Well not sure, that was a cut and paste from their email so not formatted very well.

 

I have used a pile of them over the life of my truck but I'm just repeating what the guy at Fram said. Fram purchased the rights to the size of the filters but they use their own filter media. Wix used to sell the same filters with the made in Germany "logo" before they started manufacturing their own, too.

Maybe the patent numbers are just for the plastic end piece assemblies????? Who really knows anymore.

 

I fixed it for you Mark--LOL. Whoever typed the email to woodlander didn't space correctly.

 

U.S. Patent 6.086.763 refers to the front disk assembly (made by Ing. Walter Hengst GmbH & Co.).

Not sure about the other yet.

 

I have read on here that the Racor is the same as the Motorcraft, so I bought the Racor oil and fuel filter for less money than the Motorcraft at Dieselfiltersonline. It has been a while since I changed my fuel filter (still less than 15k) so I don't remember exactly what the membrane for the water separation looked like on the Motorcraft fuel filter but I believe it looked like a white film with a pattern of pin holes in it. When I got the Racor filter yesterday and opened it, the outside of the filter looked like a thin mesh that I could see the inner filter through. Also apparently there has been a change in the part numbers with the original number being 4604 and is now 4616. This is true for both the Motorcraft and the Racor. So, has the design changed with the different number or is there a difference between the Motorcraft and the Racor? I feel like I need to go and buy a Motorcraft fuel filter to compare them side by side. I am getting ready to make a trip to Denver from the east coast and don't need any trouble because I saved a few dollars and have an inferior filter. Can any one confirm this for me before I buy a Motor craft filter?

 

Here is a picture of the Motorcraft new vs. old part numbers.

I stole this picture from Bismic's album. Thanks Mark!

 

These Racor/Motorcraft/Fram Ford 6.0 oil filters threads pop up about every 6 months. The Fram oil filters I have (only 11 left) were made by the same manufacture that made the Motorcraft oil filter in my hand. The Fram filter carries the folowing patent numbers on the bottom of the cartridge.(6,086,763 6,554,139 6,837,993 6,983,851 6,986,426 7,086,537 and then the code RE38,917) The Motorcraft oil filter in my hand has the following patent numbers on the bottom of the cartridge.(6,086,763 6,554,139 6,837,993 6,983,851 6,986,426 7,086,537) then the code RE38,917 both were made in USA. As for somebody calling Fram and asking them if they repackage other manufactures products, well did you think you were going to get a straight answer?

 

Thank you for posting the picture of the old and new filters. Over this past weekend I changed my oil and fuel filters. I threw away the fuel separation filter before I compared it to the new one. Dumb mistake. So I am coming back to the photo and now I have a question. Is the new 4616 longer than the old one? Does the portion with the o-ring seat inside a recessed portion of the housing? When I put the cap back on it does not sit tight against the housing and I don't want to force it to break the cap. Also can you buy the drain plug? Mine has a chunk out of the threaded part. When I called a dealer they were not knowledgeble about anything other than the filter numbers.

 

I never have really looked inside to see where the extra length sits into, but mine does fit.

I have also noticed that when I have had to replace fuel filters (lower one) I have to put the filter in the housing first, then screw the cap on.

Drain plug up grade:

DTS Articles - HFCM Water Separator Drain Plug Upgrade

 

There was a thread here (FTE) recently about the fuel filters (both IIRC) being indexed to the housing. I never noticed that before but my motorcraft filters seemed to go in fine. I'll be looking closer next time. Anybody else aware of this feature?

I had to buy the oil filter housing cap from Ford also. I think it was $22. Well worth the money to get a good filter back in there.

 

Are the oil filter housing and lower fuel filter housing caps identical?

 

Yes they are.

 

Tim, thank you! I replaced the filters on our fire dept.'s '04 F-450 which the local ford dealership had historically maintained before I joined. First thing I noticed was the carquest oil filter and taller cap. Pulled the aftermarket filter and the housing was completely dry. I got a new cap, but the p/n cross-referenced the fuel filter cap, so I was a little hesitant, but everything did screw together correctly, so was relieved. Water pump went out and I brought the dealer Peak Finalcharge to refill it (they weren't impressed). They didn't position the thermostat housing clamp properly, so had to get another gallon of Finalcharge after the dealership simply put a worm gear clamp on the hose instead. Think I've learned my lesson on that dealership? I'm the only one on the dept. that has faith in that 6.0L.

 

i was at Kaufman tire yesterday having them swamp over some ATV tires for me and i asked what they would charge to change my oil if i bring my own oil and filters.
(needed wife to have it done while i was working before a trip)
they said they wont do it at all unless its there own filter, they can use my oil just not filter
so i asked what kind of filter they would use for it, and they said NAPA or "WIX" i said never mind i only use motor craft or racor period.
he proceeded to argue with me over and over saying that WIX makes the motorcraft filters and racor does not, so i wont be going back there.

i hate people sometimes!
(most of the time) lol

 

Racor/Parker-Hannifin, a company related to the one I worked for, has been the designer/supplier to International for their fuel and oil systems for decades. It is not uncommon for a supplier to sell to its competitors either in a unpackaged or private labeling the parts.