07azhhr

Ummmm the filter should come right out with the cap as one unit sort a speak. There is no pressure put on it during removal so there is no way it would twist and colapse like that. The first time pressure aka your hand will touch it is when you go to separate it from the cap. I worked at a GM dealership at one point and have changed many many of these filters. Never did they come out like this with regular 3-5k oil changes. Not to mention but I have 2 L61's sitting outside.

Also the OP states that this has only happend twice and I really do not believe that he would post a thread asking why this is happening if he knew that he made it happen when he separated it from the cap.

07azhhr

Now run it for 10,000 miles in a 170,000 mile old engine and see what happens.

Heritage High Roof

The filter remained in the housing and didn't come out with the cap the last time I changed it. I inspected the new filter after 100 miles and it has retained it's shape.
I have done 10,000 mile oil change intervals on many other vehicles and had no filter issues. Could starting the car in below zero temperatures cause the filter to be compromised?
After 2500 miles il will check and/or replace the filter.
When I do my 10k oil change, the engine oil life monitor is always between 10% and 40%.

07azhhr

Then I have to ask do you know for sure that YOU did not cause the deformation of the filter?

Heritage High Roof

I can't be 100% sure, but I installed the filter exactly the same way I've done it in the past. Oiled the o-rings, seated the filter in the cap etc.

Silverfox

Just a suggestion ...

Why don't you try a Genuine AC filter to see what happens ??

If their is a cost difference it would be worth it to find out considering the ammortization over a 10,000 mile interval.

P.S. Congrats on 170,000 miles. I got 150,000 to go just to catch up !!

SF

07azhhr

The filter colapsing could have been why it did not come out with the cap. But either way I would think that you would have to have pulled it out by the plastic since you can't get your hand in there. This would suggest still that unless you grabbed the center of the filter and crushed it right then and there that it happened inside the housing while in use. Those pleats are very uniform in how they are crushed. I would think if crushed by hand that it would have finger shaped indents in the pleats.

IgottaWoody

07..I have seen them come off clean and other times twisted..its from removing it. When it goes in its clean and stiff as said..after setting in there for god knows how long the o ring has a tendency to stick causing bind,,,the base may tighten up also and its now been heat soaked so many times,, and then the filter material gets soft...its not the filter and its not the type of motor..any ecotech can experience this..if you pay attention to the twist you will see it usually follows in the direction of removal.. I have 2 HHRs with 2 diff engines and they both have done this occasionally. The install is straight forward..really really hard to screw that up...

07azhhr

That makes sense IGW. I have never seen it before and I used to be a GM tech (Pontiac dealership) and changed several hundred or so Ecotec filters but that certainly does not mean that it couldn't happen just because I haven't seen it.

IgottaWoody

its been brought up here often enough