Peacekeeper6

This happened a month or two ago and thought I'd share.

Went to O"Reilly's and bought an oil filter, the WIX 51036. There were filters made in the USA and Mexico, so I decided the one made in America was the safer bet.

My rig is a 1/2-ton Silverado with the popular small block 350 c.i./5.7L V-8 engine.

(I've always changed the oil and oil filter myself on ALL the vehicles I have owned over the years, so I'm not exactly a beginner, lol)

After I cleaned up my tools and put away the drain pans, I always make it a point to take it out on a quick test drive. I started it up, shifted to Reverse and slowly backed out of my garage, all the while looking at my gauges. I noticed that the oil pressure gauge was on the low side, but I kind of expected that (I don't prefill the oil filter prior to installing it), and I was waiting for the pressure to build up.

I waited about 30 seconds for the pressure to build up, but it wasn't happening. I lifted my head and looked into my garage, only to see a HUGE pool of Pennzoil High Mileage 10W-30 , with a trail leading up to my truck.

I looked at the coolant temperature which was still registered in the normal range, and quickly shut off the engine. I inspected the bottom of my truck and saw a leak coming from the filter area (it HAD to be, since I remember torquing down the oil pan drain bolt).

Went to NAPA the next day and purchased another filter. I explained to the associate there what had happened, and he told me that sometimes, this sort of thing happens. Companies get careless about labeling things, and next thing you know, you got an Exxon Valdez-size oil catastrophe in your garage or driveway. I ended up buying a NAPA Gold filter 1036.

This is the first time something like this has ever happened to me. From now on, I'm going to make sure to look underneath the vehicle immediately after spinning the engine instead of relying on the oil pressure gauge to ensure there are no leaks whatsoever.

Live and learn, right ??

mountainmanjoe

I ALWAYS do a leak check.
I've been using NAPA filters too.

jjrbus

Had a fuel filter do not remember the brand, installed and checked did not leak. Drove to a gas station and smell gas. Checking showed that the depth of threads in filter would not let the fitting on fuel line seal in the filter. Manufactures not maintaining their machines causing out or spec products, All kinds of crap going on and I no longer buy parts on Amazon or Ebay unless from a know dealer. Look up counterfeit auto parts!

Just bought a camber kit from NAPA cheap looking crap, cams/disc's did not fit too large to fit in bracket. Not the Whofungpoo kit the $60 one.

Rednucleus

Maybe the same guys making/installing door plugs for Boeing??

JT58.Bronc66

I also always check under the vehicle after I start it up and also after it sets overnight after an oil change- just to be sure. I had a few leak oil from the drain plug- bad crush washer- but not from the oil filter so far.

Z15

If you did not know, NAPA Gold oil filters are WIX in NAPA colors. No difference in the gold that the WIX. Just look at the part number, they drop the first digit of the same WIX filter.

BTW, lots of counterfeit filters out there....

CowboyRodeo

Made in America doesn't mean what it use to, sadly.

Rockrz

That's definitely NOT a good idea.
You never want your engine to run for those few seconds with no oil pressure.

So the story seems incomplete... did you forget to remove the gasket from the old filter and spun the new filter on top causing the leak due to 2 gaskets?

Or, we the filter actually the wrong one, which could have been avoided by visually comparing the new filter to the old filter. Just curious as to what actually caused the leak.

Peacekeeper6

Sorry for the delay.

Whenever I install the new filter, I ALWAYS make sure the old gasket is stuck to the old filter. I usually wipe the mating surface of the oil filter housing prior to spinning the new filter on to ensure a smooth, clean contact.

When I compared the old filter to the new one, they had the same outside dimensions. I then looked at the holes on the bottom: the old one had 6 (I think) ROUND holes, the new one had 8 (I think) OVAL holes. I say "I think" because I don't rightly remember, but I DO know that they did NOT have the same number of holes.

I suspect that the mating surfaces of the "defective" filter and the oil filter housing didn't exactly match up causing the leak.

BTW, I don't prefill the filter because on my 5.7L, the filter sits sideways.

Rockrz

Running 2 gaskets like this will make it leak.

You should always remove the old gasket and use just the gasket on the new filter.


I have a vehicle that has a horizontal oil filter and I'm able top fill it half way full of oil and very little if any comes out when I screw the filter on... so I get oil pressure much faster than if the filter were totally empty