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Oil Change Season Wonders

4K views 39 replies 13 participants last post by  hamada128 
#1 ·
I decided to get a head start on the summer and do the oil and filter change. OMG ! Last year the wife took the car to what used to be a trusted shop for the service as I was busy. It has gone approx. 10K miles since then. They said they used Mobil1 and a Mann filter. Well the oil looked bad and very very dirty. That was the best of it. I have attached pictures of the removed "Mann" filter. It was not a made in Germany Mann, but a Made in China POS. The *#@^ mechanic pulled a fast one and showed my wife the old filter and a new Mann filter box that he said he put in the car. This happened last year. I have attached pictures of the filter I took out today. The inside actually broke and I had to clean 2 pieces out of the filter housing when I changed it myself today. OMG ! And if you see the pictures you can see the paper collapsed. What the heck? 30 Plus years in the wrecking business and I have never seen such junk come off a motor, let alone one of my own cars.
Please whatever you do, check paid for work...this almost cost me an engine. And don't buy Made in China fer gosh sakes. any comments on the filter collapsing ?
 

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#3 ·
Are those plastic end caps? Wow. It is a Purolator filter, and apparently not one of their better ones. Probably one made by the same company as Fram.

https://www.amazon.com/Purolator-L44757-Classic-Oil-Filter/dp/B000C6MMMQ

Personally, I would never run a filter that long anyway (I do oil at 5K and filter at 2500 usually), but it shouldn't be like that.

Also, glad I do my own oil changes...
 
#4 ·
That's a shame. Since you changed the filter it sounds as if you know what you are doing but just don't have the time to do maintenance on the car. If you would prefer to do the oil changes yourself, pick up an extractor so you can do it without getting under the car or undoing the drain plug. They really work well and you can have confidence that at least you are in total control of the oil and filter regimen.
 
#6 ·
I am old school and use ramps and crawl under the car. But at 62 maybe it's time to update and get a modern suction oil change system. The oil was not my concern as much as the condition of the filter. This thing was decomposing and actually broke the inner plastic drum the paper wraps around. My heart sank when I pulled it out, just curious if this is the new norm for junk products ? And again, I buy oem and thought that is what the guy put in the car, not this junk. I called the shop to bitch, and gosh , he is not there any more. live and learn.
 
#7 ·
Hey Chuck, I waited as I assumed they put in the requested Mobil1 synthetic....I have friends who go way past 10K on Mobil1...and the filters I have used previously held up well. The filters condition was such a shock I had to post and share. I just have never seen degrading like this. The oil may have looked better had the filter done it's job better. Again, the thing collapsed, due to what pressure ? It does run strong with good oil pressure on the gauge. Thanks again folks.
 
#9 · (Edited)
It is probably okay with a good filter, but I still would at least change the filter more often. It's just so easy to do on these cars. Synthetic oil should be fine for that mileage. I am pretty weird about such things, though. Also, that filter they used is rated for 5K. By the looks of it, I would say it's unlikely it would go half that. You had no way of knowing, though. Hopefully the car is okay.

Also, as far as changing the oil from the top goes, I also use that method, but I do a bottom drain change every third or fourth time. I don't feel confident that taking the oil out the top is as thorough as a normal change, and neither did a Mercedes tech I talked to about it. It's tight, but I can drain from the bottom without lifting the car. The difficult part is reaching the rear screws for the undertray.
 
#10 ·
Thanks Chuck, I am going to pull the filter and replace it @ 5K with another Mann german filter. That should give me a good idea as to monitored wear. That picture I posted is of the china filter that collapsed on itself. I would still like to hear why a filter does this. Oil pressure appears normal on the gauge. Happy motoring folks !
Today the top comes off the SL !
 
#11 · (Edited)
I was always skeptical of extracting oil versus draining it out of the pan till my son picked up his extractor (around $125). I used the extractor on my 500e and when it couldn't pull any more oil I opened the drain plug. Guess what? No oil came out! I was converted from that moment.

As for filter quality, I have no oil filter horror stories but have TWICE encountered failed transmission filters (one purchased over the counter at the dealer and the other an aftermarket installed when I had the trans rebuilt). The element came loose inside the stamped metal housing and floated up until it clogged the passage supplying oil to the transmission!!! Sad to say this is the new normal and we DIY'ers are in the best position to change filters often enough to avoid these failures. Every 20k on the trans is probably about right. Apparently the adhesives and plastics used today can't take as many heat cycles as the items that were available when these cars were in their prime of life.
 
