Fresh oil contamination!

[DanDee]

I've always prefilled my oil filters... . but after tonight, NO MORE!!!

Just did an oil change on my wife's car, (a double change, as it just hit 20k & I want it to stay clean. )



Used Mobil "semi-synthetic" to save a few pennies, & after running it for a hour or so I dumped it and replaced it with Mobil 1 that I normally use.

I happened to cut open one of the bottles of semi-synthetic to save the label,... . and I found two small chunks of "something" inside. (I always replace the caps after pouring in the oil, so it didn't get in after... plus they were somewhat stuck to the inside. )



I looked into the other four plastic bottles and found another "chunk" in a different bottle. Same thing, stuck to the inside but easily came off when touched with a finger. (There may be more I didn't see, I didn't cut open the rest. )



They are about the size of the point on a ball point pen & appear to be little balled-up chunks of plastic, maybe from production of the container? Rather hard, tried to crush them with a knife without success.



Now hopefully none went into either of the filter prefills, (probably not as it is a gentle, slow pour) but still from now on I won't be taking THAT chance!!!

I'm going to either pre-filter the filter fill or just skip it all together... .



Something for everyone that pre-fills to think about... . this stuff looks nasty enough to scratch up bearings and maybe plug some important oil passages if it gets past the oil filter during a pre-fill... .



Now maybe this would NEVER happen with what ever brand oil you use... but since everyone probably uses the same technology to make their plastic bottles... how can you be sure???



(The good news is my Cummins is safe... as she hasn't reached her first oil change yet! )



Here are a few pics..... Dan

 

[DanDee]

Pics of what I found...

 

[DanDee]

Closer view...

 

[CChase]

Never seen anything come out of my Delo jugs, but I'll be on the lookout from now on.

 

[PaulG]

good rule of thumb my dad taught me ... . "always,always,always use a funnel with a screen, sure it's faster not using one but time is cheapier than a cost of something new"

words to live by!!!!

 

[WNowlan]

Please contact the ExxonMobil tech service department. They would like to have this information. Have the bottle handy and give them the fill date codes. You can find the number on the web.



I do not work for them or one of their marketers. Just someone else.

 

[DanDee]

WNowlan...



Took your advice and sent Mobil 1 an email... hopefully it went to the right place or it gets forwarded... we'll see.



Meanwhile I guess I'll start looking for a good pre-filter funnel. I know West Marine sells something for diesel fuel with a screen, but I think the tip might be too big to fit the opening in the valve cover. (Might be too restrictive too as it's supposed to stop water!)



Thought about using a paper coffee filter inserted into the funnel... but that might be too restrictive & certainly overkill. (Maybe one of those gold mesh screened permanant coffee filters?)



Thanks, Dan

 

[DanDee]

Mobil sent me this reply this morning:



"Thank you for the commeent and for being a loyal Mobil1 user!! If it is

not an inconvenience to you we would like to inspect the bottle and

contaminents that you found. You can send the products to:"



Maybe they would... but I have to ship this back East on my dime??? AND give up any proof I have, IF my 02 Chrysler (that I spent over $30k on new) should take a dump & Chrysler sez, not our problem due to oil contamination found ????



Guess I should have seen that one coming! Maybe they get daily messages, (from wacko's reporting dead mice in their oil or whatever... . ) but still it's a billion dollar business;

a) They could at least send a pre-paid shipping container,

b) Or request a call to an 800 # to try and narrow down who's for real, & THEN send a shipping container!



c) And last but not least... . I suspect that like other big companies, once they have all the evidence in their possesion... they will deny all culpability!!!!



So I have to think about this one... Maybe now that I have "Jeff's" email address I can send more than just the 10 lines I was limited to, I'll try emailing the pictures I took & see what happens next... .



Dan

 

[TSpecht]

If you have multiple bottles like that and you do decide to send some in, I would hold a couple back just to keep for your own reference just in case anything does happen. I suspect they'll still be curious to see the stuff in person but the photograhs might be enough to raise their curiousity enough to get them to drop the cash to ship it.

