how bad is Fram?
 

Hey I just changed my oil in my 04 Excursion. I used Mobil 1 syn with a fram extended life oil filter from WalMart. Then I read the forums about how bad fram filters are. Should I replace the filter? Which brand? Are they really crappy????

i've run fram for years and never had a prob. maybe i've been lucky. there are a lot of negative opinions about them. with a company that big, you're bound to have some failures, as with anything. i will continue to run them.

Ty
 

TY i guess I leave it until next oil change.

Universally considered the worst filter out there. Too bad, in the 70's it was considered a top brand. A combination of cheapening the materials and never keeping up with the state of the art has drug it down. I have some info at http://systems-engineering-associates.com/papers , look for "filters" under "avocation".

Bottom line, less than the cost of the new "premium" Fram that "looks good", you can get sleep soundly with PureOne, Wix (aka NAPA "Gold"), and Motorcraft.

A quick hint, PureOne is on a limited sale over at Amazon at a totally ridiculously low price.

Motorcraft filters are designed or our engines mounting position, with the bypss valve properly set & located in the base of the filter, where it should be.

They are well constructed, with a very large meda surface area, that can go the OCI distance, (they are a long life filter) & filter well & with low flow resistance/low pressure drop across the filter media.

They really are very good allround value for the money, when compaired to other brands.

Most of the dissent about Fram has to do with the construction, like the cardboard end caps on the media of the less expensive models & not much media surface area, so their lower cost models aren't intended to be long life filters.

Their low end model filters media seems to be ok, but there just isn't much of it & it isn't a "in depth" type, so it isn't designed for long life.

I'm not sure of the construction of the particular model you've chosen, but I'd probably leave it on until the next oil & filter change, if you aren't having any engine start up noise.

Then cut it open & compair it to the brand you choose, or you could visit one of the sites that has cut open many filters & photographed & compaired their construction & media mouting & measured the filtering media surface area.
Try a search for oil filter study, or filter study & you'll likely come up with a bunch of hits.

There really is a WIDE difference in oil filter construction quality & the amount & type of filter media & it's quality, for the money we spend & I believe you'll come to the conclusion that Motorcraft is about the best all round bang for the buck.

I used Fram for years begining way back in the 50's when they were owned by Bendix & considered to be one of, or the best on the market.
I too have never had one fail, but I used to cut all my filters open to check the media & see what it had trapped & didn't like what I found, construction wise, after Bendix sold them, so I haven't used Fram for over 20 years now.

I choose Motorcraft for my Ford engines, or Purolator for my other equiptment.

Fram is a classic example of legacy marketing. In other words, through advertising Fram has become iconic to most as "the" brand to turn to when buying a oil filter. It has been proven many times that the brands your parents used will likely 80% of the time the brands you will use later in life.

Problem with Fram is that they have "cheapened" the product but still retain the premium pricing structure. The reality is that the basic Fram filter is not worth what is paid for it. Many other filter makers build a better filter for less money.

I wouldn't worry about it for this oil change....
 

Fram still meets OEM requirements, and even though there are design compromises, I'd not worry about it this time around. I just sold an Acura TL with 132k miles, always having the dealer do the changes (for $25, with a free wash job), and we just bought my wife a new Civic, gonna have the dealer do the changes. I just found out that Honda's OEM filters are most likely Frams... On my E150, I much prefer Motorcraft filters based on what I've read.

So, I would not worry about the Fram for one oil change cycle--just switch to something better next time.

George

My complaints with the Fram oil filters has been their lack of ability to retain oil in the oil filter when the engine is off. This resulted in loud dry starts, especially in the cooler/cold months in my 1989 F-150 4.9L 6 and even in my 1996 Contour 2.0 Zetec 4. Switching to Motorcraft oil filters cured that. Ironically the Motorcraft FL1A for my 4.9L 6 used a Nitrile ADBV and as does the Fram orange filter. The Fram always resulted in dry starts from day 1. Yet, using the Motorcraft oil filter for 5,000 mile OCI's never resulted in dry starts. The Motorcraft filter for my Zetec has a silicone ADBV and has gone 10,000 miles with no failure of the ADBV.

For the money Fram is no bargain.

Whimsey

the fram filter for the 6.0 is a re-packaged racor filter, and racor makes the filter for motorcraft, so they are not all junk!

The Fram "Tough Gard" is supposedly quite a substantial filter that gets good reviews. Maybe it's made by someone else?

With all the I'net Fram-bashing going on, I almost feel ashamed to say that we've been using them for years in our 25-30 vehicle fleet (a mish-mash of mfr's/engines) with zero problems. They're easy to get (Wally's) and usually fairly inexpensive.

WIX, NAPA Gold and PureOne cheaper than Fram
 

If you are buying Fram, you are paying too much!

It requires you to stop the impulse "I guess I need to change oil today, I should go to WallyWorld for my Fram," but if you plan ahead, you will always get Wix, NAPA Gold and PureOne cheaper than Frams. Especially if you buy for the next 4 changes like I do using Amazon.com or even better fleetfilter (a sponsor here).

Just buy Motorcraft filters. MC filters are cheap and the best out there. My truck has never had any type of Fram filter on it and thats the way I like it.

The worst part about Fram is the flashy orange color. It attracts many who don't know better. You often see the bright orange on engines in hot rod type magazines too. Would think those folks would know better.

I'll never run a fram, ever, even though I never have had a problem with one. But after seeing the cardboard end caps, no way. Neither will I run the funky E-core that is the heart of so many current brands. I trust Wix and Motorcraft and Purolator, but always look down the center tube as changes do happen.

This question gets raised every couple of months, and always gets the same responses. The oil guru's claim they can cut open a filter and tell you it's ability to filter, no other tests needed. All of this stems from "I read somewhere that Frams..........", nothing solid. No reports of failures in mass of the product, or problems caused by Fram filters even tho they outsell the nearest competitor (Purolator) by 2 to 1. You would think with that many being sold, and being so inferior, something would show up somewhere on a large scale.

And, yes, you see them on many expensive racing engines and hot rods. Geeez! I guess they are just too damned dumb to know what they are doing.

I see some claim that oil drains out of the filter when it is pointing in a downward direction. How does it do that? The anti-drainback is for those applications where the filter is mounted vertically. Well, the end caps are made out of cardboard. Cardboard???? Really??? Is this a documented problem, or does the end cap just look like cardboard, or is it really a reliable material of some kind?

It's all b.s. as far as I'm concerned. I use Frams, and have for years. I sleep very soundly at night. jd

Heck, I've got a buy-one-get-one-free flashy orange Advance Auto brand filter on my truck now. (And the free one waiting to go on next time).
Hopefully the color doesn't have a direct impact on the filter quality. :-X07

Seriously, I have heard all the same tales, but have never had a problem with a Fram filter. But, I haven't used them much in years - motorcycle applications being the exception.

I'd not worry about using one, just never buy them. I always use Motorcraft, or the AA brand when they are 2-for-1.