wasn’t seated properly upon install, wasn’t tightened sufficiently, owner went to a chain shop instead of a local, independent mechanic
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Is the shop that removed this filter the same on that installed it? Offhand, I might think it was double gasketed as the gasket from the original filter was stuck to the oil filter flange and was not noticed when the above filter was installed over the top of the old gasket.
That situation is not unheard of.
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It was removed and installed at the same place. At the time of install it was supposedly new. It was not double gasketed.
I am wondering will oil filter gaskets just fail or can an engine issue cause a gasker to blow out like that? Do they swell over time? How long are oil filters good for? Not so much clogging or getting dirty but the physical components such as the gasket. This filter has been on for 5000 miles but for an extended period of time as i only drive this vehicle 300- 400 miles a month.
When I buy AC filters for my car, I always open the box top and check the gasket for any problems. I’ve done this for years after one was reported bad. I wouldn’t rely on a quick change place to do the same or to use quality filters or oil. My Honda filters come wrapped in plastic so I don’t have to open the box to check the gaskets on them.
One thing that can cause an oil filter gasket to blow is, if the new oil filter came with a defective by-pass valve.
If the by-pass valve fails to open when operating the engine at high RPM’s, either the oil filter body will swell and split, or the gasket will blow out.
Tester
I had a Fram that blew oil all over my driveway twice after I changed my own oil. The first time I removed it, inspected the casket and the seat on the filter adapter it bolted to. Couldn’t see anything wrong, thought the gasket had wrinkled going on even though I had oiled it and tried again. Blew oil out again. Caught a ride to a parts store and bought a Hastings, Worked fine,
Called Fram and gave them the filter number , PH16 ,and they said they had a bad batch of them and sent me $60 for my trouble.
I searched for information on the filter but found little its a PurePro L241. The website www.pureprofilters.com is just a parts catalog and has no contact information.
I wasn’t able to open that link, so if this question was addressed on the website, please excuse my asking of the question:
Was the filter manufactured in China?
If the answer is “yes”, then I think we have identified the reason for this quality-related issue.
I really don’t think there is much to worry about. As for the OP wondering about a time limit for the oil filter itself or the gasket before it fails, doubtful. I just think that the gasket was not seated properly due to the person doing the work trying to meet the time goals of their supervisor.
One other possibility - is it for sure the correct filter size?
It appears to be the right size for my vehicle.
Here is the contention of the oil & lube company. When the tech from the garage I took the vehicle to (a well trusted garage) removed the filter that caused the gasket to be pulled from the channel it rests in.
Did you have a leak at the filter that caused you to have it looked at. If so having the filter removed by a place different than the ones who installed it means you should just move on and not use them again.
That is definitely a valid question.
Another valid question–in light of the fact that the OP chose to patronize a chain oil change operation–is…Does that chain one of the places that installs “White Box” filters from China? Those products are the source of endless problems.
I don’t see how failure was possible. The Skippy Lube you went to pays 3-1/2 pennies each for these filters. They’re handmade individually by an aboriginal holy man in the Australian outback using parts from communist China. North Korea gets its missile parts from the same sources.
What you’re seeing is called “cold flow”. Under pressure, and especially when heat is included, elastomers will “flow” (change shape) to adapt to the shapes of the cavities (or open spaces) around them. If the cavities around them are properly shaped (the groove plus the seat) and the rubber part is not properly shaped and of properly formed and cured elastomer, the gasket won’t deform. If the cavity is not properly formed or the elastomer is not properly formed or cured, you’ll see the sort of deformation in your photo. My guess is that this “white box” filter had a poorly formed and/or cured gasket and it "cold flow"ed under pressure and heat. In short, the filter gasket used a crap gasket. And maybe a crap filter element as well… so I’d not go to that lube shop again.
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The only time I saw anything like that, the oil filter had been changed and the gasket from the old oil filter stuck to the block. So that is the double gasket explanation, it was in a buds boat with twin 8 cyl motors, was a heck of a mess to clean up.
That may be, barky. Or perhaps the gasket was just the wrong gasket.
Either way, that puppy is seriously deformed.
To make a long story short essentially the oil filter failed while I was driving on the highway and dumped all of the oil and seized the engine. Since it had been 5 months since my oil change I didn’t think to contact the oil & lube place and instead had it towed to a local garage that has done work for me before. They could see all of the oil drained from around the filter and removed it.
The oil & lube guy is adamant that when they removed the filter that is what caused the gasket to be damaged. If that’s the case that implies the gasket was intact before removal so how did the oil get out. He had no answer for that. His contention is that oil filters don’t fail and his techs don’t make mistakes.
Bull. The gasket is clearly deformed due to cold flow of the elastomer.
I’ve done a whole lot of failure analysis in my days as an engineer, and I can tell you definitively that the gasket in the photo was not damaged from its removal. It was reformed in application.
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If that is the case is it possible to contact the filter maker http://www.pureprofilters.com/ the website contains no phone numbers or emails.