Todd Beaulieu

Figured I'd pass this along, in case someone might find it useful.

I changed my oil for the nth time last weekend - just another routine change. On the way home late last night my oil light flickered a couple of times.

This morning I moved the car a few feet back so I could get under it to have a look. To my horror I found a huge, very fresh spill. Oil all over the engine compartment and suspension. I had a neighbor start it briefly with my head under the car to find the source. A torrential ribbon of fresh synthetic almost hit me in the face, shooting out from filter seal.

As it turns out, "some" 2.7 engines have a "short" nipple to thread the filter onto. With every filter I've used todate, this has not been an issue, but with a Meyle (which is taller, BTW) the design of the threads is apparently farther into the filter. This meant it didn't grab enough threads to properly seal.

The thing that kills me is that I KNEW this when I installed it. I knew something wasn't right. I even removed it and compared the two filter rings with a caliber, thinking it was an issue with the ring itself. When they measured the same I put it back on, thinking it was my imagination. When I put a different filter on, I noticed that it required several more tuns to secure.

In the closeup of the filter, notice how the seal is bulging out on the left side.

I am VERY LUCKY that this didn't ruin the engine last night on the highway. The ring immediately blew out this morning and would have emptied the case in less than 60 seconds.

cadillacbart

I was reading on QW about people having problems with Meyle and WIX filters not threading on at all.

I'll stick with oem.( I buy them at the VW dealer for $13.00.)

indoor

It might help if you lightly grease the rubber seal before you install the filter(it screws in easier since they recommend 'hand tight' and comes off without problems)

fjasper

Yeah, you have to be careful about this because the 2.7t calls for a different filter than the 2.8, even though it looks pretty much the same. I got a filter from a reputable online place that was for the other motor, and it had the threads recessed just far enough that it wouldn't properly grab on the 2.7. I don't have a 2.8, and the filter was already oily, so I just chucked it. Lesson learned.