Having gone to a public school in Michigan where the internal combustion engine and automobiles in general were pretty much first popularized, you’d imagine that by the time I’d graduated high school I’d have been required to take several thousand hours of automotive shop classes. Somehow, that didn’t happen which is why a recent viral post on TikTok is what’s caused me to take my first-ever look at the mechanical makeup of your typical, common-as-a-house fly oil filter.
The clip in question comes from the Confused Mechanics account (@confused.mechanics) that is incredibly self explanatory in its purposes and state of existential being. Our Unnamed Mechanic (UM) opens the short post by explaining he was preparing to change the oil in an unseen vehicle, using a MicroGard Select Extended Life oil filter. And then, something was missing.
What’s up with the MicroGard Select Extended Life oil filter?
Everything appears normal and fine as he takes the filter out of its box, but when he spins it around we see a portion of the outer shell is missing. That gives us a clear look at the inside of the filter and its internal filter media and bypass valve.
“And you see this… what the [expletive]?” UM asks rhetorically, clearly annoyed and exasperated to see he’s been sold a display model filter rather than one that will, you know, actually filter the vehicle’s oil.
Let’s take a pause to think about why in the world it would be necessary for your average retail car parts customer to get a good close look at a $10 item that’s going to last roughly 10,000 miles. For the vast majority of vehicles, the oil filter is not a component that merits all that close consideration, especially since in general they are made up of 10 basic parts: The outer shell, spring, upper end cap, bypass valve, filter paper, oil outlet check valve, oil inlet check valve, chassis, threaded cover plate, and seal ring.
The mishap that UM experienced probably speaks as much to the quality of the wholesale supplier of the part than of the manufacturer itself. And we’ll assume UM’s shop probably has plenty of those same filters on their shelves that are actual functioning units and can be installed in under 10 minutes.
For those who are curious about the various parts of the MicroGard filter, this YouTube clip goes into exhaustive detail while disassembling and inspecting the whole item. The host even goes so far as to pull apart the 55-inch-long filter media fiber to measure its individual pleats and see how easily it tears apart. The verdict: “A picture perfect filter.”
In the comments for the clip, someone who claims to be a former O’Reilley’s Auto Parts employee wrote that the filter in question was recalled specifically because display models were sent out as regular stock.
@confused.mechanics #confusedmechanics #mechanic #fyp #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #foryou #model #cars #mechanical #cartok #diy #Canva ♬ original sound – Confused Mechanics
And a self-described oil shop veteran mechanic was astounded by the mistake and chimed in: “how in the hell do you get the display an not the actual filter I’ve worked at an oil shop for nearly 2 years and never had that happen that’s great but yet confusing.”
Daily Dot reached out to O’Reilly Auto Parts via email, and to Confused Mechanics via Instagram direct message.
