Oil Filter Comparison

94BULLITT · Feb 19, 2013

Z71 said:
The packaged OEM and other private label brands (Walmart, John Deere, Kubota etc) will meet the OEM's minimum specs. No more, no less. It is typically produced by the lowest bidder and when things are made by the low bidder, often times short cuts are taken in order to make a profit.

Example This Antifreeze Is Defective: It Froze Solid

The same goes for automotive oil filters.

JDgreen227 · Feb 19, 2013

Checked out the link on the frozen Wally World antifreeze, and as I suspected it was the pre-diluted 50/50 mix. I never have and never will buy such a product...how do I know the mix is actually 50/50 rather than 30% antifreeze and 70% water? My ex emailed me today and asked what kind of antifreeze she should get for her (formerly my) Buick, I told her to buy full strength anitifreeze and mix it 60% antifreeze/40% water. I know they recommend a 50/50 mix, but have always used 60/40 antifeeeze/water mix in my vehicles.

Z71 · Feb 19, 2013

I would bet though that if you bought a brand name product, Prestone for instance you would rarely if ever encounter this problem. Private label brands are more prone to shoddy quality because they only care about what it costs. The company making the product does not have their name on the bottle. And like the person said, WM could care less.

Note - Not the first time a Super Tech product was not what it proported to be. Wal-Mart Gear Oil Draws Hefty Fines

All those that think all oil is the same should peruse this site and see what deals are out there for you to buy... The Petroleum Quality Institute of America

bigdeano · Feb 21, 2013

I once had a fram oil filter split open on the highway and it was spraying oil on the exhaust pipe, making a huge cloud of smoke out the back. Luckily it was still light enough so i saw the smoke. I was very lucky to find a garage open on a Sunday night before I ran out of oil. I had a quart with me that I dumped in, it was barely enough. Now I carry a spare filter in all my vehicles, along with some oil.

I was told by a pilot friend that aircraft filters have heavier gauge cans for just this reason.

MasseyWV · Feb 21, 2013

After losing an engine because of a Fram oil filter, I no longer use them for anything.

Soundguy · Feb 21, 2013

what did you loose?

my 98 dodge pretty much ran fram oil filter the entire time I owned it. just got rid of it last year.

plenty of my tractors are running them.

MasseyWV · Feb 21, 2013

Soundguy said:
what did you loose?

my 98 dodge pretty much ran fram oil filter the entire time I owned it. just got rid of it last year.

plenty of my tractors are running them.

I lost a 3.1 liter v6 in a Chevy Monte Carlo. The Fram oil filter (brand new) had collapsed internally shortly after installing it, cutting off all oil flow to the engine. Afterwards, the engine tear-down was not a pretty sight...

clemsonfor · Feb 21, 2013

MasseyWV said:
I lost a 3.1 liter v6 in a Chevy Monte Carlo. The Fram oil filter (brand new) had collapsed internally shortly after installing it, cutting off all oil flow to the engine. Afterwards, the engine tear-down was not a pretty sight...

Did fram pay for the engine?? They have a warrenty i think? I would have submitted notes as well as the change log or showing the dates it was changed and the oil used in the vehicle and mileage as well as the collapsed filter on a letter head from your attorney. I know you could never go to a court battle with them but would think that they would make it right as this is such a rare event. This is actually the first time i have heard something like this from a person it actually happened to.

MasseyWV · Feb 21, 2013

clemsonfor said:
Did fram pay for the engine?? They have a warrenty i think? I would have submitted notes as well as the change log or showing the dates it was changed and the oil used in the vehicle and mileage as well as the collapsed filter on a letter head from your attorney. I know you could never go to a court battle with them but would think that they would make it right as this is such a rare event. This is actually the first time i have heard something like this from a person it actually happened to.

I never contacted Fram. It was an older car (engine ran great until the filter failed) and I didn't want to go through all the headaches of a lawsuit which they would have probably won because they have much deeper pockets than me. When faced with the choice of a court battle or sucking it up and fixing the engine myself, I chose the latter.

Thankfully, I'm an experienced engine mechanic and the damage to the engine was mostly limited to the crankshaft and main/rod bearings, as would be expected from oil starvation. It's been several years, but as I recall the machine work to the crankshaft combined with the parts to repair the damage only cost me a few hundred dollars.

buickanddeere · Feb 21, 2013

JDgreen227 said:
If that is the case, how is it possible that you can mix different brands of motor oils and wheel bearing grease and the resulting mix of product will usually be compatable? Surely there cannot be THAT much difference in the formulation. I recall back about 1967, my dad owned a '53 Chevy with the Stovebolt six, and he put all kinds of different brands and weights of oil in the engine and when I asked him if that was okay, his reply was: "Oil is oil...." :laughing:

Are you serious? Why do you think mixing oil would make it curdle like cream and vinegar

?