lets try this. keep it civil, and no BSing.

pensicola diesel: very poor reputation any more. stay very far away from these guys.

 

How about manufacturers too?

AirTex, stay away!

 

Airtex? I have an Airtex fuel pump i believe

 

K&N: very very bad.
all you are buying is a name with a defective filter that lets way too much crap through to ruin your engine.

 

Any good Cat mechanic will tell you not to used Baldwin filters.

 

I can vouch for that, personal experience.

 

Why not baldwin? Advance is ditching fram for heavy duty and going to baldwin. At least thats what i was told sat. To think we used to carry wix.

 

Ugg, I'd run Baldwin's before I ran Fram. Hell, I'd run anything before I ran Fram.

Most of you know by now I'm not a fan of brand wars. Everyone has their favorites and a lot of people claim their trucks 'like' a certain this that or the other. Fact is a truck is not sentient, it doesn't give a crap what you use. It's the owner that likes this that or the other.

I just go by my personal experience and that of others as what NOT to use.

So here's my personal experience on the Cat VS Baldwin filter thing:

In the '90's we were running two Freightliner FLDs with the 3406E Cats in them at my location. Both trucks were finicky, particularly with the fuel systems. Often would get phantom codes and power losses the dealer/shops couldn't explain.

One day our fleet manager, (located out of state), told me to try Cat filters in those trucks; that Cat's did better with the factory filters.

Oh boy, here we go with the brand thing I sez to myself. But I replaced the Baldwin filters with Cats at the next service. Here's the test: I did not tell either driver that I did anything different. The same week both drivers reported that the trucks were running better and more responsive.

We still had fuel system issues with those trucks, but it really cut down on the random codes and power loss.

I don't know the science behind it, I suppose the OEM filters are calibrated for the engine it's attached to. Maybe the aftermarket stuff isn't exact to the application, but 'close enough' to work.

Recently we had a clown at another location put a Fram oil filter on his Volvo truck. It wasn't the proper micron rating for that truck so it sucked itself in and crumpled like a pepsi can and truck lost its oil pressure. They caught it in time though. Glad it wasn't one of mine, lol.

 

My stories on the two are
Fram I like them until I ran across an old mechanic that would cut used filters open to see what was in side. And two out of 10 fram filters the paper medium come apart and was no long doing anything.
My cat mechanic friend, had a Cat Acert in the shop, it would start and run, but had no power. The Baldwin filters let just enough trough to wipe out the injectors.
Personally I run wix or fleetgaurd, like napa filters are made by wix.
Also I'll second the K&N are bad, My 95 starting using oil 20,000 miles after I installed it, and on my idit I could plug a fleetgaurd in a week running with a turbo drive leak, but the k&N would never plug.

 

Yeah, those K&N filters are like that metal screen on your intake; it's good for keeping rocks, boulders, nuts & bolts, and small furry animals out, but that's about it.

That's why they flow so damn good, because they do not filter!!

 

Diesel Care Products (DCP): Very bad reputation and an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau to boot!

http://www.bbb.org/memphis/business-...on-tn-44022196

 

I advised my work to buy a DCP injector pump for a truck they wanted me to tune up. The truck ran but was smoking blue and stumbling a little so I got them to get a pump and injectors with a return line kit.

Return line kit sucked and was the wrong one anyway. The first pump did not work and was sent back. The second one worked but the engine knocked real hard like the timing was over advanced even after I retarded it.

So I second the DCP opinion stated above!

 

AUTOLITE GLOW PLUGS burn out as soon as they are put in the engine.
only working one time is not unusual.
champion, wellman, diesel-dx, bosch, or any of the other aftermarket brand glow plugs are not much better.

 

If you need replacement battery cables, these folks make a quality product. Heavy Duty, Aftermarket, Custom Battery Cables for your Car, Truck or RV
I went with the 3/0 cable and it spins the motor better than when it was new.

 

put me down for 1 vote for the k&n filters.iv been using them in all of my vehicles.cars and trucks for many issue free years now.proper wash and re-oil every oil change or so and it's nice not buying paper filters all the time and saving a tree.

yours truly,tree hugging hippy.


i like delphi return line/injector install kits.
i like stanadyne fuel injectors.
i like dura lift/transicold electric fuel pumps.
i like penray need release coolant filters w/ fleetcharge coolant.
i like mobil 1 turbo diesel truck 5w/40 synthetic motor oil.

oh.perhaps my most favorite online vendor; amazon.i buy a lot there and have a prime account.2 day free shipping is handy,and mostly they have the best prices going.for most fluids and such however i buy local.
i always verify the part #'s outside of amazons part finder however as it's not to be trusted as such like online auto parts stores part lookups.
rock auto deserves props all the way around too.
ebay of course another of my favs,slightly behind amazon.

the marketplace here deserves props too.you guys are awesome.these trucks get stripped and crushed around here.it's handy when ya need to score used turbo kits! (chip trucks kit found here!) and small items long since discontinued.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum231/

probably my favorite for motorcraft; fordpartsgiant.com