A couple of months ago, oil filters were a hot topic on this forum with many members ripping open new filters to see if there were cotton and bugs installed!

It was a very long thread that wandered on and off topic!

I never did get the overall consensus, or conclusion, as to which filter ended up being the best choice.

With that said, I'm needing to change my oil soon and need to know which oil filter is best for my 603?
Steve......................

Steve,

it would appear that the Wix or the Hastings might be the only two filters that do not currently have the "cotton gin waste" as a bypass medium.

I'm not sure if anyone cut open an OE filter, but, I would not be surprised to find the same thing in it.

Thank you Brian............I had written down WIX 51385 back during that time and that was early in that thread so I guess nothing more evolved!

I see the Hastings is what Amsoil uses for some filters so either one I'll buy.


Steve..............

im going to have to side with the wix. ive been using them on all my cars for a few years now and have had not one problem.

i also took it upon my self to disect a oem filter and to my suprise i found a bunch of "crap."

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Seth,

2 parts egg, 4 parts flour, 1 part salt and 6 parts 55 Cetane diesel fuel

1965 corvair monza convertable
1984 euro 300D 4 speed (NO LEATHER, ALL MANUAL)100,000 miles
Thank god the ford is gone

I did cut open an oe filter! Their was very tightly packed white cotton in it, with small cotton shell peices. I looked at a Wix filter it was made in India so I doubt it is any better.

I am running an oe filter because it was the best we found. Don't run a Fram, I tried one for 500 miles because on member found clean cotton inside, but my oil pressure dropped with that junk filter. This is why I am installing a Frantz this winter.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Most BOSCH diesel parts, filters etc. are being made in India and BOSCH and India go back from the 60s. Same is the case with several MB engines and trannies, all made in India since the early 60s. Now MAN as well as HINO, Toyota, ND, Fuji Ox, as well as others have their manufacturing as well as R&D here in India. The point is, in India, due to diesel being heavily subsidised, it is more common to find diesel passenger vehicles as well as commercial ones. The quality of diesel in India varies greatly from being very good at certain pumps in the cities to atrocious, therefore, the filters, IP etc. all have to be designed to suit the conditions, also in commercial as well as fleet car apps, maintenance procedures are stretched to the max, so it is critical for things to do their job beyond call of duty.

I and my friends have had several OM 616 engines last for over 500,000 miles, even the abused, overloaded commercially OM 616 engined trucks manage to stretch their engine to 300,000Km and this using ancient MIL-C or CG/CD rated oil. BOSCH as well as Purolator filters made here are quite good and BOSCH actually designs them specifically for the local conditions.

Though hardly conclusive, the general consensus is that Wix, Hastings, or Baldwin all merit consideration at this point.

All the common favorites do not.

Do Hastings or Baldwin filters have a partial-flow segment? The only Wix filter I've seen for a 61x was a full-length full-flow filter.

FWIW, I haven't heard of Hastings, but of the other two choices, for a diesel, I'd trust Baldwin over Wix any day of the week...Baldwin and Fleetguard are two of the mainstay filters for OTR trucks, last I checked...

This actually has been my policy since I got my first diesel. Every filter (oil, air, or fuel) I've bought for my M-B has been from a dealer (either Autobahn Motors or Smythe European), and every filter I've bought for my truck has been a Motorcraft.

That said, IIRC one of the filters that was torn apart to find junk in the bypass element WAS a filter from the dealer. I'm due for an oil change, and intend to open up the bypass element on my filter (purchased from the dealer for about $16) to see what's in it. If it's a proper bypass element, I'll get another dealer filter...if it's filled with waste cotton, seeds, bugs, etc, I'm finding a Baldwin dealer.

I think that we all should find a better filter with a bypass system that is not cotton gin waste. We definitely have the facts that OE, Hengst, Mann, and Bosch all seem to be made in the same factory and all have the cotton gin waste that probably is not all that good as a fine filtering medium in the bypass section of the filter.

Recommending that everybody purchase an OE filter, when the information from members clearly shows that they contain material that basically does nothing, is not productive.

I am attempting to get some data on the bypass system in the Baldwin filter for the 603. I would like to find a filter with a bypass system, that does not have cotton gin waste as the media.

I'm defining "clogged" as carrying more foreign material than it originally had when it was new. More foreign material will, by definition, reduce the pressure across the filter after the foreign material accumulates to a certain threshold level.

Were you above the threshold level, and, therefore, by definition, slightly clogged? Maybe, because the new filter increased the oil pressure instantly when you installed it.

My point is you don't really know on both counts.

like i said , time will tell. i'm not advocating one filter over another i'm just saying what is happening to me now, in real time. later down the road maybe things will be different.
if a hengst filter works better over time i will use it again.

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

Roy,

I certainly do not want to make any filter preference personal. My point in all of this filter discussion is that we have precious little facts to go on other than there is "cotton gin waste" in the bypass section of many of the popular filters. This is a fact. I do believe that we, collectively, should recognize this fact and attempt to seek out and utilize a better filter.

I certainly have no preference for Wix or Baldwin or Hastings. I've never used one and have never cut one open.

But, I certainly will not continue to use OE or Hengst when one of the forum members has cut them open and found the cottin gin waste as a bypass medium. There has to be a better filter out there and I intend to find it. It probably will be from a manufacturer that produces a lower quantity and it will certainly cost more, but, I will find it.

The Baldwin costs upwards of $15.00 for the 603. I have e-mailed them for more info on the filter. I'll post same when I get it.

About changing the oil filter and the oil pressure goes up, I'm assuming the oil was changed at the same time. If so, the most likely reason is the new oil replacing the thinned out older oil.

I wonder how many microns the oem filters get down to when using boll weevil parts as filter media? You think it's 10 microns or better? No joke, I think it's a legitimate question for both MB and the oil filter manufacturers to answer.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



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