Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Auto/Truck oil filters . . .

When I bought my new '87 Toyota pickup I chose Fram filters and Valvoline dino oil.
I put a head gasket on it at 420,000(weeping coolant into one cylinder) a few years ago.
When I pulled the head I could see faint cross-hatch at the front and rear of each cylinder.
The valve guides were perfect. The cam lobes showed slight wear.
I do change oil/filter every 2500 miles. I'm sure that is a factor but Fram must be doing something right.
I have read that the only time there is a problem with Fram is when they are run too long.

Pepsi.

He didn't take one apart but I think they are made by same people that make Wix and Napa Gold

For gassers I consider Wix, Bosch, Baldwin and OEM to all be good. I don't think Mobil One or Amsoil are worth their cost unless you're doing extended change intervals or getting them for a substantial discount.

Not a fan of either FRAM or Purolator. I cringe at the sight of K&N "high performance" air filters on anything.

What kind of air filters do you use?

OEM generally. Especially on the 6.0 powerstroke. There isn't a better air filter for it than the Ford/Motorcraft filter made by Donaldson. It has plenty of flow, capacity and good filtration. Same for the Honda air filter. You can often just look at an air filter's pleated media and see the difference in quality. The Honda's media is thick and substantial compared to cheaper aftermarkets I've looked at.

Partial to the Seafoam Extended Life series of filters.

Can anyone cite an independent study where an engine failure was directly attributed to the failure of the oil filter?

You don't need an independent study, its common sense.
If your filter is not working, it is letting particles of dust, and sand in your chambers, which is like putting sand through your carburetor .
It is not like a jugular stroke of the knife to your neck, it is death by a thousand cuts, same for the oil filter.
Talk to a mechanic in an open mine, and he will tell you the effects of dirt on engines, and why they change filters often
Depending on your filter it could be a few thousand miles, or 100,000, its your engine so its your gamble.

"Pay me now, or pay me later"

No independent study, early to mid 90s, I forget the exact year. We are working on the Staten Island landfill, one of the operators lived in Jersey and ran a Volkswagen diesel. We watched him coming up the hill and that damn engine sounded like it was ready to fall out . Open the hood no oil in the engine, we could see oil on the oil filter, it was cracked at the top of the filter along the seam, all of the oil leaked out.I Half blame him he should’ve stopped. I always used frames back then and I stopped after that. That motor was toast.

Champion is the biggest OEM filter maker that I am aware of...

you call Mobil for info on their Mobil One filter, they route you to Champion customer service.

although it is much messier, do the same with filters, after they have been ran for however long your run your oil before changing it..

if it was pointed out how much crap a Fram is, you ought to see what it looks like when you cut one apart after being in service for 5K or more..
That cardboard media, comes out like mush that had been ran thru a blender...

anything cheap like Fram's media, you can attribute that to the accountant dept.. bean counters...

Last filter I did that to, over at the local CC automotive dept, was a Mobil One filter off my wife's Camry, that had been ran 20K with both the oil and the filter...
oil analysis came back still useable... ( Mobil One 0w20 .. she drives mainly just around town)... the Mobil One filter had no brreakdown of anything like the Fram filter did....the filter media was dirty, but it still held its structural integrity, as did the other parts of the filters...

and if you think a Napa Gold is heavy, compare its weight to a Mobil One filter...which are 10 bucks at Walmart... for ALL of them they carry... even those huge suckers for a Dodge or Ford diesel....they claim good for up to 20,000 miles...running them that long, has verified that for me thru oil analysis..

Napa Golds, which I was running before, seemed to be wearing out at about 10K.... which is still pretty darn good...

for low cost filters that I have taken apart, Walmarts seem to be the best one out there... at 5K they are still holding tough...and were surprisingly in workable shape after 10K, that I tested on my old 93 Camry.. if you are a cheapskate, that is the best value for your $3,00.....

Ford filters are made by Puralator.. which I have ran a bunch of those in my time... and have always done a good job..back in my younger days when I ran the filter 10K, but changed the oil every 5 K....

Nowadays, its Mobil One filters at Walmart for $10 unless something changes.....

Early 80s, I had a VW Dasher Wagon with a Diesel in it... they ran high oil pressure...I had that happen a couple of times on that engine, right after I changed the oil, pressure was high enough it would effect the structural integrity of the filter right off.... but that is back in the days that I thought a filter is a filter..
so always bought the cheapest or what was on sale...

That Dasher taught me that wasn't such a bright idea...started buy filters meant for the diesel, instead of a Ford filter, which would screw right on and were usually cheaper....

We have all seen the cutaway displays. Is more paper a better filter?

I use WIX in the pick up trucks, GMC and Toyota. Mobil 1 filter on the 40 year old Ford 5600 tractor. My wife bought a Toyota Highlander 4 cylinder and that thing has a cartridge filter that you have to drain and then take the plastic cover off of. I could shoot the Jap that designed that. I bought a metal cover for the next time I change oil. The plastic ears used to unscrew the cap are all boogered up and I'm going to have to work to get it off next oil change.
As to the 5600 tractor. I got it overhauled and it obviously has more compression. It starts easier in cold weather and has more power. I've been using 15W40 Rotella in it and the oil pressure on start up is 80. If I run it 30-45 minutes it drops back but never under 55 if it is throttled up. Yesterday I changed the oil and used Rotella 10W30 thinking it may flow better. Is 80 to high for a cold engine? When it was worn out naturally i guess the pressure was lower. Is 10W30 ok in an older Ford tractor? We used to use straight 30W.

One word non ethanol sta-bil.

Where do you get those?

I work the counter at the local NAPA store. The Pro Select is not the same filter as the NAPA Gold. Different filter media. Having said that, I have run nothing but the Pro Select on a 1995 K 1500 with a 4.3 engine; It has 301,000 on it and still runs good and carries 50 psi of oil pressure when running down the road. Carries 20-25 psi when idling at a stop light. So I think it is a pretty good filter for the money. The Pro Select is about all the local garages use for oil changes unless it is diesel of any kind. Here's a heads up. The local stores all have a farm account that takes about 40 percent of the out the door price of oil filters. Our farm account is called Johnny Cash Farms. I don't know about the stores in other areas but is worth asking about. It also takes some money of the cost of batteries. Those fuggers are getting pricey now days. Ya didn't hear it from me.....Just Sayin.

Speaking of (cartridge)filters...


After battling a mudded up now frozen iced up frame mounted fuel filter on a '03 F350 I recently ordered a set of these.

https://www.amazon.com/Motivx-Tools...mp;psc=1&refRID=S4PHT0A4PDMAXTV50KX1

Yet the oil loonies on The Oil Guy's website rave about the Fram Synthetic filter. Pennzoil Synthetic oil too. They must be a bunch of buffoons.