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Hummer H3For the Hummer driver who wants the rugged look and off road capabilities of the Hummer, but in a smaller size and with a more fuel economy friendly engine.
some one some where was able to unload counterfit parts at a high distrobution level maybe? kinda what happened with the counterfit helicoptor parts being supplied to the military.
Perhaps, but if you are going to counterfeit a part, why put a perfect GM label with the wrong part number on it?
Actually, I AM an engineer; but I still think you're overthinking it. I'd like to see the GM service letter you refer to. I doubt that "different pressure relief specs and burst pressures" would ever cause engine problems unless we are talking A: Extremely high performance engines (which our H3's are not), B: Very low quality knock-off filters (even the lowly Fram is good for 250-300psi), and/or C: Clogged oil filter or too thick of oil. That said, I never buy things like oil filters online; not enough of a price difference vs buying at an auto parts store where I can see exactly what I'm getting before I pay for it. Just my 2 cents.
One engineer's "overthinking" is another engineer's investigation to isolate a root cause. I don't think I'm doing either, actually, I'm just trying to figure out if my mis-marked filter is, in fact, the UPF I ordered, or something else. Was hoping someone might know the story on them. I can't imagine a bunch of filters getting out past final QC with the wrong label and no one knows about it.
You can see the SB on PF48 vs PF63/64 here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...42844-0001.pdf. Reading it again I see the concern is about using the PF48 on later engines, not the other way around. The PF48 oil bypass pressure is set at 15 psi, vs 22 psi in the newer filter. The later model engines produce higher pressures in the filter under normal ops, which will cause the older filter to bypass if installed on these engines.
The UPF filter is spec'd for Corvette and Camaro due to its higher burst pressure. Interestingly, it is also called out for GM 2007-2013 V8s if they are setting a low oil pressure code. Apparently, that filter helps increase oil pressure in the engine. Here's the bulletin: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...15023-9999.pdf
I bought a lot of 6 K&N Oil Filters for the Alpha from eBay for $39 shipped a couple years ago. They don't care how long they sit on the shelf and I still have 4 left.
Closing this out, here's the comparison pictures. The filter on the left is the incorrectly labelled one I got from Amazon (Amazon was the seller, not a 3rd party). The filter on the right is a correctly labelled UPF48R from Rock Auto. The "PF48" labelled filter was made 9/28/23; the "UPF" labelled filter was made 2/5/24.
The filters are dimensionally within 1-2 hundreds of an inch of each other, and virtually identical cosmetically. Cosmetic differences include the orientation of the "ZZ" stamping in the baseplate, the size of the font for the date code on the top of the can, the appearance of the surface of the pressure relief valve, the quality of the paint on the lip at the bottom of the can, and a marking under the gasket that is only present on the one labelled PF48.
My conclusion is that both are genuine UPF48Rs that probably ran off of different assembly lines at the Champion Labs factory.
That's the old AC Delco "Ultraguard Gold" from before the latest branding changes they rolled out a couple of years ago.
All newly produced AC Delco parts are either part of the OE line (same as used on the production line for new GM cars), Gold (formally the "Professional" line, built for the aftermarket), and Silver (formally the "Advantage" line built for aftermarket GM and other brands). The UPF48R filter is part of the OE line, so the labeling on the filters I have is correct for their production dates.
For those who might run into the same issue, I sent my photos to GM Global Brand Protection, who are the folks responsible for identifying counterfeit product in the supply chain.
Here's their answer:
"After reviewing the images and information you provided, both parts appear to be genuine. It looks like there was an issue on the production line in which the incorrect label was applied to the filter."
