offroadnutz

4 months ago I bought an oil and filter combo from Autozone. It was a special they were running where you buy 5 quarts of synthetic oil and get a free STP oil filter. I usually do not use STP filters because of a bad experience with one a couple years ago but since it was free I decided to go ahead.
Today I changed my oil again on my 7MGE in my '85 and to my surprise there was no oil in the filter.


It looks like it did the day I put it on.
This is the very reason I was reluctant to use an STP filter in the first place because I had the same problem a couple years back on my wife's Saturn.

Has anyone else had this problem with STP oil filters?

rworegon

Are you sure it's not a problem with the engine? Or, the oil just drained out while it was sitting. I'd run a new filter for a few minutes and then pull it to see if it has oil in it. Cut the STP filter open and see if the filter media has y oil on it.

Punchy

The only issues I have run into with STP OF is the O-ring is hard and does not hold a seal well after a time of heat soaking.
Almost everyone I have put on leaks or is hardly tight or already loose.

Odin

Soooo, when was the last time anyone got something GOOD for free from a business??

I wouldn't put an STP or SuperTech oil filter on anything I own no matter how cheap they are! I don't care much for the WHOLE Fram line either. I'd run damn near anything but those three.

Over the course of several years I've seen too many bad pictures and posts on several different car forums about those three brands. I've also seen a few not so good things from them in real life. Mostly leaking around the gasket and a few that caused oil pressure problems from being detached inside. As a result I won't go anywhere near those three except to remove them. I know there are examples of others having problems too but the good to bad ratio isn't remotely close once you do your research.



The most commonly used oil filter on bobistheoilguy.com is WIX and other commonly used filters on there are:
NAPA Gold - Rumored to be a WIX filter
CARQUEST Premium (blue label) - Rumored to be a WIX filter
Mobile1 filters
Purolator standard and PureOne models
(It has been noted by a few that Purolator filters have dropped in quality the last few years)

If you do some looking around you'll also find the standard Toyota filter isn't put down by a whole lot of people either. It is said that the old Toyota filter was better with better filtering media but is only available if ordered from Japan. It certainly costs more money.

The filter WIX specifies for the 2.4L is a short thing so I won't use it, instead I went with the Toyota filter. I'd imagine if you have the V6 you'd be fine with just about any of those filters since the V6 filters are bigger from the start.

Bottom line is don't take chances on your engine with a free or cheap oil filter.
The cost of a decent filter is a lot less than the cost of a rebuild