Purolator fuel filter (ruined perf.) vs. AC-Delco [picture]
 

As I promised I took a photo of the fuel filters. Some may remember an older thread of mine that complained about the Vette running like crap after a fuel filter swap to Purolator. I noticed before I put it in that the outlet hole was much smaller, but installed it anyway. The week after I got an AC-Delco and everything was back to normal. Here is the pic of the AC-Delco that came out and the Purolator I had installed.

http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=main/...3088.jpg&s=f10

I can't believe this could be considered an OEM replacement. Just a heads up to stay away from Purolator fuel filters (and perhaps everything else they make...) It made my car run extremely sluggish and about 15-20 degrees hotter (gas mileage took a dive too).

Wow, that is a significant difference! :eek: I wonder now what brand I had put on when it went bad on me on my trip to BG last summer.

that blows. glad you figured it out.

i've used purolator "pur one" oil filters, off and on, for a good many years in a couple cars and never had a problem (that i knew of).

I actually installed a Purolator oil filter (still on there) on my fiances Hyundai Tiburon. It hasn't seemed to cause any problems, but an oil filtration problem would be a heckuva lot less noticeable. I'll be putting a Hyundai oil filter on next time though. This experience has made me worried about all supposed OEM replacements. And I do recall that the Purolator oil filter looked extremely cheap compared to the Hyundai filter that came out (let me repeat -- cheap compared to a HYUNDAI filter).

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...html#purolator

Purolator "Pure One" did pretty well. Nonetheless, I don't use them anymore, maybe we were lucky.

Interesting link. But it adds a couple more negative aspects to Purolator. Definitely not helping their case with me. Better filters aren't costly enough to make me take my chances with Purolator again. Going with AC Delco the first time would have saved me a lot of time and mess (as far as the fuel filter goes). As for an oil filter... damage that they may cause would be gradual and for the most part unnoticeable until it is too late.

Damn. Now you got me wondering about the filter on my car now. I honestly cannot remember what brand it was, but I know it was not AC Delco. I'm changing it to an AC Delco now to be sure. It's time for a fuel filter change anyway.

that is nuts. I am stunned.

I used a Deucht(sp) brand from Autozone... and IIRC, the filter was identical... and seems to work just fine.

I don't doubt that viable aftermarket options exist, but this experience with Purolator has turned me off to all of them. And perhaps the hole size isn't the only thing causing death to the performance. The filtering element inside appears to have much less area as well, and perhaps doesn't filter well either... The link given on the oil filters mentions something about the Purolator filter that the author suspected could cause a problem with filtering (I don't know much about about that myself).

From the link -- "The difference is that Purolator's filter element is compressed into more pleats (51) than the AC Delco. This may restrict flow somewhat..."

I'm not sure if there is a similar difference with the fuel filters or not.

Believe me when I say stick to the GM shat for your cars...you know youll probably never go wrong with them...it will be the correct size,have the correct filters,and do its job as it should...also Fuel filters should be replaced every year or 2 years the latest..reason is,the gas we pump into our cars have stuff in them too from the udnerground tanks.

Most aftermarket stuff are not even allowed to copy 100% so theres gonna be inferior differences.Ive ran a/c delco filters for years,fuel and oil,and never ever had a problem.So im still staying with them unless I start to have any issues.

I like the NAPA gold series stuff. Have a new oil filter, and gas filter on my Corvette. I'll have to check there performance. On NAPA's gold series stuff, it says using this product will not void your warranty. So I guess the auto manufacturers find them good enough... We'll see... ;)

The hole on the purolator is not your problem. It appears to be as large as the ID of the fuel line, which is as large as it needs to be.

If anything, the one on the left is poorly engineered because it makes an abrubt change in diameter from the filter to the line.

I have another aftermarket filter here and it looks like the one on the right.

I've acknowledged that the hole size may not be the only problem, but either way I have first-hand noticed a major performance decrease (along with various other problems) with the Purolator filter. As for being "poorly engineered" the one on the left is the old AC Delco part number. The one I have on my car currently is the new AC Delco part number. They are a little different, but the outlet hole is absolutely identical. If it is so "poorly engineered" I would think that they might have changed that when it was redesigned.

I use the Purolator oil filters, they are equivalent to the pricey ones as far as I can tell.


Is that opening in the fuel filter any smaller than the fuel line ID?

I replaced mine with a Bosch filter because the AC/Delco ones were not available from AZ at the time.

Will do! Thanks for the pic's and the heads up!

Thanks,Matt

I have used and rec the wix filter for fuel and oil. they are great. Please remember delco is not in the filter buis and those are out sourced to someone else. Racor makes all the filters for GM's duramax diesel, no matter what brand you buy.

Just FYI

383 LPE -- you wouldn't happen to have been at an auto show in Orlando a few months ago would you have? I saw a similar looking Viper with a NOS bottle in the rear with a license plate bracket that read "Porsches for Breakast -- Ferraris for Lunch" Your avatar reminded of it. Could that have been your Viper?