What are odds Cat filter leaks

Have the 1st ever Flat Track race at my new oval track this weekend. Was using the track loader to push fence posts in for a spectator barrier. Had an oily type smell and noticed the hyd. oil was below the site glass so figured it was a hyd. hose leak. Drove the Cat to the shop and took the side cover off. Everything near the dash was soaked. Couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from so started the machine and saw right away. The Cat fuel filter was spewing diesel out a pin hole in the canister. Wow! Wouldn't of thought that in a million years. Rushed off to Finning to get a new one an hour away. The parts guy says "we don't have one"! Looks to see if they have a Donaldson cross, nope. I said I desperately need a filter. He checks other warehouses and thank God the distribution center not too far away has one. It's about 4:15pm and he tells them I'll be there before 5pm. Good thing I checked and came when I did. Has anyone ever heard of a spin on fuel filter developing a leak in the canister, a Cat filter none the less?

Can’t say I have ever had a quality control problem with a Cat (AFCi) filter.

I've seen filters that have sat for a while develop a pinhole (not a cat filter- but cat probably ain't building their own filters). If you had some water in the filter and it sat through the winter and froze wouldn't help it any.

Both oil and fuel, leaked at base where crimped. Have had new filters of brands leak. None are perfect.

The only thing that may have contributed to it is that it had a very small dent from when a new hyd. hose was put on. The leak wasn't near the dent though. No problems for at least 10 hours after fixing the hyd. hose. Never realized how much pressure there is at the fuel filter. When I have some time I'll pressure wash the right side of the engine and belly pan that is full of diesel. I left the side cover off for now.

should be 25-30 psi

I had trouble with Carquest and NAPA (Wix) Filters splitting in the side seam on a 3304 once, even though they crossed to the Cat number. The Cat filter was much thicker, and seamless. That's when I realized how much fuel pressure was there.

How old was the filter? oil filters can rust through from the outside, and fuel filters can rust through the bottom from the inside from water. It's always possible it was a defect in the sheet metal it was made from too, that finally let go.

I've had at least one of every brand leak out of the box. Last one was a Baldwin.

As far as the odds, CAT, Donaldson, Baldwin probably know pretty close how many filters out of a million will leak right out of the box, but they're not publishing that info. The smaller makers might not know...

I'd guess it's less than one in a thousand, based on a guess that I've changed hundreds of filters, definitely not thousands, and haven't seen one leak out of the box, or even in the first year.

The filter was about 5 or 6 years old but only a couple hundred hours on it. The pin hole was about an inch from the top. There was a bunch of crap all over that side of the filter, kind of baked on so, I'm thinking it started off as a relatively small leak that opened up bigger. The exhaust manifold is above it so maybe the extra heat contributed to the leak. When I have more time I'll clean the filter and take a better look at where it was leaking.

I had one leak that sat for 4 years, a small chip on the paint and it rusted through from the outside due to the salt we put on the roads here

Just wait till you get a filter that it doesn’t leak, but the housing spins, so you can’t take it off.

That’s my current situation with my 555e hydraulic filter.

Not a big deal, grab it around the base with a channel locks, or use a chisel to crimp the crimp a little more so it grips, or if none of that is possible, take the filter apart until all that's left is the base, and remove it with pins through the holes. You'll take apart a filter eventually if you follow enough gorillas.

cosmaar1 said:

Just wait till you get a filter that it doesn’t leak, but the housing spins, so you can’t take it off.

That’s my current situation with my 555e hydraulic filter.

Click to expand...

Had a hydraulic filter on a 769 D Cat haul truck that would do that almost every time I had to change it. I was the only person servicing the truck and I was very careful to only tighten it the exact amount marked on the filter. Trick to getting it off was a very careful application of air chisel. Filter had a heavy cast aluminum part the shell was crimped onto and just needed to turn a couple degrees and it would turn off by hand.

Wish I still had access to more that just parts manual on SIS. We had a 980K Cat loader and there was, I believe it was, a hydraulic or transmission filter (canister type) behind a door on right side that had instructions on how to install it. They went something like "Install hand tight then back off 1/6th turn"!

Cleaned the filter off and the only place that looks like could be the leak is where the paint is a little rough about 1/2 an inch below the dent in the filter. Very strange.