Help: Strange Oil Filter and Findings., ...What the hell is going on? Options

[CptTripps]

Ok...ALL I wanted to do was change my oil. Simple enough?

I started by driving to Stoddard to pick up an OEM Filter. $8.65 later, I was on my way.

Got home, backed the car up to the ramps and drained the oil. Didn't seem to take that long. (More on that later)

Pulled the filter, and drained it. Oiled up the ring on the new filter and went to dry-fit the new one (just to make sure) and it is NOWHERE CLOSE to the same size as the one I pulled. I'm going to say that the one that was on there is 1/2 the size. There is NO way I could get the new one in there. If I WERE able to, the thread size was different. (New one is larger hole.)

So NOW the question was...what filter do I buy? It was an STP filter, so off I went to FLAPS to match it up. FLAPS didn't carry the brand, so I had to locate a book with a decent cross-reference in it so I could get something that DID fit. I found 4-5 filters that matched it, so I bought them all (I wasn't going back!) and headed home to look at the link to the "Filter Shootout" that I found earlier. (Interesting read!)

I ended up with an AC Delco filter that matched my size/thread. I checked the codes on it, and it's manufactured by Champion, who also makes the Mahle (sp?) filters that we get from Germany. Installed in a snap, and I started filling her back up. So Question one is ... What the hell did the DAPO do?

The SECOND question is...I only drained 1.5q of oil out of there. But the level was even with the top line. I put 1q of Slick-50 in, and then put 4 more of Mobil-1 Synthetic back in. I'm now a good 1/2" above the top line, but I have a 2.0L engine WITH an external cooler. There is NO WAY that I can only be using 1.5q of oil...is there?

I don't want to fry this thing...any ideas?