counterfeit filter?

my two in boxes look fine, but thanks for heads up to check.

Mine both say "product of USA" on the label with the GM part number.

 

Keen eye, thanks for sharing, that does seem like pretty shoddy workmanship. Although I feel there's a good probability that the filter still would have sealed up, it's still good to know and keep an eye on crap like that. I've never really watched for that but believe I would have seen something that lopsided.

Hopefully GM will get the message and lean on their supplier to do better.

 

This one was made in Mexico, the old one was made in the USA.
PF 2232

This is the first oil change in about 14 months / 5500 miles. So sometime in the last year or so manufacturing has gone to Mexico.

I've never seen this in a filter before and I've handled a lot of filters in the past 35 years.

It may have sealed but it wasn't worth it to find out the hard way. A small amount of compression with a finger and the o ring was flush with the canister.

 

Opt for the Mobil 1 filter for a few bucks more.

I guess you never saw my photo of a cut open Mobil 1 filter.

Consumer oil filters are the worst things ever made..... because the filter makers know that no one EVER looks inside, or cares.

They buy them, because the box looks pretty.

 

Fuck.
I always preferred Baldwin Filters.
Now I need to buy a Baldwin and screw it on.

I'll cut that mobil filter open just to see what is going on.

Fuck fuck fuck

 

The glue sploodge all over the outside will likely never make it thru the pleats. I wouldn't panic, I just wanted you to be aware. After I brought this to Champion Labs attention, they destroyed 3 RUNS of these filters..... Hundreds of pieces.

I would be shocked if it happened again......

This is from 5 years ago......

 

This is typical of every Baldwin filter I've ever cut open. It's perfect. They are a professional company, who sell to professionals.

 

At 98.7% efficiency, they are rated at 25 microns. About as good as a cellulose filter media can perform. Certainly acceptable, but there are better synthetic medias out there. I think the build quality outweighs a 5 micron lack in filtration.

 

You had me concerned Bob.

I used Baldwin filters when I was managing a fleet of offroad equipment. Never had a problem. We would always cut open the engine oil and hydraulic oil filters as part of the service interval along with oil sampling.
We occasionally used Wix or Donaldson filters. But the Cats were the best made filters I have ever seen.
Baldwin's customer support and resources were top notch as well. Their filter finder and cross-reference guides were very useful tools. I once had a technical question regarding a Fleetguard fuel filter spec compared to a Baldwin. The support guy said that he would run a standardized test between the two and share the results. Sure enough a few days later i had the results from that test.

 

I just ordered two Baldwin filters. Thanks guys

 

Oil change on the LBZ. Need an oil filter. Go to Autozone. Fram? Nah, STP? Pass, Store Brand? Nope, AC Delco? Can't go wrong, right?

Get home (half mile away) . Open box, inspect filter. O-ring appears warped. Measure o-ring, not warped. Measure groove that o ring sits in. 80-90 thousandths deeper on one side compared to the other. O-ring sits so low I think the filter housing will make contact before the o-ring seals when tightened and leak.
Go back to Autozone, get replacement AC Delco filter. Examine it at store. Has the same problem.
Opt for the Mobil 1 filter for a few bucks more. On the plus side it's made in the US. And apparently made right.

Low side o-ring



View attachment 1132646 View attachment 1132647 high side o ring

I always preferred the OEM filters. I started using the WIX filters for my 2022 Duramax 403 CI, OIL Filter (WL10454). WIX was founded in 1939 in Gastonia, North Carolina. The filters appear to be made in the USA. Build quality looks top-notch. WIX also has an app for selecting filters.

Good day.

 

I would chuck that AC Delco and just go buy another one but that is me. Honestly I probably wouldn't even have noticed and screwed it on anyway...

 

Another essential test of a new filter is to shake the filter near your ear to determine if there is anything rattling inside the filter. I have purchased oil filters in the past that failed that test. I don't know what exactly was rattling in there, but I sure as HE** wasn't going to install it on my vehicle.

 

Donaldson make a good filter (probably a WIX lol) and I've also used CAT.

Zero Issues....


2004 LB7

 

Wise decision, don't think it would have sealed!

 

Baldwin also makes a lot of the Cat filters for Cat in the U.S., just a different paint color. Saw this in a Cat vs Baldwin video and the guy was in the Baldwin factory holding both a yellow Cat (1R- 0750) and a red Baldwin filter (7633) and exclaiming that they were the same filter. AFSI makes most of the Cat filters in Europe and Cat has top notch quality control..

 

Saw this in a Cat vs Baldwin video and the guy was in the Baldwin factory holding both a yellow Cat (1R- 0750) and a red Baldwin filter (7633) and exclaiming that they were the same filter.

 

Just because they were built in the same building, does not mean they were built to the same spec. He should have cut both of those open, to prove his point.

 

That's an interesting video.
Several years ago 10-15? Cat started making their filters using cast head pieces for oil and fuel filters rather than the stamped and machined that Baldwin and others produce. The idea being the machined head pieces could contain metal shavings and cast pieces eliminated that possibility.

Also Cat hydraulic and air filters look very different from their Baldwin counterparts.

But I can also see that in that video, those filters looked identical but with different colored paint. Maybe it's an Australian thing.

 

In the video, he says they are made in Nebraska ..........