I would stay away from the fleet guard filters on your 300 , when I worked for the state of connecticut we used them on our 1991 ford with the efi 300 and it knocked at start up .
I dont doubt that the filter element it self is good but they have poor drainback valves .
THey even made the chevys knock !

 

One thing that I noticed is that the Supertech filter for my 2002 explorer is not as tall as the WIX i just bought. Means less filter area? I will wait to see how I like the Wix filter, but I am impressed with how it is manufactured. Looks and feels real solid.

 

Doesn't take much to make a Ch**y knock.

Thanks for the tip. The Fleetguard might work on my motorhome. The 460 V8 has the filter mounted pointing at a downward angle, maybe about 30 degrees, and should not have much drainback.

 

This doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me. The ploymers are larger/longer BEFORE they shear. Why would they clog a filter AFTER they shear and are smaller/shorter? The polymers are coiled up when cold then relax and lengthen when hot. If they were to clog a filter, it would seem to be immediately after an oil change once the engine reached operating temp and the polyers unwound, the filter would begin clogging with the brand new oil you just added.

With all due respect, I do not believe the polymers added to manage viscosity are capable of clogging an oil filter. Sounds like somebody told you a tale trying to sign the praises of synthetic oil. Synthetic oil does have its place and offers benefits in some applications. However. I do not think this is an area where that can be said.

If I am incorrect, somebody PLEASE set me straight.

 

I looked at the SynLube website for some information on polymers. They have this to say . . . The most important point here is that we are dealing with molecules which no filter could possibly have problems with since even the most efficient filters have openings many many times the size of molecules.

Engine knock at start up is chiefly, so far as I'm concerned, a matter of poor quality filters causing engine oil starvation. We all know the problems with the filters we see and Fram is not alone in making a poor quality filter. Moreover, filter production is quite often difficult to trace. Just who made the filter you put on your engine is often a matter of speculation. Did Wix make it, or Purolator, or AC Delco? The answer may depend on bids made when the marketer needed filters. One month, someone may get them from somewhere in the US and next month, it might be an offshore source. Filters may also vary according to the make and model of the car. Price is no necessary indication of quality either. It is truly a confusing and frustrating situation. I, for one, would like to see a requirement that filter providers be required to put on the filter, not the box, the testing that batch of filters passed. I'd also like there to be a requirement that the company that actually made the filter be identified.

Until that time when effective standards for filters are in place, the use of a quality oil is very important. One advantage of the synthetics is most relevant here: the esters in a synthetic lube have a polar attraction to the engine metal so consequently, the oil stays where it needs to be longer, a critical factor when the filter may not be able to deliver oil in a timely manner at all times.

 

what does pre filling do. am i harming the engine by installing the filter empty? i though it fills up the first time you start it.

 

When you turn over the engine, the oil is pumped to the oil filter and then to the engine. If the filter is empty, it must fill before the engine starts receiving oil. Therefore filling the oil filter decreases the time when the engine is "running dry". If your oil filter permits prefilling, it's always a good idea.

 

Check out the Baldwin. the interior construction is rugged, and the informtion on the web page seems reasonable.

 

If you continue changing Mobil 1 every 3000 miles, I would say you are either a broke man or a rich man.

 

lol, not rich but a good saver and a smart buyer.

i have almost 6000 miles on the mobil 1 now. Its getting slightly darker but its the best oil & filter money can buy. I used to change it every 3k before because it was getting dark rather quickly. Now its kind of settled in

 

I don’t know about that. The oil filter on most Chevy V8s and 90* V6s is pointed down. The filter does not drain down when the motor is off. If they knock it’s for another resin.

 

Sons-a-gun, he's right! (Thanks bud.) I just used my first Fleetguard (an LF697) on the motorhome (460 V8) for 4400 miles. Took it off and, trusting the anti drainback, tilted it up so the center hole could drain directly into the bottle. Guess what? Big mess. The antidrainback leaked like a sieve! Bummer, got three more of these babies laying around. Well the motorhome mounts about 15 degrees downward and it never knocked so I guess I have a couple years worth of motorhome oil filters on hand now and I better get a purolator for the F150.