As I said before the only damage to the filer cuased by opening it was the groove on the one side of the filter. None of the other damage was from opening it. The fins weren't moved by the grinder either becuase if they were they would have been pushed the other way since the wheel was spinning in the opposite direction.

I don't really see it as taking a chance with my engine. On every oil change before the last one, when I put on a purolator, I had been using Fram filters for years.

I'm not sure why oldschool's filter was in such a poor state. Not saying that there are, but there could be other variables there. I would also like to point out that he was using a Fram Extra Guard filter while I have been using Fram Tough Guard filters which do have sealant on the endcaps to keep unfiltered oil from getting through.

 

like i said you do what you want with your engine, however the angle grinder will produce heat which could very easily have warped the top metal endcap, and seeing as how the angle grinder most certainly DID hit the filter material (everyone can see the line around it) we know that it pushed the material around and very likely compromised it, you do what you want, but im waiting for someone to open one up the right way (by hand or w/ an oil filter cutter) to see what they look like and pass judgement at that point.

also the difference between the fram lineups is miniscule, it is the difference in surface area of the filter medium, and the paintjob http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oil...ence.html#fram

 

I never said I didn't hit hit the filter material. I said that the small tears and separation of the filter media wasn't from the angle grinder, which you'll see if you go back and re-read what I said. 99% of the damage to the filter that wasn't the cut from the angle grinder was just from the quality of the filter. I'm sure that the end-cap was warped slightly around the cut in it, but if you go back and re-read what I said before you'll see that I never said anything about the end-cap. The oil in the filter would also be lubricating the disc and keeping the filter from getting hot too. The filter wasn't hot or anything after I cut it open.


And yes, I know that an angle grinder isn't the ideal way to open an oil filter, but neither is a hack saw either. I actually opened the Fram filter that I posted the pictures of earlier with the angle grinder. (The difference was I wasn't allowed to cut the purolator open in the garage where I could use the vice.) Are you going to say that doing that corrupted the results by making the filter look like it was in better shape than it really was?


I also thought I'd say that I talked to my grandfather (who used to run a dirt track nascar team) on the phone today and he said that when they used to race that the Purolators had a terrible reputation with him and almost every other team. He even turned down sponsorships from them becuase of the poor quality of their filters. He said that over half of the teams used Fram filters. He's used fram filters on all of his cars for decades (with the exception of my grandmother's acura which requires a honda filter to keep its warranty), including the 1969 Plymouth Satellite (LA 318 & torqueflite automatic) that he gave me which has over 300,000 miles on the original engine and transmission with no major work having ever been done to it; it still runs great to this day.


My Durango has over 150,000 miles on it and has had Fram oil filters on it for most of its oil changes. The next time the oil needs changed I'll cut apart the Fram filter and see how it works.


I'm telling you what to think, or what to use, I'm just telling you what my results were. I think this would be a good time to use a cliche "your results may vary".

 

yes results will vary i am very aware of that

, however you implied that the angle grinder didnt move the filter material at all, and seeing as how there is a line worn into the material you clearly made enough contact to shift the filter medium, enough said on that.

and yes a hacksaw isnt ideal either, but it will not do any damage, or cause excessive amounts of heat build up. The angle grinder most certainly DOES cause alot of heat build up since it IS in fact cutting, even when i cut mine open the filter can was getting warm from the hacksaw going through it.

you also stated in your first post that you started with the hacksaw (which gives you alot more control than an angle grinder will since it works more slowly) and then finished up with the angle grinder, better but still not great.



that said the first one was probably contaminated too by using the angle grinder however not nearly as bad as the purolator one.




i am also going to point out that you are the ONLY person i have EVER heard from that purolator makes a low quality filter, its simply not true, sure every single company ever lets a couple of bad units through quality control (no company anywhere is 100% perfect, however research will show that fram has a lower than average level of quality control, hell they are known as the OCOD, or Orange Can of Death in very many places) If you do enough research you will see that it is generally agreed upon in most places that purolator makes one of the best filters per $$ available, check bobistheoilguy and the minimopar link in my previous post.


I am going to create a 2nd thread with these posts in it and leave this one as an index with only oil filter pictures in it this way it is easy to reference at a later date should anyone want to continue this discussion.

