Re: kissin' cousins question

[AUDIDUDI@delphi.com]

> Another oil filter story. I installed a Fram filter on my car, started it,
> and backed out of the garage. I quickly saw that I was leaving a major
> trail of oil. On inspection, I found a cut in the oil filter right along
> the base. I called Fram on the phone and they said to do whatever was
> neccessary (including any needed repairs, steam-cleaning of the engine
> bay, garage, driveway, etc.) and send them all bills. They even said
> they'd pay for painting the garage if needed. In a couple of days, a claim
> form arrived in the mail with a very apologetic letter. Luckily, repairs
> were not neccessary, but at Fram seemed responsible and responsive. 

A similar thing happened to me earlier this year and while I COULD blame it
on the Fram filter -- I always find it nice to blame someone/thing whenever
possible :^) -- I must admit to having failed to double-checked my work and
catching the problem before I started the car.

In my case, the rubber O-ring from the old filter came off and stuck to the
mouting boss; when I installed the new filter, it didn't seat properly (not
surprising since there were now TWO O-rings where there should only be one)
and it pumped/sprayed oil all over the place shortly after starting the car.

Fortunately, I always check for leaks afterwards and caught this before the
car was actually driven anywhere.  Between cleaning up the driveway and the
car (ever since I had a 4000 catch fire when an oil cooler line broke, I am
very cautious about driving a car with loose oil in the engine compartment),
another lesson was firmly imprinted upon my brain...

P.S.: I've taken to using Bosch filters since then; if nothing else, black
filters look nicer than orange ones on a German car...
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               /| |_| |> | - |> |_| |> |  (AudiDudi@delphi.com)
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