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fram oil filter failure


stony

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Well,

 

I'm not sure what caused this...it was either all the bearing material clogged the filter and made it fail ( not supposed to happen) or the filter failed send crap into the engine causing the #1 bearing failure.. not sure but either way here are some pics.

 

What i saw when i pulled the filter. I had already cut off the top and removed the orange seal.

 

 

DSC03091.jpg

 

 

After top was cut off.

 

DSC03090.jpg

 

Seal moved out of the way

 

DSC03092.jpg

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I have seen oil filter studies and Fram came out very very low. Especially the fram extra guard.

 

Fram Extra Guard

Years ago Fram was a quality filter manufacturer. Now their standard filter (the radioactive-orange cans) is one of the worst out there. It features cardboard end caps for the filter element that are glued in place. The rubber anti-drainback valve seals against the cardboard and frequently leaks, causing dirty oil to drain back into the pan. The bypass valves are plastic and are sometimes not molded correctly, which allows them to leak all the time. The stamped-metal threaded end is weakly constructed and it has smaller and fewer oil inlet holes, which may restrict flow. I had one of these filters fail in my previous car. The filter element collapsed and bits of filter and glue were circuilating through my system. The oil passge to the head became blocked and the head got so hot from oil starvation that it actually melted the vacuum lines connected to it as well as the wires near it.

 

 

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html#fram-ph8a

 

The study results.

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilters.html

 

 

Sorry your engine went south man.. I hope you get get it back up and going with out too much trouble.

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Sorry to hear that an oil filter was a possible reason for engine failure! I used to run one on my built 4G63 and was always skeptical about them, but my father insisted that FRAMs were good... and back in his day they probably were. I would run OEM but I am running a large PH8 filter so am currently running a Bosch, I also sometimes use the Mobil1 filters.

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I read the same filter study years ago, and have run a bosch since my engine rebuild (over 3 years ago now). The engine still runs great, I just have to bite the bullet and pay almost 35 bucks just for the oil and filter. (Synthetic mobil 1)

 

I can only imagine what the people running royal purple or amsoil have to pay per oil change!

 

I have seen oil filter studies and Fram came out very very low. Especially the fram extra guard.

 

Fram Extra Guard

Years ago Fram was a quality filter manufacturer. Now their standard filter (the radioactive-orange cans) is one of the worst out there. It features cardboard end caps for the filter element that are glued in place. The rubber anti-drainback valve seals against the cardboard and frequently leaks, causing dirty oil to drain back into the pan. The bypass valves are plastic and are sometimes not molded correctly, which allows them to leak all the time. The stamped-metal threaded end is weakly constructed and it has smaller and fewer oil inlet holes, which may restrict flow. I had one of these filters fail in my previous car. The filter element collapsed and bits of filter and glue were circuilating through my system. The oil passge to the head became blocked and the head got so hot from oil starvation that it actually melted the vacuum lines connected to it as well as the wires near it.

 

 

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html#fram-ph8a

 

The study results.

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilters.html

 

 

Sorry your engine went south man.. I hope you get get it back up and going with out too much trouble.

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Quick question.........

 

Is the oil filter bypass on the car or filter adapter still there?

 

That exact type of damage is the reason for the bypass' existence.

 

Some people remove a stock oil cooler and don't remember to replace the plug that sits where the bypass normally sits with a bypass.

 

Non-cooled cars come with it in the block and cooled cars come with it in the cooler adapter.

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Quick question.........

 

 

That exact type of damage is the reason for the bypass' existence.

 

The filter bypass would have done nothing for the engine except what already happened. It would have saved the filter, but a proper filter may have prevented the engine damage if the bypass was eliminated. It's a common deletion when building an engine IMO.

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To tell you the truth i didn't buy it cause it was cheap i bought it cause it was the first filter i found that matched the one i had.

 

SOOOOO

 

I got some more info from insiders in japan that knew the guys that built this motor that it may or may not of had an issue before this with the same bearing it it was just replaced... yea just that one... So it was bound to happen. The ONE thing i learned for sure on a hi dollar motor... unless you built it yourself open it up and check all your tolerances!!!

 

 

The crank is ordered. and working on getting one matching rod from HKS. then bearings and some gaskets and i will be good to go.

 

turbo rebuid kit should be here any day

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We have only ourselves to blame for FRAM having to dumb down their quaility. When the vast majority of consumers purchase an oil filter based on price, FRAM could maintain their quality and go out of business or cheapen up the product and remain an on-going concern.

 

BTW.... FRAM still makes the HP1 and its rated specs are as follows:

 

20 microns filtering.

500 psi max pressure.

9 to 12 psi bypass opening (.1 GPM).

10 GPM flow rating.

 

Pressure drop rate:

 

2 psi @ 3.2 GPM

4.1 psi @ 4.8 GPM

4.8 psi @ 6.4 GPM

5.5 psi @ 8.0 GPM

 

Its still a high quality racing oil filter.

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When I read this:

 

I believe the same study also placed the NAPA (gold and black) filters as one of the upper quality filters. They run about $9 a piece though.

 

I was just about to say exactly this:

 

Napa Gold = re-bagged Wix filter which imo is probably the best filter out there.

 

 

 

and this

We have only ourselves to blame for FRAM having to dumb down their quaility. When the vast majority of consumers purchase an oil filter based on price, FRAM could maintain their quality and go out of business or cheapen up the product and remain an on-going concern.

 

couldn't be any more true. I call it the "Wal-Martization" of America, and we have done it to ourselves from day one. I won't delve any further into THAT topic, but I WILL say that I have seen an EXTREMELY potent and expensively built Subaru EA82T engine (the engine in between the BRAT and the recent EJ series thats been in every subaru of the last 20 years) that did the EXACT same thing: FRAM orange filter collapsed, spun a bearing, motor was toast.

 

N-E-V-E-R again will I buy a Fram product, of any sort, for just this reason. WIX all the way, unless I'm broke.. then its any reputable brand that I can find that weighs significantly more than the Fram. Seriously, I will find a Fram and compare my other options; if I can't find one heavier than the Fram, I go to another store.

 

As for people running Royal Purple, or Amsoil.. they probably change their oil when it tests bad, or every 10-15K miles, whichever comes first. I would. If you test the oil every 10K and replace the oil every 5K, AND you are using something like royal purple in the first place... I've gathered that you are in the clear. Until I am convinced otherwise, this will be my opinion.

 

Sucks about your motor, man!! I do my level best to spread the bad word on Fram Orange Filters everywhere I can.

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