Hey everyone.

I was changing my oil on Thursday-- drained the oil out and reached through the wheel well trying to get to the filter. I noticed that there was some damage on the back side (top) of the filter once i reached in there. It felt like a huge dent. It was SUPER hard to get out. My shoulder and arm are ultra sore still and it took me about an hour just to work it loose since there's simply no way for me to get a wrench in there.

I've attached a picture of the damage, and I'm curious as to what you guys think could have caused it. I though rock at first, but then realized that 1) I can barely get my hand in there, there's really no way for a rock to get in there with enough velocity to cause this kind of damage and 2) it was on the top of the filter where there is really no room for anything to hit.

Thanks!

 

wow, thats some denting! Did you install it last time?

 

Did someone put it on with a wrench? I've seen a wrench crush the side like that. I doesn't take much to dent one, BTW Fram sucks Try a Napa Gold next time.

 

Yeah I put it in, and I know that Fram sucks. I typically avoid them, except for when I did the last change I was in a bit of a pinch and all they had was Fram where I was.

Nobody's touched it except for me, and I didn't use a wrench.

Should I be concerned?

 

i wonder what could have caused that...but fluke things have happened before, so I wouldn't worry about it unless it happens again.

 

I see the damage its cause its a fram . Which engine do you have? 22re or 3vze? I have seen em crushed by strap wrenches, and managed that once myself trying to remove the filter from my explorer. I always seem to get disoriented when laying under my truck, and have to think carefully to figure out which way to turn things lol

edit: is that a glove on your hand?

 

Did you throw a drive belt maybe?

 

Go offroadin alot? Maybe a big rock got thrown up in there?

 

Did you purposely bash it against a rock, then post pics here to see what kind of replies you'd get?

 

haha yes this is some sick test you came up with

 

Maybe a valve in the filter failed resulting in a vacuum (from pump) which would cause what you see as a dent.
Upon further inspection, it looks like it was overtightened.

 

Hard to get off, dented ......yea tighten it little too much on last change.. a filter is a filter IMO, ive used fram and every other name brand out there,, Its what ever makes YOU feel like its good , is what counts..

 

Could also be a tree branch/limb if you had been off road. I had a pine branch about three inches in diameter come through the floorboard of my old Dodge when I was driving down a fire break. Seems the logging company had piled a bunch on the trail & you couldn't see them coming from one direction because of a slight bend & incline in the trail; the danged thing hit me in the inside of my right thigh right where your femoral artery is. If I had been hauling butt instead of creeping along it probably would've killed me.


(yes my floorboard has a rusted out hole in it in case you were wondering)

P.S. Fram does suck. Open one & you'll see why.

 

I'm hoping it was some fluke accident (stick or rock or something) that happened on a trail.

I've never used any sort of filter wrench on this truck, and I'm really really hoping it's not the "vacuum" alternative that was proposed by 89dlx.

I guess I'll just keep an eye on it and if there's anything goofy going on, I'll dig a little deeper.

 

That is a Vacuum collapse dent. I have seen same thing on a hydraulic filter with the suction valve closed. Curious about this since you have no suction valve. How long was it installed? What time of year? What grade of oil? Any other anomolies occur during the time frame that may stick out in your memory such as oil pressure fluctuations that went away etc? If you still have the filer cut it up to see if it looks ok inside. Also, the pic is a little fuzzy, is the paint perfect ie no scratches? And , finally, go to fram site, contact them with photo and details, tell them you changed it early cuz of the dent appearing and they might reimburse you for an oil change. Castrol did similar for me one time when I found goo in the bottom of a jug. Sent them the jug and goo, turned out it was just some friction modifer that separated. Mike

 

That is what it looks like, a suction dent, but I don't see how it could possibly be with that filter. It will be interesting to see what it is in the end.

Does the filter wall feel too thin to you when you squeeze it? Does it feel flimsy like a soda can or soup can, or is it stiff like a normal oil filter can?

 

I'd definitely cut it open, maybe the filter got clogged and the bypass valve didn't work?

 

Too bad for the vacume theory, toyota oil filters are on the pressure side.

I would take a look at your engine mounts. They might be broken but they might not. After my 3.4 swap the plate on the the top of the motor mount shifted and would "clearance" the oil filter while driving. It didn't touch sitting there but driving the engine moves forward and backwards up to a 1/2".

 

I 2nd mudbutt.
What's above it on the engine? PS?
It could be a broken engine mount allowing engine to rock.
I've had this kinda issue on other engines.

 

x3 seen it before, happened to me. broken mount engine shifted, big dent in filter (except mine aslo got a hole in it)