Are all Oil Filters the same?Like most everything, when buying an oil filter you get
what you pay for. Size and thickness of filter media will determine what size and how much
contaminates can be held before the filter is restricted enough that oil
has to be bypassed and non filtered oil sent through the engine. Poor quality filter media and seams can allow contaminates to eventually get through and back into the engine. Higher quality materials used in the
anti-drain back valve will keep more of the oil from draining out of the
filter overnight, allowing oil to reach the engine on startup.
It is easy to skimp on some or all of these items and produce a "bargain" oil filter. Excessive engine wear may be the end result. In 1923, American inventors Ernest Sweetland and George H. Greenhalgh devised the first automotive oil filter and called it the Purolator, short for "pure oil later". Before this oil had to be changed very frequently to keep the contaminated oil from ruining the engine. |
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