New vs old fuel filter. Which to use?

I've just replaced my fuel filter recently and I got it from T-Rutland, it was the same as the old one. I love to keep my Ferrari close to original as I can.

 

No way! Someone just made an inventory/shipping/look-up mistake. You can buy the (exact) ...601 Bosch fuel filter at www.importeccatalog.com for ~$12.50 -- just type the Bosch PN in the search box.

 

I have opened up bosch filters and aftermarket supposed exact replacements and have found that the bosch filter was constructed much sturdier and had a far greater amount of filtering media. Always use bosch

 

Never use a Fram anything. The Fram of today is NOT the Fram of 30 years ago. Back then we wouldn't recommend anything BUT Frams on our engine rebuilds. As of 2006, when I quit doing it professionally, we wouldn't allow them on any car we worked on. Generally speaking we used Baldwins on everything that Baldwin made a replacement for.

 

none of mine have ever rattled. i would return it unless someone comes up with a better reason not too.

the fuel dizzy is too expensive to risk something getting sucked into it.

 

In the hex shape formed at each end there is a steel hex nut captured inside the sheetmetal as shown in these photos. If that's what is rattling (because the nut is a little "loose" inside the sheetmetal before the fittings are added), I wouldn't worry about it (because when you add the external fittings + Cu washers it will all "tighten -up"). Is it these "nuts" that are rattling or something deeper inside?
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excellent post as always, i never cease learning from your examples.

 

Sorry to be so late to this party...Steve's assessment is spot on.

20+ years ago, this was a known problem on the Bosch fuel filters, that seemed to be there on some filter, but not present on others, even with the same PN.

David

 

Thanks for the kind words gents (and thanks to the earlier poster, who I can't remember, for posting those filter dissection pictures which made the explanation much easier/clearer).

What's funny is that it probably is batch-related (but it's a non-functional "problem") -- on some runs the sheetmetal hex shapes may be a little smaller so the nut(s) doesn't(don't) rattle around. I do think, though, that it's a good example of how some completely non-functional issue can be perceived by the customer as "low quality". On an old product like this filter, Bosch isn't going to be concerned (or do anything about it ), but a note on the box saying something like "the internal end nut fittings may rattle slightly before your external end fittings are installed -- this is normal", or adding some strategic dimples in the sheetmetal, so the nuts don't rattle (even if the overall hex shapes in the sheetmetal are slightly oversized), probably would've prevented a lot of unnecessary returns.