[P@blo]

A month or so ago I had a faulty Wix oil filter that had the threads cut incorrectly causing the engine to run briefly, about 20-30 seconds without oil on a 2014 Honda Civic. I contacted Wix and their rep picked up the filter and sent it off for autopsy.

Long story short they are prepared to pay for any damages, oil and filter. Not being able to tell if tgere was any internal engine damage they sent a letter saying the $45 for new oil and a filter releases them from any liability.

Should I ask for a used oil analysis to be compketed and I cut the filter open that has been in use since this happened 2 months ago before closing this case and cash the cheque?

Any advice would be great.

[b-man]

Honestly a half minute or less didn’t do any damage, it takes a lot more time under load to damage one of these engines without oil pressure. There’s still lubricant on all the bearings with the oil drained.

[P@blo]

Thanks for the fast reply B-man! I was leaning that way and figure everything is okay with the engine.

Better to ask sometimes too I figured

[b-man]

I remember over 40 years ago we tried to kill an old worn 289 Ford engine before taking it out to replace it with a 351 Windsor.

Ran over an hour and still didn’t seize with all the oil and coolant drained.

It wasn’t running at idle speed for most of that time either.

[P@blo]

Originally Posted by b-man

I remember over 40 years ago we tried to kill an old worn 289 Ford engine before taking it out to replace it with a 351 Windsor.

Ran over an hour and still didn’t seize with all the oil and coolant drained.

It wasn’t running at idle speed for most of that time either.

Reminds me of the old Duralube infomercials they had playing late at night. It was the first time I had a faulty oil filter so going forward an extra visual check will be part of my oil change SOP going forward.

Thanks again Bart.

Brent

[misterp266]

We used to take Olds diesels when they first came out, drain the oil and park them out behind the dealership with blocks on the pedal so they ran wide open. Took forever to blow them up! And they were rapping badly before hand.

[Tim john]

Mistakenly leaving the old gasket in place and installing a fresh filter (w/ new gasket) will also put all the oil on the ground in quick order. Happened to me twice in the past 50+ years. No engine damage that I was aware of after running the engine dry of oil when backing out of the garage where I just changed it (oil).

Tim john---

[Sirrotica]

FWIW, when I worked in a buick dealership, we got a bulletin that if we had any customers that complained about a flickering OP light at idle on a 3.8, that we should change the OP sending units to a new part number that would come on at 2 P.S.I. The OEM switch came on at 5 P.S.I.

Obviously at idle the bearings require very little oil pressure to live a long life.

Also if you look at the older engines that relied on splash oiling, and had no oil pumps, they ran fine for quite awhile. Then there is the older Briggs and Stratton engines that ran on our lawnmowers, go karts, and mini bikes with just splash oiling, they lasted for decades, unless you did something really stupid.

30 seconds is nothing in the grand scheme of things, just like pre filling an oil filter when changing it, a complete waste of time. The engine is never going to know the difference whether the oil filter was pre filled, or the pump filled it, a non problem.

[dataway]

I used to go to a Harley rally where the tradition was starting a junk Japanese bike with no oil, wire the throttle open, .... more than once people got bored and walked away before it would stop running One time it ran so long they had to set it on fire .... engine stopped running, it burned another few minutes .... and then the electric starter came on trying to start it up ... just random wires shorting ... but there was a lot dejected faces when that happened.

[Goatracer1]

There used to be a weekend rod run that I always attended. They had a contest where they drained the oil from a Ford and a Chevy engine then ran them to see which one ran the longest. you bet on the length of time. They never ran less than a half hour and sometimes ran much longer. One year one of the engines ran so long people got tired of watching it so they poured the oil back in and used it again the next year.

[Trulyvintage]

Originally Posted by P@blo

A month or so ago I had a faulty Wix oil filter that had the threads cut incorrectly ....

So if the threads were cut incorrectly - assuming you installed the oil filter ...

How did you manage to snug up the oil filter satisfactorily ?

I have changed my own oil on my vehicles for 40 years
and I can't envision a scenario where faulty oil filter threads
would allow me to screw on an oil filter to a base - let alone
tighten it up snugly ....


Jim

[burd]

https://youtu.be/ZXp7aGQ7n38


I always use a factory filter.

[dataway]

2nd or third time lately I've heard about a problem with a Wix filter ... I always thought they were considered pretty high quality.

