Fram Air Filters

You too, eh.

I usually buy several filters at once, especially if I find them on sale. Took one out last week and thought some idiot must have swapped filters. Turns out that one had a bad rubber as well. Opened the other three and they were just fine.

Someone must have a bad die in the injection molding machine.

Never understood saving a few pennies. I had 2 problems ( slow learner ) with Fram in my Liberty. That caused me to be more conscious of the filters I purchase. I now use nothing but NAPA Gold filters ( actually WIX ). If you change oil 4 times a year you might save $20 buying cheap filters for a $30,000 engine. sorta a no brainer!

Wix filters are not that much more expensive, IMHO. Also CarQuest filters are all Wix if you don't have a NAPA near you.

Now I usually use a Mobile 1 oil filter for our 2004 Liberty Sport.

My best friend swears by the K&N oil filter for his 2004 Liberty Rocky Mountain edition because of the "Nut" built into the bottom of the filter casing for ease of filter removal.

I previously used Fram oil filters without any problems, but seeing our KJ has 226,000 kilometers/ 140,430 Miles I figure for the small additional cost of a Mobile 1 oil filter, it's cheaper than replacing an engine!

I still use Fram air filters because I have a stock of them. (And yes, I usually checked them before purchase because they do vary from one to another regarding the Orange urethane gasket.) Once my supply of them is depleted, I'll switch to the new K&N air filter a fellow KJ owner gifted to me. And only until I finish fabricating my snorkel which uses a Spectre Performance life time cleanable air filter.

For those of you considering K$N filters:

Budd Cochran

True.

Your basic air filter is good enough without going to snake-oil systems.

Think of it this way, if that was actually better for economy and mileage, the manufacturer would be all over it to meet CAFE requirements.

I'm happy with my Fram air filters. 190k on the ZJ and 100+ on the blower. all under a Fram. And that includes some real crappy dusty backroads.

I've got not problems about how well Fram air filters do their job (filtering air), but the lack of quality control concerning fit annoys me. I'll be opening the box next time I buy an air filter of any brand. :-)

That's "I've go no problems" ... I'm not fully awake yet :-)

FRH

I give up :-)

FRH

That's why I woke up at 10 today. :)

It had _nothing_ to do with staying out till 2am... rilly.

"Rilly"? Looks like you shoulda slept 'til noon.

Fram also makes a washable filter

The point I'm trying to make is that washable filters don't filter as well as paper ... until they get plugged up.

Most tests show that a paper filter stops about 98% of the dirt from getting into an engine ... a K$N stops about 97%.

Sure, it's "ONLY" 1% more dirt going into and wearing out your engine, if you want to look at it from that viewpoint ...

BUT

It's also 50% more dirt going into your engine than the paper filter allows ( 3% of dirt entering the engine is 50% greater than 2% of dirt entering the engine). What's that going to do to your cylinder walls and rings????

Also, an unmodified engine will only draw about 80% Volumetric Efficiency or, IOW, a 4L engine will only draw 3.2 L of air regardless of the flow rating of the air filter compared to the stock element, which is plenty big for a stock engine.

So, with more dirt going thru a over-priced filter, I don't see an economic advantage, if you want to keep an engine running well for as long as possible.

But, hey, it's your choice: pay now (K$N) or pay later (engine overhaul sooner than normal).

Budd