ShadowGray19

Bought a lot of cars and trucks including plenty of GM examples from 1969 to 2019 (90 to be exact). Never had any really serious problems with any of them (including 1964 and 1977 Vettes) except my third Corvette (new 1984). Was unequivocally the worst POS vehicle I have ever owned. I swore that I would never buy another Corvette. Well 31 years later, in a moment of weakness, I fell in love with a 2015 Stingray when I was killing time at a Chevrolet dealer. Glad I did. On my second C7 with my 2019. Still don't plan to buy any more Fram filters I will stick with OEM for all my vehicles. May not be perfect but can't go wrong.

Dave

Patman

Actually, you could go wrong. The OEM AC Delco oil filter in Car and Driver's long term test 2014 Corvette failed and killed the engine. So that's just one more reason I don't trust AC Delco oil filters. They just aren't very well constructed, and the latest redesign with the ecore design plastic cage inside them makes them even less quality. If you don't like Fram, the Wix/NAPA Gold filters cost the same or less than OEM but are of much higher quality, using a more efficient synthetic blended media. I've never heard of a single one of them failing.

ShadowGray19

Do you have the link to the article that attributed the engine failure to the filter? Are there any other examples of AC Delco filter failures that you can provide? I have been using mostly OEM filters in my vehicles for 50 years (90 cars and trucks including lots of GM examples) and never had a failure of any kind. Seems like GM would be replacing a lot of engines if AC Delco filters were that bad.

Patman

https://www.torquenews.com/106/car-d...me-more-common

Also, here is an AC Delco filter cut out that had torn media:

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...pics/4709081/1

JerryU

That one time failure can happen with any filter! In fact my logic in using the OEM AC Owner's Manual recommended filters started because I used a Fram filter on my C6! Described in the Sidebar below. As I recall you expect >150,000 miles from your C7! Great, and respect your desire to use the best oil and filter to meet that goal..

I have been using Mobil 1 oil from when it was a “. true synthetic” in 1974! (Recommended by the Datsun Area Service Manager to solve a problem with the large Hitachi SU variable venture carb dash-pots he called "porpoising" in my new 260Z, which it did as the OEM dash-pot oil was thinning out when it got warm. Reading about the high temp properties I also put in my other car a modified Corvair (headers, 14 wide tires/wheels etc) where the oil reached over 300F when "driving in anger!" Worked there as well, no more oil scum in the oil intake pipe!)

That "true synthetic" changed in ~2000 when Mobil lost a suit to Castrol who was using the word “synthetic’” for a “more highly refined dino oil." Since that conventional oil (just more "highly refined") cost half as much to produce than the synthetic molecules Mobil and others had been using they chaged Mobil 1. In fact all manufacturers of "true synthetic" oil had to switch for economic reasons! Prices did come down about 50%! (Good article on the subject by by Pat Bedard in Car & Driver: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...antics-column/ )

I have used whatever filter as I don’t expect any car I own to get much past 50,000 miles before I sell it! Never had a problem.

SIDEBAR
Made a PDF on "How To change oil for a C6." My plasma cutting Product Manager also had a C6 and when he saw the pic I posted on the Forum that showed the Fram filter he came into my office and laughed. He said didn’t you see the Forum where Fram filter failed? I looked, and sure enough there was a Thread on the subject. (Just searched and there is a 2007 post entitled, “Beware Fram Oil Filters!”)

On the next oil change I switched to an AC OEM filter, took a pic and changed my How To PDF! Brought a print of the post into his office. Told him even though he was only a EEE (that is an EE with a Masters degree) I took his advice!

Again, my logic is IF on the very low probability a filter causes an engine failure while in warrant, GM would no doubt cover the engine failure. (That assumes it’s a genuine AC filter not a cheap copy of one made in China you can get from eBay or even Amazon!) I buy from a reliable source, like Walmart and keep receipts. If that fails and it’s counterfeit Walmart can pay for the engine!

I’m sure “Oh-So-Peachy” brand filter will supply a new filter if it fails. But lots of luck getting them to pay for an engine!

Don’t get me wrong, when the warranty is up I’ll use a Fram, etc. if the AC cost much more. Watching those filters being made at WIX in Dillion SC that go buy in a burr and brand labels switching automatically, there is always a small probability of a failure.

ShadowGray19

Thanks for posting the Car and Driver article. I had not seen it before. It looks like the incident was isolated as I have seen nothing on a similar issue in the Corvette forums or other publications about any GM cars. The article did acknowledge that the situation involved "rare problematic filters." Do you have any other examples of AC Delco Filter failures in Corvettes or any other GM cars? I recall seeing many examples of Fram filter defects and failures over the years on the net.

I agree with Jerry U's post that a "one time failure can happen with any filter." For that matter, failures can and do occur with any automotive components even on cars with the best reliability ratings. .

Jerry U also mentions buying filters from a reliable source as a good idea. A lot of car owner's try to save a couple of bucks buying filters from the cheapest source they can find. The risk of getting a counterfeit filter is about zero if you buy from the dealership. That is what I do in most cases. However, I did get 5 of the older version of the PF-64 (12640445) from my local Walmart recently. I also have several of the new version from the dealer. Have not decided yet to see which one I use at the 1,000 mile oil change. I want to see the number on the one that came from the factory first.

Patman

That's why buying oil filters in bulk from eBay or Amazon is not a good idea, you never know what you're getting from those anonymous sources and it's just not worth the risk to save a few bucks. And the OEM filters are the ones that counterfeiters copy the most too.

No matter what filter you choose to run, always buy it from a reputable source.

JerryU

^^^
The Amazon labeled AA batteries I bought are fine but the cheap Eveready I bought on Amazon, that "look genuine" leak with little use. In fact one was leaking in the box after 6 months! Can't be sure where whoever is selling whatever on Amazon (or eBay) gets them from. Assume Amazon labeled at least has some QA check.

Recall we bought manganese ore from Africa for welding fluxes and our Eveready battery division would pick boats with low impurities for their alkaline batteries. When they identified excess "low impurity ore," we would buy a "boat load" that could last 2 years! But certain impurities could not be tolerated in the welding fluxes! Manganese oxide is a main ingredient in dry-cell batteries. Impurities in batteries create internal cells that not only wear them out but can cause corrosion!

orca1946

HELP! I'm drowning in filter overload!