Oil Filter Comparison

[94BULLITT]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Soundguy]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

?

 

[JJZ 109]

Same for oils, Kubota or JD or NH or any other tractor company doesn't run a refinery and the oil that is bottled in that container is run from a batch of same quality, type etc that may have a dozen different name labels put on them but come from bulk tanks from a particular refinery being Shell, Exxon, Chevron or Valero as those are the big boys making oil. A few small specialty refineries make some products like Amsoil but I don't know if they refine or just put in additives to someone elses oil. But my point is not one manufacturer of equipment runs a refinery or filter manufacturing plant and relies on filters or oil from others that meet their requirements. Is one better than another, maybe but that has not been proven to me.

Funny that you mention that. I had someone once swear that Harley Davidson had their own refinery and that they made all the oil with their brand on it. I was dumbfounded that someone could believe that.
I never did learn who does refine HD's oils. But then again I didn't really care. I get it changed regularly at an indie shop so it isn't a concern.

 

[kenmac]

"Oil is oil...." :laughing:

Sadly, Alot of people still believe this .

 

[Soundguy]

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 agree. while i have heard the odd story.. ' my friend's briother's sister, heard of a guy who had a nehhiew, etc.. that had an oil filter failure with fram, and quaker state oil


this is the first i've ever actually found someone that said that oit was them the stories were about..

 

[JJZ 109]

etc.. that had an oil filter failure with fram, and quaker state oil

I seem to remember that Quaker State failure was a big topic of conversation in the late 70's or early 80's in this area. I guess that I don't recall anyone personally that had the supposed problem.

 

[Soundguy]

I seem to remember that Quaker State failure was a big topic of conversation in the late 70's or early 80's in this area. I guess that I don't recall anyone personally that had the supposed problem.

same here. heard lots of quaker state stories. never met a person that said his machine suffered a lube failure though.

i suspect it's kinda the same deal onthe ford 6.0 problem.

I'm sure plenty had problems. and then those 'plenty' of stores became hundreds of thousands once they hit the internet.. till everyone you talk to is too scared to buy a ford 6.0.. etc.

 

[aczlan]

I've had to delete at least three double posts in the last week. The common theme when it seems to lose its mind is when a popup asks me if I really want to leave that page? I am sure not an IT guy, but I do know that message
hasn't come up in normal use.

When that box comes up, click on the X and then reload the page, clicking on yes or no will result in a double post.

I do know same stuff for boats is higher than the exact stuff for automobiles also.

Boat stuff (ie: alternators, starters, etc) often has to be non-sparking so that if you have fumes in the engine compartment they are less likley to explode.

Aaron Z

 

[mikehaugen]

as promised here are some pics of my Fram Ultra filter (formerly Fram extended guard).

Here is a pic of the filter before surgery


here are the main components, notice the metal filter element ends with paper gasket, though it does have the same spring as the basic filter


here is the element stretched out with the old "can" in the background for size reference


here is a closeup of the metal screen from the backside of the filter


I am no expert, so take these for what they are- pictures. I am not trying to analyze these for you, draw your own conclusions. When I changed my oil this time, they were out of the Frams so I bought a bosch instead. In a couple months if this thread is still going, I will cut that open for you to enjoy as well. It appeared to be a quality filter as well, we'll see.

 

[94BULLITT]

as promised here are some pics of my Fram Ultra filter (formerly Fram extended guard).

Here is a pic of the filter before surgery
View attachment 304799

here are the main components, notice the metal filter element ends with paper gasket, though it does have the same spring as the basic filter
View attachment 304800

here is the element stretched out with the old "can" in the background for size reference
View attachment 304801

here is a closeup of the metal screen from the backside of the filter
View attachment 304802

I am no expert, so take these for what they are- pictures. I am not trying to analyze these for you, draw your own conclusions. When I changed my oil this time, they were out of the Frams so I bought a bosch instead. In a couple months if this thread is still going, I will cut that open for you to enjoy as well. It appeared to be a quality filter as well, we'll see.

Do you have a picture with the filter media flipped over?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Their high end filters have good specs too.

 

[mikehaugen]

Do you have a picture with the filter media flipped over?

I can get one, just didn't think that would be of interest to you guys. It can be telling of an engine I suppose, but didn't know if you could take much from it from a filter quality standpoint. What in particular are you looking for so I can try to get a picture that will be useful? Close up of the fibers?