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#15 · (Edited)
Guess what gents....PUROLATOR is a Member of the MANN/Hummel family. Used to be that the Purolator contained a good Mann filter in it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-affinia-m-a-idUSKCN0QL0AX20150816

Wonder if they flipped the script on us and put the Purolator China dung filter in Mann boxes?

I had the same thing happen to me using a Purolator filter. (that's my amazon review, hope its kept them from selling any more)

My filter was not clogged, just inferior build. You can try to squeeze a hengst or MB filter in you hand (new not all oily..), it doesn't budge, feels like a solid piece.
the Purolator one you can "flex" just by squeezing in your hand.

Here's mine on the advance auto site too. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...57/5708435-P?searchTerm=oil+filter#fragment-3
Our pics look nearly identical.


I sent my filters to Purolator/Mann/Hummel, they told me it was my fault because my relief had probably failed. D-Bags didn't even stand by their shite product.
Nearly 300k (three or four MB filters since the Purolator implosion) and this NEVER happened before or after.

For this reason I only buy Hengst or MB now. Purolator/MANN/HUMMEL can stick it where the sun don't shine.
 
#18 ·
thanks for the response. I looked up your old post about cheap aftermarket products. Preaching to the choir my friend, preaching to the choir. I was around in the 70's 80's when "aftermarket body parts were being made in Italy and other places, and being imported to the USA. We at junkyards hated them. Buyer on phone" but I can get a new fender for 37 dollas". Yeah well when the bolt holes don't line up, when you slice open your finger because of the crap metal finish, and finally when/if you do get to bolt up, the lines are not the same as factory. Volvo actually went to court and won at first to stop aftermarket mfg of this junk. As we all know, the dollar went for profit and our standard of products went in the toilet. Then the import jap engines came, then the containers of euro junk they don't want, nor do they allow to stockpile like we do here in the USA. They do not have pick a parts, 20 acre yards {mine was a tiny little 3 acre} or the specialty yards. You should see the pictures of perfectly good jap cars stacked 10 high waiting to have the driveline cut out. Nope, they don't even bother to do it right, they torch cut everything.
So this leads me to believe we now have a disposable global economy. Quality is gone. You will not see a car built after the 90's endure for 50 years like the 60's Mercedes have to date.
And as a final comment on the filter, yes your picture looked just mine. So this makes me think this is a cheap design flaw just to make another 3 cents per unit. The mechanic told my wife he put in a Mann filter. He did not. When I ordered the latest filter it came from auto haus az. It was a genuine mann with stamping etc. I think the mechanic was the culprit here. But you can be darn sure I am going to inspect all my parts before install, and never go back to that shop.
 
#20 ·
All my fleece filters by Mann were nothing but top notch. The one I pulled from our ML350 when we bought it looked exactly like yours. It was flimsy and the filter looked like absolute junk. Immediately replaced it with the Mann filter and I am sure the engine is happy.
 
#21 ·
In defence of that "Chinese" filter, it does not look like it collapsed. It just looks damaged/mangled. Looking into the wide open pleat you see a straight line at the bottom. If collapsed it would not be straight.....

I'd look into if Mobil has the extended life version, denoted by a part # ending in "A". If one wanted to try with that I wouldn't be worried because they are spec'd for 20k miles with the Annual Protection oil. (Just wonder if they have the appropriate weight and 229.5 approval.)
 
#22 ·
It definitely collapsed, if you looked into the center it was evident it imploded.
The supporting plastic cage was cracked just under the point where the filter media was most collapsed.

But it collapsed from implosion (suction of oil pump), not external crushing.
 
#23 ·
My experience with the cheap filter I pulled was that unlike the proper Mann fleece filters these have zero support and they are literally paper thin, so with any amount of pressure they just fold in due to the poor quality. I can't see it would be too difficult that towards the end of the filters life it just collapses from the oil and pressure.

Another reason everyone should change their own oil because they are rampantly used at cheap oil change stations. Engines today are robust enough to handle it, but just because you can Doesn't mean you should.
 
#24 ·
Here are pics of a M103 Mann filter I purchased earlier this year, so it should be indicative of the current quality. Says "Made In Germany" and doesn't feel cheap in my hands, but interested if anything can be gathered from the photos.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

FYI, those are three different pic links. Unfortunately there doesn't seem a way to keep Imgur from having its way with them.
 
#26 ·
I think the subject at hand is a little broader than that, but that the cartridge filter has been the main item of discussion.

The current quality of Mann filters has been called into question, and I'm interested in a more experienced opinion than my own.
 
#32 ·
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