How screwed am I? Wrong oil filter.

[SkidPalace]

I can't believe this happened, but I have driven over 17K miles on the wrong cartridge filters that were too short, allowing unfiltered oil to pass through.

I bought a 3-pack of OEM Toyota oil filters off Amazon and unfortunately I bought the 04152-YZZA1 instead of the 04152-YZZA5.
I am pretty pissed as I searched for the A5 but somehow the A1 popped up in the results and I added it to the cart without noticing that it was incorrect.
Usually Amazon warns you if the part doesn't fit the cars in your garage. That didn't happen.
So that was September of 2020. I just recently changed the oil for the third time using up the third filter. I recall being able to see the end of the perf tube poking out past the filter thinking it was odd, but not odd enough to cause alarm. I figured there was something inside the filter housing that sealed that up. I go online to check in case I screwed up. Sure did.

In retrospect, I feel like a complete idiot and cringe to think of all the unfiltered oil that passed through my engine.
So the question is, how effed am I?
Of course I stretched the hell out of the last oil change going damn near 10K miles. Normally synthetic would be no sweat but that, ahem, assumes a working oil filter.
At least I noticed right after this oil change, so I only went 300 miles or so on the third filter. Still, two full oil changes good for 17K+ miles on a short filter. ugh.:frusty:

 

[USStrongman]

Dude, you are so F'd!
Kidding.
It wont make a difference at all. Would it have been ideal to have the right length? Yes. But in all reality, you only really missed about 10% of its filterability. To be sure, next time you change your oil, use a magnet in the extruded oil and see if you have anything in there. Chances are, you won't.

 

[lewdog998]

Dude, you are so F'd!
Kidding.
It wont make a difference at all. Would it have been ideal to have the right length? Yes. But in all reality, you only really missed about 10% of its filterability. To be sure, next time you change your oil, use a magnet in the extruded oil and see if you have anything in there. Chances are, you won't.

I don't think he is truly screwed (l know you were kidding)
BUT.....being that his filter was short, the oil mostly likely flowed the path of least resistance and was not filtered (at least not much).

The air coming into the engine is responsible for much more wear than people realize. So as long as that and anything that cant allow sucking of air into the chamber or crankcase, you probably should not worry. Nothing you can do now.

I would definitely feel the oil plug for debris like Strongman suggests. And if you are going to worry about this, go ahead and send a sample off to analyzing, its cheap peace of mind. It will let you all metal levels and whether or not its in normal range.

Lastly...change your oil more often.
Its cheap and easy.

 

[Jetboy]

This is really common on Ford 6.0 diesels. They actually have two different filter lengths that match up to the cartridge. But there's no year specific or production model specific identity. It's just whatever somebody used the last time or you buy a new cap to match whatever you're putting on. It causes some issues in those engines. But they're also just really s***** engines that will turn I think 17 quarts of oil per oil change or something like that black as molasses in 3,000 mi. On your engine, it's a Toyota. Put the right one in and run it. I doubt you'll ever notice anything.

Good luck.

I think these sorts of issues might be part of why Toyota switched back to canister filters again. Too many ways to make mistakes on them that are hard to catch.

 

[Bmnorm2]

No issues, the oil was still filtered during that time. You just didn't have as much filter material available to fill up with particulates. A normal oil change interval still has life left on the filter under average circumstances. This is an intentional fail safe so that filtering is always adequate. You have absolutely nothing to worry about it.

 

[SkidPalace]

Thanks. That’s what I was hoping to hear.

 

[Ezlife45]

If you're that concerned about it, run a filter for a short time and then change element, top off and move on. Maybe. Run this filter for half your normal oil change interval.

 

[Lexington]

Also if you want you can go to your local auto store and buy a bottle of engine flush. You add it just before you do a oil change. Pour it in your engine and let it idle for about 5 min and then do your oil change. It’s suppose to help remove sludge and other harmful deposits.

 

[DougR]

I performed a Google search and found a forum post where a Toyota dealer made the same mistake in 2015.

See Wrong size filter very upset | Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum It appears the OP, KinGriz is still active on the FJC forum. Consider contacting him to ask if any issue arose over the last 6.5 years. His post history doesn't show a follow up post, so it's likely any damage was not detectable.

 

[DallasTRDPro]

Damn it I came back to this thread to see if his engine was going to blow up. Well this thread got real boring. Glad to see you have nothing to worry about.

 

[lewdog998]

No issues, the oil was still filtered during that time. You just didn't have as much filter material available to fill up with particulates. A normal oil change interval still has life left on the filter under average circumstances. This is an intentional fail safe so that filtering is always adequate. You have absolutely nothing to worry about it.

Im not so sure about that. Lets say for example the Correct filter is 4 inches tall and the one he put in is 3 inches tall....well the shorter filter will not fill that gap between either the engine or the housing....so you would have oil flowing around the filter. The filter has to be sealed against surfaces on both the top and bottom to have ALL of the oil flow through the filter.

