An interesting problem, has this happened to anyone?

"Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom" (jeremyhampson)
08/25/2014 at 08:35 • Filed to: None

Alright, so, here is what happened.

Last sunday (not this previous one, but the one before), I decided to do an oil change on my FiST. Everything went fine, except this time instead of using the FoMoCo oil filter I used a K&N one, I made sure that they were the same size and everything, and went ahead and did my thing.

Here is the thing though, when I got home Monday afternoon, I noticed some oil on the driveway, not a huge amount, but enough for me to go, "what in the shit?" Because there was also a dotted trail of oil from where I back out to leave in the morning.

So, I put it up on ramps, and make sure that the filter and my drain plug is tight, I saw there was some oil splashed onto the pan, and the only place it could of came from was the oil filter. I had put in what the car calls for. 4.73 quarts. I honestly didn't know what to think, so I checked the oil dip stick, it was fine. And told myself if there is oil again tomorrow I'm going to change it, and parked in a different spot so as to see exactly how much oil will leak out.

I come home Tuesday night, and there is another patch of oil on my driveway. It looked to me, to be about the amount of oil that sits in the oil filter. So I said screw that, changed my oil again, and used the filter that Ford calls for, and I haven't had a leak since.

Before I put the new filter in, I held both filters and compared them side by side, to see if there was any difference, and there was:

The K&N in question (K&N HP-1002)

The Ford filter.

If you look at both of those filters, at first it doesn't seem like there is a huge difference. But I was looking, and I saw that the lip of the K&N filter, on mine at least (sorry no picture available for mine), was it looked to be an additional piece, maybe aluminum or something, that was put on there. But for the Ford one, it looks like the lip is a part of the oil filter itself.

It didn't look defective or anything, just that the lip was not a part of the oil filter body like the Ford one's was.

So, my only theory is, since I was ONLY leaking oil at night (I checked throughout the day on Tuesday) once I parked for the night, was that the lip on the K&N filter was contracting once it cooled down for good, thus squeezing the seal and breaking it a bit, allowing the oil in the filter to seep out slowly. It also doesn't help that the filters go on horizontally on these Fiesta's, but whatever.

TL:DR, K&N filter leaked, the stock Ford one doesn't, did I get a defective filter, or is there more to it?

DISCUSSION (29)

Brian Silvestro > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 08:40

That's pretty interesting. You should reach out to K&N to confirm and/or let them know of this.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Brian Silvestro
08/25/2014 at 08:42

I sent them an email last week, I haven't heard anything back. I don't think that I am going to. Hopefully they look into it rather then just write it off as some one off problem.

Brian Silvestro > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 08:43

We can only hope.

FrederickLawOlmsteez > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 08:53

Did you rub some oil on the gasket prior to install? You might have bound that thing up and compromised the seal.

I like a filter with a wrench fitting on the bottom! Is that hole there to also be used to turn the thing? Me likey!

Sn210 > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 08:54

did you remember to put some oil on the filter's o-ring? That's really weird, but I haven't used a k&n filter before

I've got a similar issue on my car which is dripping oil from the drain plug. I replaced the crush washer, torqued it to spec, and everything, so I'm guessing the threads are stripped. I ordered a new plug so hopefully that fixes it and not a new oil pan :(

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 08:58

I had a problem with the last K&N oil filter I tried to use on my car. It was too long to fit in the housing. I also noticed that they are no longer made in USA, so their quality might be suffering as a result...

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > FrederickLawOlmsteez
08/25/2014 at 08:59

Yeah, I made sure to apply some oil to it, and only turn it 3/4th's of the way by hand and everything. I even installed the Ford filter when I changed them over the exact same way I installed the K&N filter, and the Ford filter is fine.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I got it, makes it a lot easier to take off.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Sn210
08/25/2014 at 09:01

Yeah, made sure to put oil on it, even did things exactly the same when I put a new Ford filter back on it, and it's fine now.

Ouch, hopefully it's just a plug. I absolutely hate doing pans/pan gaskets.

FrederickLawOlmsteez > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 09:01

Do you mind me asking how many oil changes you've done in your lifetime?

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
08/25/2014 at 09:02

Yeah I noticed that, after I bought mine I went back to the Amazon listing and saw a lot of people saying they are made in China now. K&N used to be my go to product for things like this (I've used K&N filters on my wife's 300 for years), but not anymore. I'll probably switch to Bosch now for my oil filters, I don't like using Fomoco stuff

Sn210 > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 09:03

sounds like it was defective then. Do they back their oil filters like their air filters?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 09:06

Wix also makes a good product if you can't find the Bosch ones for a decent price.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Sn210
08/25/2014 at 09:13

Most likely they will. I emailed them and told them pretty much the same thing I said here, but received no reply.

I wouldn't want to send it back though, it's got used oil in it so it would have to be sent hazmat

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > FrederickLawOlmsteez
08/25/2014 at 09:14

Honestly, this was only the 2nd oil change I've done entirely by myself.

I've dropped transmissions and replaced clutches by myself, but I still am not 100% confident with oil changes.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
08/25/2014 at 09:15

Hmm alright, appreciate the recommendation.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 09:25

Seconding Wix, they're the only thing we use on the diesels around here, though they're usually in disguise as NAPA Gold.

treesmakewater > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
08/25/2014 at 09:32

I use wix and acdelco (only if wix is not in stock). The first time I changed the oil in my car, I was surprised that the oil filter was branded "MANN".

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > treesmakewater
08/25/2014 at 09:37

Mann makes good filters, they are OEM for a lot of German brands.

treesmakewater > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
08/25/2014 at 09:43

it surprised me. I was like "wait... That's a truck company..."

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > treesmakewater
08/25/2014 at 09:45

No, that's Man

crowmolly > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 09:50

Was this the correct filter according to K&N, or is it just something you matched via eyeball?

treesmakewater > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
08/25/2014 at 09:52

The more you know.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > crowmolly
08/25/2014 at 09:54

It is the correct filter according to K&N

Something like that is way too important to just eyeball.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 10:05

I've got a personal vendetta against bosch. I've had way more comebacks from their parts than any others (aside from cheapo Uro brand, but those are so cheap you expect them to be crap). Go for wix filters, or Napa gold since wix makes those. Come to think of it I had a bosch oil filter cause low oil pressure once.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/25/2014 at 10:08

Alright, I'll check out wix then for my next oil change over. Just out of curiosity do you know what helps make wix better then other manufacturers?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 10:14

Better construction and design. I've cut them apart and compared to others, it's pretty obvious. Lots of people have posted videos of the same sort of thing on YouTube.

desertdog5051 > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 10:22

Read this. It may answer some questions. https://parts.olathetoyota.com/tundra-oil-fil…

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/25/2014 at 10:45

Hmm alright, I think I'll keep one of my fomoco's and compare it to a wix once I change it out then, see what I get.

Skater Dad > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
08/25/2014 at 10:53

I'd guess it was defective, but I've never used a K&N oil filter.

I usually just buy the OEM filters if my car is still under warranty, but have also used Bosch and Mobil1 filters with no issues.