Oil filters

My apologies if this has been talked to death elsewhere....and maybe should be relocated to 'TECH' , but here goes. Has anyone had a 'major' failure related to a FRAM filter?

Never seen one cause a real failure.  But at the same time, there are other filters just as cheap as the cheap Frams that are better built, so there's no reason to use the crappy ones.  The high end Frams (like the Ultra) are perfectly good filters.  

I've had two or three where the rubber gasket came out and stayed stuck to the engine. I caught it before screwing the new filter on but I have a friend and my father who both didn't and had huge oil leaks as results.

Does your filter sit horizontal, or vertical?  Other than the cheap filter media, I think the biggest concern is with the check valve allowing the oil to syphon back into the pan, so you have to refill the filter on every start.  Small block Chev doesn't care, small block Ford might.

Every Chrysler 2.2/2.5L I've had or known personally that had a Fram filter on it, had oiling problems and noisy top ends.  Replace the filter with something other than a FRAM and the noises went away, especially at startup.  Every.  Time.

I'm sure they don't cause problems on all motors, but on the ones I know and love?  Yeah, they are crap and I still cringe when I see that Orange can of E36 M3 on another motor.

Here's an old study done on some of the filters available on the market:

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters/

Honestly, even if there weren't any noticeable differences in how the engine sounds or performs, after looking at how they are constructed, I wouldn't use them unless they choose to improve their product.

I've used these for over forty years and currently running one on the 'V', my '91 chev PU has 371K on it with no issues. From what I've read elsewhere (bobistheoilguy.com) the internals are crap.....guess I've been dodging bullets (blown) all these years?

I've seen a few. Older Hyundai engines would cause top end noise with them. Further testing revealed they restricted about half the oil pressure compared to OE. I've had catastrophic filter failures on personal vehicles (blown cases, filter media disintegrated, bypass valves come apart blocking oil flow etc) and in the shops. Almost every single one was either a Fram or a re-branded Fram. 

2.0/2.4 neons FWD mopars dont like them. Noisy upon start up. 

I have seen 2 in 5vz powered 4runners that the filter its self come apart. 

Bob the SELF APPOINTED oil guy. said:

I've seen a few. Older Hyundai engines would cause top end noise with them.

Just reminded me of something. When I was sponsored by Hyundai, the dealer I went through to get most of  my stuff had on display a Hyundai OE filter with a section of the can cut out right beside a Fram with the same cutout to compare them. It was not favourable for the Fram. There was very little filter media and it looked really cheaply made beside the OE filter.

I've never had a bad personal experience, but I haven't used many.

i read/heard the inside of frams is built cheap and are all crap, just hyped up because of "rubber" grip on outside. I've always used wix/puralotor and never had any issues

In reply to Suprf1y :

long long long ago one of the forum members at an Elantra forum did some pressure tests of different brands. He pulled from a port just above the oil pump housing on the block and installed a mechanical gauge. The OE filter would push ~40psi of oil. Wix and Napa Gold (Wix knockoff) were around 35psi. The Purolator was around 30-ish and the Fram was 20. Considering this is just above the main journal passage on the Beta, that would explain the top end noise they made. This was back when the Fram was literally half the size of the OE filter before they changed the part number. Should have been around 2002 or 2003. 

Bob the REAL oil guy. said:

In reply to Suprf1y :

long long long ago one of the forum members at an Elantra forum did some pressure tests of different brands. He pulled from a port just above the oil pump housing on the block and installed a mechanical gauge. The OE filter would push ~40psi of oil. Wix and Napa Gold (Wix knockoff) were around 35psi. The Purolator was around 30-ish and the Fram was 20. Considering this is just above the main journal passage on the Beta, that would explain the top end noise they made. This was back when the Fram was literally half the size of the OE filter before they changed the part number. Should have been around 2002 or 2003. 

That's another sore point .....the 'V' filter is only 3 3/8" tall on a 6.2l geeesh. AC Delco's PF63 is almost a full inch taller, would really like something a tad taller than that. Off to the interwebb......and beyond!!!!! 

I've personally seen the media come apart, I've split the case on one in my Capri years ago. 10w40 and 100psi of oil pressure on cold start. The special ones they sell for Wal-Mart's tle are made even cheaper. The cartridge versions of them almost always come out in peices. The most common being the ones that fit the 3.6l mopar and 2.2/2.4 ecotech gm. 

Disclaimer: I do 50-100 oil changes a week and see all kinds of terrible things. I'm very biased on oil type and filter brands.

I've always heard from second-hand sources that they are crap, and it's so easy to find something else, that I just avoid them.  For years I ran Motorcraft on all my Fords, but my friend who frequents BITOG told me that there were some issues with those a year or two back, so I've switched to Wix XP.  I buy them in bulk from Rockauto.  The 944 gets Mahles.

In reply to dropstep :

That said, what do you recommend?  Or is what you recommend based on what car/engine it's going on?

In reply to 759NRNG :

The 4.8 truck calls for the short filter as well. I run the PF61 because it's much taller.

For recommendations, I will default for OE on imports, or Wix/Napa Gold. GM gets a ac delco. I don't run anything else, so I got nothing. 

I’m running the 57052xp’s (pf63) wix in my both my suburban and avalanche without worries. Biggest filter I can get into that space. Before that was pf61’s on the previous avalanche.

I've used frams in the past, but same money will just buy a better filter anymore.

Appleseed said:

In reply to dropstep :

That said, what do you recommend?  Or is what you recommend based on what car/engine it's going on?

I prefer wix/Napa gold, I also like Pennzoil and mobile one filters. The basic orange frams and the service champ/service pro filters are the worst I've seen .