[Sirrotica]

WIX, as any other major filter line, have 3 grades of filters, the economy, the silver, and the gold. Fram has the same graduation, and there are good Fram filters, but the 3 dollar Walmart one is the one that usually is known as "the orange can of death" isn't something I'd want my name on. When a Fram malfunctions, or someone does a dissection on You tube, the cheapest one is where problems usually show up.

WIX has also been recently acquired by Mann-Hummel, a German filter company, no telling how that acquisition is turning out, maybe not so great....

NAPA as most of us know has used WIX as their supplier until recently. I saw a filter dissection on You tube that showed a top of the line WIX compared to a NAPA gold, they definitely were not manufactured the same internally, so maybe there is a reason NAPA has moved at least some of their filters to a different supplier.

Back in the 70s Fram was actually a respected name in filters, then they let the accountants tell them how to make filters cheaper, and boost the stockholders dividends, we know where that usually ends up.....

You get what you pay for, simple as that.

[P@blo]

The guy I am dealing with is a Mann-Hummel rep so you are 100% correct Sirrotica. Always used the same filters and had no idea the change had taken place.

Jim, the faulty filter had the threads off axis to the sealing surface so there was a slight wobble going on. Hard to notice as I have always been focused on proper threading when it comes to time to spin the filter on. Yes I probably should have caught it but things happen. It was much easier to spot when removing for some reason.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences misterp266, Tim John, Sirrotica, Dataway, Jim, Goat Racer, and Bman. This form is a real gem!

[burd]

Stick with factory filters, all this aftermarket crap is junk.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

FWIW, when I worked in a buick dealership, we got a bulletin that if we had any customers that complained about a flickering OP light at idle on a 3.8, that we should change the OP sending units to a new part number that would come on at 2 P.S.I. The OEM switch came on at 5 P.S.I.

Obviously at idle the bearings require very little oil pressure to live a long life.

Also if you look at the older engines that relied on splash oiling, and had no oil pumps, they ran fine for quite awhile. Then there is the older Briggs and Stratton engines that ran on our lawnmowers, go karts, and mini bikes with just splash oiling, they lasted for decades, unless you did something really stupid.

30 seconds is nothing in the grand scheme of things, just like pre filling an oil filter when changing it, a complete waste of time. The engine is never going to know the difference whether the oil filter was pre filled, or the pump filled it, a non problem.

I remember that service bulletin. Working at a Pontiac dealership, we had some 3.8L V-6 engines in the Pontiac cars. Typically, the oil pressure light would flicker on a hot summer day, air conditioning on, idling at a light. Those 3.8 L V-6 engines idled at about 450 RPM's in drive. Your Honda should be OK because you caught it quick. For the record, WIX is not the only brand to have some little oil filter quality issues. I have had several Fram filters out of the box with no threads at all in the base to screw it on to the engine. I have had Champion brand filters where as you are hand tightening the filter the outer case spins while the base remains stationary from a weak crimp. Also numerous filters new without the rubber gasket included. You have to inspect everything.

[Sirrotica]

Two companies currently make AC oil filters, Champion Labs, and FRAM, they just put the bid out with their specifications, lowest bid gets the contract. AC doesn't manufacture filters, nor do they make parts for the most part. They're just a management company that procures vendors to make parts to their specs.

I can tell you from working in many GM dealerships that the parts are all stamped on the boxes with the country of manufacture, and very little is made in the US.

One guy posts on Bob is the oil guy forum, that the last AC oil filter he bought said made in Poland.

The funny part is the reason we change oil is for the most part it gets dirty and abrasive is left in the engine. If it was being filtered, the harmful under 40 micron solids would be removed from the oil, not left in it.

The full flow system is designed so that if the filter was fine enough the remove all the small particulate, it would be too restrictive to supply the internal engine parts with enough oil to survive. With a proper oil filter system, that removes most of the small particulate, oil life is lengthened many times over, as well as engine life can be as much as 8 times more.

Change to a superior filter system that solves the problems of small particulate recirculating, and the oil stays clean, it's pretty simple.

The oil filters I use has the filter element made be Scott, Cottonelle, or Great Value, and filters to under 5 microns......

[burd]

What I’m saying is, if your filter ruins your engine, you want a factory one on it.