Interesting oil filter problem...

[daves87rs]

I'm usually right on with most of my stuff, but even this kinda surprised me...which begs me to ask the Question:

How many do you guys use a Delco oil filter?

I'm usually a Delco man myself, but within these last few rounds of oil changes, the filter themselves don't seem to last very long any more.....

I was wondering if anybody knew if they changed em' or something..

Granted my wife does a good amount of city driving, but I expected the Mobil 1 inside to be a heck of a lot cleaner after 3k on the oil...

My buddy used a Pululator (sp, I know) One filter, does almost the same amount of driving after 3k, but his oil (the same oil)

looks much, much better..

My wagon got a oil change at the local car care center (too cold to change it myself), and they slapped on a Napa filter instead of my usual delco one.

Even the oil in the wagon (dino), looks much better after a bit over 2k on it then it noramlly does....

I'm starting to think GM cheaped out recently of these filters or something to it...What to you gyus think?

I;m planning to a switch of fliters on her car (pululator (sp!) One, Wix, maybe K&N) to see what happens...

[Oracle of Delphi]

I'm usually right on with most of my stuff, but even this kinda surprised me...which begs me to ask the Question:

How many do you guys use a Delco oil filter?

I'm usually a Delco man myself, but within these last few rounds of oil changes, the filter themselves don't seem to last very long any more.....

I was wondering if anybody knew if they changed em' or something..

Granted my wife does a good amount of city driving, but I expected the Mobil 1 inside to be a heck of a lot cleaner after 3k on the oil...

My buddy used a Pululator (sp, I know) One filter, does almost the same amount of driving after 3k, but his oil (the same oil)

looks much, much better..

My wagon got a oil change at the local car care center (too cold to change it myself), and they slapped on a Napa filter instead of my usual delco one.

Even the oil in the wagon (dino), looks much better after a bit over 2k on it then it noramlly does....

I'm starting to think GM cheaped out recently of these filters or something to it...What to you gyus think?

I;m planning to a switch of fliters on her car (pululator (sp!) One, Wix, maybe K&N) to see what happens...

Purolator! :rotflmao:

[balthazar]

WIX makes NAPA's filters, both have excellent reps.

Purolator has always had a cheapie image in my mind- whether P-Ones are any good I don't know- I never use Purolator.

Fram used to be good years ago, but they were bought out and cheapened to the point of being outright junk.

I've not seen any feedback on K&N.

I believe numerous brand oil filters today are in fact made by other companies, making going by brand name alone 'shopping with one eye closed and the other squinted'.

I've used AC Delco filters on my older cars, but since daily driving a Ford from '94-'06, I'd been using Motorcraft or NAPA. '04 DuraMax is currently running a NAPA/WIX.

AC Delco has discontinued a huge number of vintage-application filters recently... whether contraction in the filter market has required outsourcing of existing filters, I don't know. It would be worth an investigation...

[daves87rs]

Purolator! :rotflmao:

Why? That bad?

[daves87rs]

WIX makes NAPA's filters, both have excellent reps.

Purolator has always had a cheapie image in my mind- whether P-Ones are any good I don't know- I never use Purolator.

Fram used to be good years ago, but they were bought out and cheapened to the point of being outright junk.

I've not seen any feedback on K&N.

I believe numerous brand oil filters today are in fact made by other companies, making going by brand name alone 'shopping with one eye closed and the other squinted'.

I've used AC Delco filters on my older cars, but since daily driving a Ford from '94-'06, I'd been using Motorcraft or NAPA. '04 DuraMax is currently running a NAPA/WIX.

AC Delco has discontinued a huge number of vintage-application filters recently... whether contraction in the filter market has required outsourcing of existing filters, I don't know. It would be worth an investigation...

It's interesting...I thought Purolator was better than that......

I won't touch Fram with a ten foot pole...I tried it once in the wagon...the oil looked pretty bad after about 1k....

Ditto with the old Neon we had...I won't dare even try the tough guard ones....

K&N has a good rep with the tuner crowd-they do work very well...but they start over 10 bucks- I'd have to think about it..

[pow]

Purolator! :rotflmao:

The L43016, which I use on the Passat, is made in Germany by Mann. It appears to be high quality and usually retails for $13, though I buy them in bulk whenever Pep Boys has their 99-cent Purolator coupons.

The L25247 (paper filter for BMW) used to be made by Hengst in Germany, but they've since been replaced by cheapo ones from China.

[76ChevyTrucker]

Wix not only supplies NAPA's filters, but also CarQuest's filters. K&N is too expensive for a bloody oil filter unless you're racing and need to be able to saftey wire the filter in place. I'd got with a Wix fitler, Purolator is all right, but I wouldn't go really happy with them.

[daves87rs]

Wix not only supplies NAPA's filters, but also CarQuest's filters. K&N is too expensive for a bloody oil filter unless you're racing and need to be able to saftey wire the filter in place. I'd got with a Wix fitler, Purolator is all right, but I wouldn't go really happy with them.

I'd agree with the K&N...I just can't justify a 10 buck + oil filter in a Cavalier.....

I want something that has the best filter in it..even if I have to pay a few extra bucks for it.

