Anyone ever have problems with FRAM oil filters?

[KayakPanic]

a lot of posts I have read have people saying they are lower quality than others on the market.

i have used FRAM for 10's of thousands of miles over the last 10 years and never had any problems.

anyone ever had a problem, or heard of one occuring directly?

i always (if money and time allow) change my oil in vintage Toyotas at 2200 miles, because I have noticed an MPG loss past that point. this is a few less miles than the 6-8000 mile change schedule printed on the Toyotas I have owned.

-andy

P.S. i also kind of like the blaze orange under the hood: it makes me think of bird hunting!

 

[lehiguy]

Metal backflow valve- doesn't seal as well as neoprene, comparatively low amount of filter media, low first-pass efficiency. A Wal Mart brand OF has a neoprene back flow valve, higher filter media content, a better first pass efficiency and it costs less. Hastings, Wix and Toyota will be superior to Fram as well. Whether or not it makes a real-world difference on an old-school boat anchor like a 2F is still a debatable topic.

 

[Spike Strip]

I stopped using Fram anything years ago... As Lehiguy states, cut one open next to a permium filter and you'll see the difference. But to answer your Q: I've never "seen" a filter related failure...

But I did see a picture once of a 2F with a Rod sticking out the side of the block, right next to the FRAM GUARD filter.

 

[KayakPanic]

also have used napa gold, never had any trouble. also tried k&n or bosch, but just seemed like the same thing...

very open to changing my FRAM-loving ways, however. Maybe I'll just take a TOYOTA filter and spraypaint it blaze orange...

 

[snowakii]

I've never had a problem with any fram filters.... uh,, cause I've never bought one. Toyota is all my crusiser has had in it. Wix filters for my F250.

Steve

 

[Mace]

Most likely you will never notice a difference.

It is a long term wear issue more than anything. The Fram (potentially) allows more particles through the oil filter into the rest of the motor.

Now, that being said, the predecessor to the 2F (the F) had a bypass oiling system that only filtered half the oil anyway.. And those motors lasted to 200K without issue as well.

 

[cody c]

worst case scenario you cook the engine and swap in a SBC. Is that not an acceptable risk? But seriously if you want to get alot of life out of the motor, you probally are better to go to toyota or wix or donaldson...

 

[effjay60]

I had a 2001 Dodge Ram2500 with the mighty cummins....a fram filter killed it. a cummins uses oil sprays to lubricate the piston skirt/lower cylinder walls and my FRAM filter came apart and clogged the #6 piston spray destroying that cylinder. Upon engine tear down there was a little "tuft" of filter media stuffed in the spray, I didn't know exactly what it was till I cut the filter open to find a section of filter missing. I'm a Napa gold guy now

 

[lehiguy]

Napa Gold filters are relabeled Wix filters. Good stuff.

 

[cody c]

I had a 2001 Dodge Ram2500 with the mighty cummins....a fram filter killed it. a cummins uses oil sprays to lubricate the piston skirt/lower cylinder walls and my FRAM filter came apart and clogged the #6 piston spray destroying that cylinder. Upon engine tear down there was a little "tuft" of filter media stuffed in the spray, I didn't know exactly what it was till I cut the filter open to find a section of filter missing. I'm a Napa gold guy now

you didnt get fram to cover the motor work did you?

 

[matt60/80]

I have seen a few Fram oil filters cut open with part of the filter media missing. As others have stated they have the least amount of filtering media of the name brands. Avoid.

 

[effjay60]

you didnt get fram to cover the motor work did you?

I do almost all my repairs myself, as such FRAM said they could not verify the validity of my claim

I purchased a used longblock with 160,000 on it. It had no ridge at the top of the cylinder and still had the factory crosshatch on the walls....I like very much I was in and out for about $3k and some bloody knuckles. The cummins is so tall that one has to remove cowl cover, remove two plastic plugs under the cowl cover, remove the valve cover and the rockers from #5, #6 and push the pushrods up through the holes in the cowl just to make it short enough to squeeze it out

 

[baxter650]

I won't use them any more, there are much better filters to be had for the same money.

 

[ntsqd]

Some light reading on the topic of engine oil filters:
Oil Filters Revealed - MiniMopar Resources

After reading that I moved to using Wix, Wix mfg'd private labeled filters, or Purolators.