OIL FILTER FAILURE

C

computer-rooter

New member
Greetings all! I haven't posted in a while, but I thought this was worthwhile to bring to everyone's attention. I'm running a Honda 90 on my C-Dory. Last month I was putting along when my oil alarm went off. After a little investigation, I discovered oil exiting somewhere under pressure. The engine was too fouled and dripping with the stuff to determine the source (it was a nasty, rainy day), but it was flowing thick and fast enouigh that I knew it was time to drop the kicker and troll for the beach.

Now, a month later, I just got back from troubleshooting the problem. It seems that the NAPA GOLD 1334 oil filter parted company with it's own base, at the crimp where the bottom meets the cap. The seam split for about an inch. This unit had about 20 hours or less on it. The guys at the NAPA store were good about exchanging it, and wanted to keep the carcass to send along to to the mfgr.

So I'm interested in whether or not this has happened to others, and how you all feel about NAPA filters in general. Are they suitable for marine applications?
 
Rooter....same thing happens on Honda cars.... They have pretty high pressure at the filter...we had several filter failures at the shop I worked at and as a result only used Honda filters after that....for the small difference in price I would stick with Honda filters...

Joel
SEA3PO
 
Although I'm fairly certain that this will instigate a sizable response from users who will rail at the hazards of using distributor-branded components originating Lord-knows where, probably the best lesson is the reminder that it's still worth the effort to pop the hood and check around the engine before every launching. Did you see early evidence of impending failure?

Paul Priest
Sequim
 
dogon dory":13jwadix said:
computer-rooter":13jwadix said:
... I discovered oil exiting somewhere under pressure. The engine was too fouled and dripping with the stuff to determine the source (it was a nasty, rainy day), but it was flowing thick and fast ...
Click to expand...
It's a good thing you activated your emergency response team and got absorbant pads and floating boom deployed in time. If the CG would have happened by and seen a shean on the water, that could have been expensive :wink
Click to expand...

Oh - yeah. Right. I forgot to mention that part. :smilep

And no, there was no indication of the failure. I hadn't used the boat in a few weeks before that trip, so I'd popped the cowl, sprayed some grease on the bell cranks, and checked the oil. It was a touch below full, but not by more than a cup. The engine box looked dry and normal. I was taking a woman for a scenic, so I was being consiencious.
 
SEA3PO":3he9ocqo said:
Rooter....same thing happens on Honda cars.... They have pretty high pressure at the filter...we had several filter failures at the shop I worked at and as a result only used Honda filters after that....for the small difference in price I would stick with Honda filters...

Joel
SEA3PO
Click to expand...

Up here in Alaska that "small difference in price" could be priceless. Nothing more puckery feeling than a stiff wind and high chop against a 9.9hp Nissan kicker when you're dodging ice!

I'm at the very least adding a zip-loc-baggied spare oil filter to the oil spill response gear.

Got a part # for the proper filter for an '01 honda 90?
 
That prompts another question - when you turn off the Honda 90 does the oil drain down low enough to permit you to change a filter without losing more than just the oil in the filter?

Paul Priest
Sequim
 
The dipstick is below filter level and of course the high mark is a ways down the stick, so I assume the oil level is below the filter. I generally drain the oil before pulling the filter though, so I can't say for sure.
 
I've been changing my own oil in my Honda automobiles for years and have used mostly Fram filters. Never had a problem with one yet. You always need to make sure that the rubber gasket comes off with the old filter, or you could have bad problems.
 
computer-rooter":wg3elzj6 said:
Greetings all! I haven't posted in a while, but I thought this was worthwhile to bring to everyone's attention. I'm running a Honda 90 on my C-Dory. Last month I was putting along when my oil alarm went off. After a little investigation, I discovered oil exiting somewhere under pressure. The engine was too fouled and dripping with the stuff to determine the source (it was a nasty, rainy day), but it was flowing thick and fast enouigh that I knew it was time to drop the kicker and troll for the beach.

Now, a month later, I just got back from troubleshooting the problem. It seems that the NAPA GOLD 1334 oil filter parted company with it's own base, at the crimp where the bottom meets the cap. The seam split for about an inch. This unit had about 20 hours or less on it. The guys at the NAPA store were good about exchanging it, and wanted to keep the carcass to send along to to the mfgr.

So I'm interested in whether or not this has happened to others, and how you all feel about NAPA filters in general. Are they suitable for marine applications?
Click to expand...


NAPA filters are made by Wix. Wix is a top of the line filter mfg.
That particular filter must have been made after lunch on a friday :wink: :mrgreen: :beer
 
I had a Honda Accord blow the filter shortly after a Honda dealer oil change so it can happen -- name brand or not. Pain in the rear for sure.

Also had helicopter oil and hydraulic systems bleed to death after service too -- of course components were built by lowest bidders 8>))

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV
 
The failure was a ruptured case, not the seal that ruptured on the Honda cars.... we knew it would cause a law suit if a customer had a failure and lost an engine...... so we decided on factory parts especially on import cars.... I agree, Napa is excellent quality, as is Fram and Wix...
But for my Yamaha's I will buy Yamaha filters...

Joel
SEA3PO
 
I do buy the engine manufactuer's filters (especially when under warantee)--so that if there is a failure, I can at least show that I had the "proper" filter--even though the after market might be identical....
 
I used to work in the lubrication industry a few years ago as I ran a lube shop. In one of the trainings that I went to the Pennzoil presenter stated that there are only two or three oil filter producers in the US and that they for the most part, are all the same. They just paint them differently and put a sticker on them to make them look different. I was actually pretty shocked and even a little devastated. Buy whatever you want mind you, but you are not necessarily getting a superior product by spending more money for the one that says Honda on it.
 
T.R. Bauer is right. For instance Pennzol is a refinery, right? I now look at the label to see where it's made. I know USA isn't perfect, but if it says Mexico, Canada, or Aisa, I go looking for another one. And I've never heard or experienced a blown oil filter. I guess luck still beats skill. On the sailboat diesel, I could only get Fram from Israel. The Universal distributor just painted over the Fram filter.

Boris
 
journey on":2eop8b2m said:
I've never heard or experienced a blown oil filter.
Boris
Click to expand...

I was a mechanic and shop manager in the 70s and early 80s. I've never seen a seam split like this on an oil filter either. I've seen mis-installed filters (wrong part, gasket not lubed, old gasket stuck to filter block and not removed, spun up too tight, not tightened enough, gasket rolled out of place) fail, and I've seen failure from battle damage (hi-centering and road debris hits) but never a structural failure. I've posted in another forum, and it's agreed that this is a freak failure.
 
I once found an oil filter(major brand) that had what looked like a loose flake of paint near the head seam. It turned out to be a hole in the filter with the flake being the steel from the hole!

I am luck that I found it prior to installation. It's a good idea to closely inspect any filter before its installed.

One in a million is good odds unless it happens to you, then the failure is 100%.
 
We had several failures in the shop where I worked, both were on Honda cars.... ruptured cases... the cases that came from Honda are thicker metal than some of the aftermarket cases.... of course any filter can blow a seal if it is not installed properly, or if the old seal sticks to the block and the mechanic does not pay attention...

I will just stick with factory filters.... knowing there is a difference is enough to convince me... most will probably work fine... but with my luck if something is going to happen.....it will happen to me.

Joel
SEA3PO
 
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