Do you think the paper oil filters ( the one you stick in the the ecotec) by Wix would still be better than the others?

I'm already looking at a can oil filter (usual) by Wix for the Wagon...

[76ChevyTrucker]

I know that the CarQuest number for the 2.2L DOHC EcoTech engine (such as the one in the wife's Cobalt) is a number 84082, as far as the actual Wix number, I'm not sure, but most of the time, the last three digits of a Wix filter and ours are the same. I like the filters that I put into the Cobalt and my Impala, they keep the oil relatively clean for the mileage put on the vehicles, and they'll come with the necessary gaskets needed to do the complete job.

[Sixty8panther]

the dirtier the fliter the MORE dirt it is catching... therefore the BETTER it is working.

[daves87rs]

I know that the CarQuest number for the 2.2L DOHC EcoTech engine (such as the one in the wife's Cobalt) is a number 84082, as far as the actual Wix number, I'm not sure, but most of the time, the last three digits of a Wix filter and ours are the same. I like the filters that I put into the Cobalt and my Impala, they keep the oil relatively clean for the mileage put on the vehicles, and they'll come with the necessary gaskets needed to do the complete job.

Yep, the filter should be the same as the one in my wife's 2.2 Eco ( 03 Cav)...I'm pretty sure the Balt's oil filter is one of those "inside" filters...

How clean does your Balt' oil after 3k-pretty good?

Her Eco does a good bit of city driving, but my Mobil 1 should not look so piss poor after just 3k miles...

Even my wagon's oil is doing better.....

[daves87rs]

the dirtier the fliter the MORE dirt it is catching... therefore the BETTER it is working.

Then it's not working as well in her car...I don't think I've seen nastier Mobil one...

I need a better working one!

[76ChevyTrucker]

After 3k on the Cobalt, the oil still looks relatively clean. Sure, its darker than it was when it came out of the bottle, but it isn't "sludge black". And Sly is right, the dirtier the oil coming out of the filter when you change it, the overall cleaner the oil running through the engine is. Although by the same token, the dirtier the oil is coming out of the filter, the more restrictive the filter will be when it comes to passing more oil out through it as time goes on.

[daves87rs]

How long have you been running Mobil 1? If you recently switched over, the first few oil changes are going to be a darker than usual.

In her car, I put Mobil 1 in her Cav after the engine broke in...right at the 12k mark.

Her car has 33k on it now...and it's due for an oil change within the next 500 miles or so.

I sometimes wish I could let the oil stay longer (which it could), but I don't trust oil filters past 3k....

The first few were a bit darker, though the Eco still runs smooth and almost new with this oil in there. You can tell the difference.

THough Mobil offers extra protection (which is important for her car), there is no excuse for it to be dark.....I won't say sludge

dark, but dark enough for me...it looks like dino oil stretched to the limit....

[daves87rs]

After 3k on the Cobalt, the oil still looks relatively clean. Sure, its darker than it was when it came out of the bottle, but it isn't "sludge black". And Sly is right, the dirtier the oil coming out of the filter when you change it, the overall cleaner the oil running through the engine is. Although by the same token, the dirtier the oil is coming out of the filter, the more restrictive the filter will be when it comes to passing more oil out through it as time goes on.

Yep, agree with Sly too...

And that's my worry...that the filter isn't doing a good job. Granted the mobil is giving extra protection- but it is not going to help much if the filter isn't that great...

I was already wondering about it....and then the Napa filter change on the wagon really opened my eyes on just how different this really was...

One thing I know for sure-I will be trying a different oil filter for her car...and I think air filter too.....

[76ChevyTrucker]

Well, one thing to say, synthetic oil is "cleaner" than regular oil, so there is a good chance that Mobil 1 is doing a better job of cleaning the engine and you're still getting some deposits that are being cleaned out from the 12,000 miles of running dino juice.

[daves87rs]

Well, one thing to say, synthetic oil is "cleaner" than regular oil, so there is a good chance that Mobil 1 is doing a better job of cleaning the engine and you're still getting some deposits that are being cleaned out from the 12,000 miles of running dino juice.

Well, that could be true-though it has been on Mobil 1 for over 20k miles now....I didn't think of it that way.

It makes me glad that I have this oil in there......

[daves87rs]

Update:

I'm going with Wix filters..I got an oil filter for each.

Also got a Wix fuel filter for her Cavalier. ( I dare not want another Fram one)

I think I'm even going to try their air filters, as I plan to go back and pick up a little more stuff...

Hopefully the few bucks over the Delco will be well worth it....

[76ChevyTrucker]

I'll put it this way, at CQ we only sell two brands of filters, K&N and Wix (albeit in a CarQuest box) and we don't have anyone coming back and complaning.

[daves87rs]

I'll put it this way, at CQ we only sell two brands of filters, K&N and Wix (albeit in a CarQuest box) and we don't have anyone coming back and complaning.

That's a good thing. Her car should get an oil change this week, and I'm eager to see how it does.

I just replaced the fuel filter, and the air filter is next.

Hopefully it will bring back the great gas milage it had before. (though I should see the benefit of the new fuel filter soon)