 

[ropinfool2]

As a former mechanic with a major plastic bottle manufacturer, I don't think that came from the making of the bottle. Is the neck damaged in any way? Where the pieces were stuck to the walls, was there a bump on the outside of the bottle? These bottles are made in two steps: First raw plastic is melted to a gooey mess and injected under high pressure through a very small orifice, into a mold. The end result is called a preform (looks like a hard plastic condom with threads on one end). Then it is placed in a blow molding machine, which reheats the preform until it hot enough to be very flexible, places it into another mold and injects 3000 psi air into it. This blows the bottle out to match the mold. Any chunks would leave a definate impression on the outside wall of the bottle. So I would think it came from the filling of the bottle. Good luck to you. John

 

[LEggers]

Mobil sent me this reply this morning:



"Thank you for the commeent and for being a loyal Mobil1 user!! If it is

not an inconvenience to you we would like to inspect the bottle and

contaminents that you found. You can send the products to:"



Maybe they would... but I have to ship this back East on my dime??? AND give up any proof I have, IF my 02 Chrysler (that I spent over $30k on new) should take a dump & Chrysler sez, not our problem due to oil contamination found ????





So I have to think about this one... Maybe now that I have "Jeff's" email address I can send more than just the 10 lines I was limited to, I'll try emailing the pictures I took & see what happens next... .



Dan

Dan

Its not like the cost of sending a package to them is going to break the bank. You had enough money to buy that $30k car and you had the money to buy that real good oil. I am sure you have the money to send them a portion of the bottles and some pieces of what you found in the bottle.



You would think that as much as this chaps you, you would want the problem corrected?



I just dont get people these days. Its not a hard thing to think over just document what you have found real good in the event you need to protect yourself later.



Regards,

Lance Seattle, WA.

 

[DanDee]

John,

It was just a guess... as the particles are a dark gray color as is the bottle, (hard to tell if they are exactly the same) didn't break apart as might dirt or carbon and was sort of "slippery" when I tried to crush one. . as if it were some sort of a "plastic". (No, no indentations in the bottle in the locations I found them)





Who knows... My point is if it happened once it could happen again, so I have been enlightened to the fact that you can't assume new, fresh bottles of brand name oil are perfectly clean!



Anyone know if the oil you pour into your filter in a pre-fill, goes straight into your engine or travels thru the filter first?



Dan

 

[DanDee]

LEggers... you missed the whole point.



It was cheap $2. 79 a quart Mobil semi-syn I used for a flush before replacing with Mobil 1..... I don't care & don't want anything from Mobil, certainly not more of their oil.

(IF my engine goes south & Chrysler denies my warranty due to oil contamination, then that will be different! Highly unlikely, but I will keep the evidence just in case. )



The whole idea of contacting Mobil was suggested by someone else, not my idea but it seemed reasonable... but I found the response lukewarm at best.



As far as you thinking I'm too cheap to box up & ship the oil bottles at my expense to help out Mobil... . well as they say, everyone is entitled to their opinions... .



Dan

 

[mberry]

DanDee,



Pre-filling goes straight to the motor. I do not pre-fill for this exact reason. These engines are tough and it will not hurt them at all if you don't pre-fill. I'm not sure how long it takes to get oil pressure, but it's not long enough to hurt anything. I have oil pressure in around 1 second after changing oil.



If you think about it, that's about the same amount of time as when you start the truck in the morning. All the oil has drained down into the pan at the end of the day. There reaslly is no difference between changing the oil without prefilling and starting it in the morning except the oil filter has oil in it.

 

[Boonieman]

I had some new Eagle Claw fish hooks that broke very easily last summer. I sent them an e-mail not expecting anything, only to complain. They wrote back, requesting my phone number, which I gave them. After talking to them they sent me a container to send them the remainder of the package of hooks, postpaid. They called me about two weeks later and said that the problem was with their tempering process for a particular batch of hooks. In addition, the sent me a huge assortment of new fish hooks for my trouble and assistance. To me, THAT'S what I expect from a quality company. And yes, I still buy Eagle Claw fish hooks.

 

[PaulG]

just send it back god, they are just trying to fix the problem not shaft you on this. if they don't know what caused it they can't fix it for the next job.

i understand your worries and you have it documented with pictures and even this thread and your letter to them. save teverything and ship the bottle!!!

this is what quality control is people. finding a problem, realizing what it is and then implimenting a fix!!!!!

 

[RT66DOC]

Kinda like finding a mouse in the bottom of container of Wendy's chili.

 

[RT66DOC]

What about pouring the oil through a disposable paint filter?

 

[Jar Head]

And what's this talk about warranties? You already admitted you pre-fill your filters.

 

[ropinfool2]

When I was a jet engine mechanic in the Navy, we always had to sample the new oil and have it analyzed before we could use it. We used a synthetic motor oil that was very hydroscopic (absorbs water). So no there is no guarantee that the oil out of a fresh bottle is going to be 100% clean. I currently work at a small power plant and before I change the oil in my engines, I send in a sample of the new oil. IF it comes back bad, my oil supplier will replace it. But we are talking large quanties, 55 gal drums, not gallon or even quart bottles. John