 

edit: damn my timing is off today. You can delete this post shrp

 

I will add that they were saying that about the purolators 10 years ago. They could have changed since then, and I'm sure they have some. It was the filter media itself that they complained about.

I wasn't trying to imply that the grinder didn't move the filter media at all. I was just saying that media would have been pushed the other way based on the rotation of the grinder. That's why I said that most of the damage was due to the quality of the filter, other than the groove from the grinder. I can assure you that the filter media pulling away from the center of the filter, nor the small tears in it were caused by the grinder. There were several small holes throughout the media both on the edges and the inside of the filter. That's why I spread those two folds apart after the first few pictures to show that.

When I cut open the fram I only got about a quarter of the way around with the hacksaw and then did the other 75% with the grinder. (I save the little patience I do have for doing the actual work on the car.) Like I said before the difference came down to having a vice for the first one and not for the second one. Of course I'm not saying that there wasn't any heat generated by the hacksaw or the grinder (as that's not physically possible.) I intentionally left oil in the filter so that it would reduce the heat from cutting it open, which it dis surprisingly well. The area immediately around the cut was definitely warm, but the rest of the filter was cold to the touch. I didn't think to use my non-contact thermometer to see what the temperature was.

I will agree with you that the construction of the purolator seems to be higher, but the quality of the filtration is the real deciding factor here. The only way to really tell would be to send the oil out and have it tested (like you did) so that the filtration quality could be determined. If I hadn't already dumped my old oil into a container with other oil in it I'd send it out to be tested. The next time I change the oil I'll try to remember to get a sample of it tested.

 

any kind of contact from the grinder has the potential to have done damage, and without being able to see what was happening while cutting it there is no way to determine what damage was caused by you and what is manufacturing defects.

Purolator also uses a DIFFERENT type of medium, they use a synthetic medium which actually becomes more efficient as it gets clogged up, yes this will produce slightly more restriction however on 5k mile changes in a good engine wont likely build up enough to notice the pressure drop, i also have the results of my analysis to post up which will be following shortly.

Im not trying to tell you what to do with your truck, im just presenting the facts as many hours of research have presented them to me. (yes i have done way too much research on this subject)

 

trust me I do understand that. We're all here just trying to help each other, and sometimes we're going to have different opinions.

I did read through most of the information on bobtheoilguy's site after you posted the link. I will admit that I wasn't intending on getting a fram filter when I went to the autozone to get oil, but I was pretty much stuck with getting it. I always use castrol high milage part synthetic (still worried about the oil seals if I'd go to full synthetic) oil and the price has gone up on it to $30 for the 5qt jug (which is actually now 5 liters and 5.28qts). Autozone now runs a deal where you can get a 5qt jug of castrol with a fram filter is $25. (confuses the hell out of me too). If I'd have gone for a STP filter which costs around $6 plus the $30 for the oil ends up being $10 more than getting the fram. Since I don't have a job or money at the moment (for very complicated family reasons) my dad was paying for it and I didn't really have a say in it at that point.

I also wanted to add that I usually like to change my oil between 3000 and 3500 miles. Due to money being tight I was at 3881, if memory serves correct, which is higher than I can remember ever letting it go (I'll go out and check my log book later). I can also say that I didn't see a pressure drop over time with the purolator.

 

you didnt see a pressure drop over the change because the filter didnt clog up, the pressure drop is going to be very minuscule in all but the most extreme cases.

Im also willing to bet that unless you do ALOT of idling you are changing your oil too frequently, youc ould likely go 5k miles on CONVENTIONAL oil with no problems.

my previous oil change went 6655 miles before i got to getting it out (i had to move for work and got busy with that)

anyway, here is a jpg image of my oil analysis, TBN was .9 after 6655 miles, a change is recommended when the TBN his 1 so i hit the nail pretty much right on the head with this one mileagewise.

 

I kind of figured that with the pressure.

The reason I change it that often is partly because of the engine being over 150,000 miles and party because I usually end up doing mostly city driving with and occasional 10 mile trip on the freeway 1 or 2 times a week. The 100+ degree heat definitely isn't helping things either.