I get what your are saying about total filtration capacity, but i dont think that applies in this case.

If he has truly gone 17k miles with it in this condition, I would get a test done for peace of mind...and its only 35$.
go to amsoil and they have a kit for 34$$

 

[lewdog998]

Damn it I came back to this thread to see if his engine was going to blow up. Well this thread got real boring. Glad to see you have nothing to worry about.

I am sowing seeds of doubt now.......see my previous thread.

 

[Bmnorm2]

Im not so sure about that. Lets say for example the Correct filter is 4 inches tall and the one he put in is 3 inches tall....well the shorter filter will not fill that gap between either the engine or the housing....so you would have oil flowing around the filter. The filter has to be sealed against surfaces on both the top and bottom to have ALL of the oil flow through the filter.

I get what your are saying about total filtration capacity, but i dont think that applies in this case.

If he has truly gone 17k miles with it in this condition, I would get a test done for peace of mind...and its only 35$.
go to amsoil and they have a kit for 34$$

Correct, there is a face seal on the filter to the housing base so there would be some bypass of the filter. Strangely some manufacturers use an O-ring (see TRD or Royal Purple) and others don't seem to have much more than rubberized adhesive square ring like the Toyota filters shown on OPs post. There is a machined face in the filter housing base for the seal to contact.

However, a majority of the flow will still flow through the filter. There is so much FOS (factor of safety) built into the oil filtration system, it doesn't live on the ragged edge. Assuming OP has fairly normal driving conditions, doesn't live in dust storms and has a functional engine air filter i wouldn't be concerned if it was me. Most of us could greatly extend our oil and oil filter change intervals and never see the increased wear. Think... an engine that needs overhauled at 300k miles vs at 275k miles or 250k miles.

The post shows he was on his third incorrect filter at ~17k, when he realized he had been using the wrong part. With the first filter going 7k and the second 10k.

Spend the $35 if you want, but i don't know what you would do with the information. Say the results show huge amounts of wear metals and bearings are shot. What would you do with the information? Replace all of the bearings?

 

[Ripper238]

Not so worried about the wrong filter, but 17k between oil changes and the wrong filter.

Please tell us you were using synthetic.

 

[Mark4runnar]

I have a colleague that never changed the oil or filter over a 5 year period of ownership........he would just top off the oil when it was down a quart. Get this he sold the 4runner last week. It had 94,000 miles on it.

I could not make this up.
I am sure the next owner will change the oil and filter

I do mine every 5k, so you can imagine the conversations we have had.

 

[lewdog998]

Spend the $35 if you want, but i don't know what you would do with the information. Say the results show huge amounts of wear metals and bearings are shot. What would you do with the information? Replace all of the bearings?

I suggest that based on the high probability that the results would show nothing abnormal and give him "peace of mind".

If there was tons of bearing wear which i agree is not likely, I would want to know.

and like you said, most contaminants that cause wear come from the intake and poor air filtration. In "theory" all internal moving parts are all separated by a film of oil, so there should be no wear items (metal etc) that just flakes off.
Contaminants are mostly introduced through air filter / vacuum leaks and fuel system.

 

[Bmnorm2]

Not so worried about the wrong filter, but 17k between oil changes and the wrong filter.

Please tell us you were using synthetic.

He was on the third filter at 17k. First filter ~7k, 2nd filter ~10k, 3rd filter ~300 miles. So it was three of the wrong filter before the issue was caught.

I suggest that based on the high probability that the results would show nothing abnormal and give him "peace of mind".

If there was tons of bearing wear which i agree is not likely, I would want to know.

and like you said, most contaminants that cause wear come from the intake and poor air filtration. In "theory" all internal moving parts are all separated by a film of oil, so there should be no wear items (metal etc) that just flakes off.
Contaminants are mostly introduced through air filter / vacuum leaks and fuel system.

Yea, if $35 is not a big deal for his budget, it wouldn't hurt to have "peace of mind". If there aren't any obvious new noises, oil burning, or other signs I still think it's pointless and he should just move on and use correct filter in future.

There is some disruption of the hydrodynamic oil layer during operation, particularly on cold start up. Additionally, there is a decent amount of wear metals on a new engine as parts wear to fit.

 

[SkidPalace]

Thanks for all the info guys.
I am not going to worry about it.
If I didn't stretch the last oil change to almost 10K I would not care one bit. Still I dont think it is a big deal at all even with the screw up. Most of my miles are highway so that also helps.

 

[TNcaveman]

My buddy Sean had his first oil change at the dealer, since it was free. He did the second one and found that they had used a short filter too.

I seriously detest changing the oil on my 5th Gen. 4th gen took 15 minutes. 5th gen - an hour or so.

Steve

 

[honda250xtitan]

youre fine. takes more then that to kill a toyota motor.