Oil & Fuel Fram Oil Filters

[RedDirt]

I have used Fram filters for 30+ years in over 12 different vehicles my family has had, and in my tractors, mowers, and generator. with 5k mile oil changes, several engines went over 150k, before being sold off. Currently we have a Villager with 153k, and a Malibu with 105K. Both run fine. Never had an oil related problem, never had any sludge.

No matter how bad you guys want to say they are, they are still more than good enough to do the job.

Like ray66v I've run Fram (mostly) all my life, do regular oil changes, always chance the filter with the oil change (some specs say change filter every other oil change) and have never had a lube related problem. Some of the hi-milers: Previous Volvo 308K-ran fine when sold, Current Volvo 245K, Current Toyota PU 255K.

None-the-less, based on this discussion I'll be switching to WIX.

 

[Dargo]

For the occasional story similar to yours (having no problem using Fram) I should better equate it to the cars I used to drive when I was a teen. They had no oil filter at all. Yup, no oil filter of any sort. I still have one of these engines sitting on the shelf in one of my barns that runs like a well oiled sewing machine. It's a 235 inline six out of a 1962 Biscayne. Back then seat belts and oil filters were optional. I bought the car that had that engine with it from a school teacher who had purchased the car new. You know how some school teachers are; she wasn't going to waste any money on the options "where the dealer made all their money".

So there are literally tens of thousands of these sort of engines made that never had any sort of oil filter on them at all and never had any problems. Does that mean we are wasting money by using oil filters now? I personally don't think so, but I think these engines that ran 'forever' with no oil filter would be a good analogy to ones that made it a long while with the extremely poor quality Fram filters on them. And, don't forget, long ago Fram used to make a quality filter.

 

[ray66v]

For the occasional story similar to yours (having no problem using Fram) I should better equate it to the cars I used to drive when I was a teen. They had no oil filter at all. Yup, no oil filter of any sort. I still have one of these engines sitting on the shelf in one of my barns that runs like a well oiled sewing machine. It's a 235 inline six out of a 1962 Biscayne. Back then seat belts and oil filters were optional. I bought the car that had that engine with it from a school teacher who had purchased the car new. You know how some school teachers are; she wasn't going to waste any money on the options "where the dealer made all their money".

So there are literally tens of thousands of these sort of engines made that never had any sort of oil filter on them at all and never had any problems. Does that mean we are wasting money by using oil filters now? I personally don't think so, but I think these engines that ran 'forever' with no oil filter would be a good analogy to ones that made it a long while with the extremely poor quality Fram filters on them. And, don't forget, long ago Fram used to make a quality filter.

I have been told this stuff for many years. My son in law had a very successful auto repair shop. He would give me this same story. NAPA cut both filters open and demonstrated, (visually), how much better their filter was, blah, blah. One day my wife was at his shop visiting her daughter, and she had them change her oil, because it was due, and I hand no time. Of course, they did not use a "junk" Fram filter. She got half way home, and while at highway speed, heard a "BANG". The filter had blown off, and ALL the oil came out of the engine. It seems that his filter had a defect in it. After being towed back to his shop a "junk" Fram filter was installed without further incident. He never brought up his diatribe about Fram filters to me again.

Todays oil is so superior to the oils from years ago, you probably don't even need an oil filter, if you change it often enough.

 

[redneckford]

Dargo----Like McDonald's selling hamburgers---is it the cheese that sells?----is it the beef that sells?----are is it the Marketing that sells????? Some Tech's remind me of a few fisherman and fish story's!!!!! Why they use this bait and that---never use this bait etc.----until someone catches alot one day on that bait and everyone has to have one. Filters ain't cool but there sure is alot of money spent "MARKETING" them. sOME PEOPLE GET PAID TO LIE!!!!!!

 

[Dargo]

Dargo----Like McDonald's selling hamburgers---is it the cheese that sells?----is it the beef that sells?----are is it the Marketing that sells?????

Um, last time I checked a McDonald's hamburger doesn't protect a 20k engine. Sorry, but being in the business and seeing repair statistics on thousands of repair claims, I'm not into saving a couple of bucks and risking thousands and thousands of dollars. But, hey, some guys are more into gambling than I am. And, if I were into gambling, I'd honestly rather run with NO oil filter than a Fram that can destroy an engine when the cheapest filtering element available used in the filter can come apart and plug oil passages.

Besides, it just isn't a logical thought process to think that different technicians who have absolutely zero vested interest in what oil filter you use would "lie" about Fram oil filters being junk. There simply is no logic in that statement.

 

[Deleted member 41266]

So there are literally tens of thousands of these sort of engines made that never had any sort of oil filter on them at all and never had any problems.

Yes, but what were the change intervals back then? Compared to today? A good comparsion is small displacement engines. For example, any Kohler 15hp (or thereabouts) will safely go about 30-35hrs on an oil change without a filter and about 3X that with a filter. So when you say that they never had any problems, it should be qualified. And, any problems is very subjective; how long before those engines needed to be overhauled? Today, with better oil and filters were talking in the 5-10,000hrs and more range for auto engines--that would have been a pipe dream in the 50's & 60's.

If you want to cut your standard change intervals in third, then maybe, but a very small one, you'd be better off than running without a filter. I think it is a very high price to pay to avoid the very very very small risk of getting a bum filter. Think about it, how many filters does Fram sell a year? And how many of them fail catastrophically? It it was epidemic, I'd expect that we would be reading and seeing it in the news in a big way. Walmart, Pep Boys, Advance and all the other large retailers would drop them like a rock.

Sure there are better filters out there than Fram, but Fram is definitely better than nothing at all. (But don't expect to see that tag line in their ads any time soon. )

 

[Dargo]

...Fram is definitely better than nothing at all. (But don't expect to see that tag line in their ads any time soon. )

Yeah, you're right. I got carried away. Oil used to be so much worse than it is now. If Fram advertised that they were better than nothing at all, they'd likely get their rear sued off for false advertising!