I just bought an oil filter from my local dealer which is not the one I bought from or go to for servicing....went there because it was close & convenient.
I did the oil change and noticed the part number on the old filter was 9A110722400 and the new one from the dealer was 99610722553. At first I didn't make much of it as my Subaru came from Japan with a different filter than the one they sell at the dealerships which is the same.
Before taking it for a spin, I checked out Suncoast and saw there was an oil filter for Gen I & Gen II. I called the dealer and they told me that there is only one oil filter and they have done many oil changes on 09s and that they used it. I told him about what the web site had and that the number one my old original filter was 9A110 like the web site. He just realized that there was 2 different part numbers for Caymans but said they should be the same so there would not be any issues. I had too many doubts so I called my main dealership about 1.5 hours away and they confirmed that I had the wrong oil filter.
I called back the delaer that sold me the wrong oil filter and I told him that he was using the wrong filter and had sold me the wrong one. I also told him that I was not going to drive the car until I had the right part so they are ordering it over night.
I don't know what the difference is between Gen I & Gen II oil filters but if the filter changed with the new DFI engines then there is a reason. If the Gen I filter is a little smaller than Gen II then I could have been driving around for thousands of miles without an effective filter.
I feel bad for the people that took their 09s in for an oil change thinking that their cars were in good hands.....hope that it doesn't cause any added engine wear in the long term.
Lesson learned........check & double check part numbers to ensure you are using the correct one!
This is the reason why I always prefer to do things myself.......
I would also like to know the differences between the Gen I & Gen II oil filters. I'm thinking of changing the oil at 10k but would hate to replace the filter with an incorrect one. Love to see pics of both filters.
I've read that the Gen II has a higher pressure oil pump than the Gen I. That could mean that they may look the same on the outside but have slight inner modifications to better withstand the added pressures.
Just guessing.
Just picked up the correct filter and can tell you that the Gen II oil filters are visibily longer and not sure if they have a larger diameter.
So when you pick up an oil filter ensure you are getting the correct one.
I am glad I noticed the mistake before driving the car without knowing that the filter was too short and leaving unfiltered oil squeeze through.
