Who was it who mentioned Fram oil filters and dropping oil pressure? (2025 Update)

You're right, Frams are the bestest filters ever. We believe you. Now will you STFU already?

nate

Those are press on filters. Just put your scissors jack under them.

I, for one, consider it pathetic and quite telling how you (including some others) intentionally, purposefully and repeatedly attempt to misrepresent his easily understood stance and remarks despite his, unlike your own, rational approach and patient spoonfed explanations. You clearly "doth protest too much".

I'll tell you waht, Jim. You are free to believe as you like, and to use Fram filters on your vehicles. Nobody's forcing you to forgo your "orange" fix. The rest of us are free to use anything BUT Fram if we so wish. For you, it appears Fram Filters are either a religion or a political party (not that American politics much differentiates) and you have decided you don't want to hear the facts, your mind's already made up.

If it hasn't anything to do with automotive safety or emission controls, they are less "rabid" in their enforcement.

I'm not contadicting ANYTHING anyone else has said. I'm just saying mine blew off without splitting - and I'm not saying THAT was Fram's fault. (it WAS cold, and the oil WAS thick). I'm also stating that was NOT the reason it was virtually the last Fram filter I've used. That experience is NOT why I choose not to buy Fram filters today.

You do not understand how the filter valve works There is no valve in any oil filter that opperates as you state - and the engine that clattered on startup was NOT the 225 69 Dart - it was a 3.0 1998 New Yorker. A '69 225 does not have hydraulic lifters.

Your diagnosis is worse than faulty. You can't read either.

Don't get me started. I've seen whole CASES of filtes that were not threaded. I've seen filtes that were not completely painted. I've seen cases of filters wirhout base gaskets.

Were they designed that way???? Certainly not - but they were BUILT AND SHIPPED that way. Yet there are guys on this list who claim it is impossible for a company to supply defective oil filters to the market.

QUALITY CONTROL is the name of the game. Some have it. Some don't.

I most sincerely doubt it.

Which is no doubt why you've, multiple times no less, erroneously characterized his position as being along the lines of "Frams are the bestest filters ever".

Yet another perfect, textbook example of a steaming pile of horseshit.

Even I agree Fram filters are not the worst quality filters. There are some others that are far worse (IMO).

Well I don't agree with this. I don't think the Thailand made Toyota aftermarket filter for the RAV4 4 cylinder is a particularly good filter. It is not a bad filter, but there are other filters I like better (including the OE style Toyota Filter that came on the vehicle). I have a case of the Thailand made Toyota filters, and don't plan to throw them away, but when I order replacements, I am going to make sure I get the OE style Japanese made Toyota filters. If those aren't available, I'll probably switch the RAV4s over to the Purolator PureOne filter.

Ed

Ford didn't take my engine back for analysis when they changed it. It went into the scrap bucket after the"road man" verified it had, in fact, been replaced. A lot of Chrysler engines were scrapped before they decided they had a sludge/coking problem that needed to be addressed - after which they took several hundred back for inspection

In some engines the backflow prevention, or anti-drainback valve is located there - but virtually no pressure is required to open it

Several days ago I mentioned the cold start clatter on the New Yorker. (3.0 Mitsubishi)

Well I didn't know much about amsoil but something smelled very fishy in your story so a quick trip to their web site at amsoil.com and and look at their 5w30 oil and it claims to have API certification. It also has ILSAC 4 certification. Then i took a trip to the API webpage and sure enough Amsoil Inc. is listed in their licensee directory.

So where are you getting your misinformation?

Except that is complete bullshit that you created by pulling it out of your clueless ass. I have tested the anti-drainback valves on Fram filters and they do not fail as the mythology claims they do. I have never heard of any of the internet story tellers who have actually ever tested the valve on a single filter. Not one person that is passing on this folklore has checked one single valve.

I have checked them on filters after they were used using the dirty oil and have never found one that didn't work. The people who claim they are likely to leak don't have a clue. They are just idiots. If you cut the filter open, then the valve as well as the rest of the filter will no longer function properly. The very definition of a retard is someone who cuts a filter open to see if the anti drain back valve works.

If you want your engine to last 500K miles just buy the cheapest oil and filter and change the oil every 3000 miles. If you are really concerned about keeping dirt from harming your engine it makes very little sense to concoct an elaborate and expensive scheme for storing dirt inside your engines lubricating system. That is not a fail safe method of dealing with engine dirt. It makes much more sense to let your neighborhood recycling center take the dirt rather than trying to store it inside your engine. Removing the dirt from the engine is a completely safe way to prevent the dirt from harming your engine. Attempting to store the dirt in your oil and filter does not always work as effectively. By simply complicating the process you have increased the chance that it will fail. That said there really is no need to try to make your engine last 500K miles. There are very few people willing to do what it takes to make the rest of the car last anywhere near that long. If you use any approved oil and filter and change at the recommended intervals there is very little chance that the engine will crap out due to a lubricant problem before the rest of the car is shot.

-jim

That statement, read in conjunction with the first sentence of that paragraph says it all....

You change the filter yourself? How's the filter set on the 5.4? Horizontal, or somewhat bottom down? Do you fill the new filter with oil? If so, how much is retained while putting the filter on? Do you get the clatter on the start up after an oil change? Think about it. You should. Every time. Unless that clatter had absolutely nothing to do with the filter.

--Vic

All I've seen about that is anecdotes. Never heard a noise on my cars after an oil change, beyond lifters, which always bleed down on shut off anyway, and have nothing to do with the filter. And I put filters on dry except oiling the gasket. Not saying anti-drainback isn't a factor with some engines, just not with any I've had. All the filters have tipped downwards and only a small percentage of the oil could drain back anyway. One cold winter start is equal to probably 500 times any of this so-called anti-drainback bullshit - on my cars. Better make sure you use the right winter oil. Instead of worrying about filter myths. Of course I don't use Fram - sometimes superstition works out. Why take a chance? I don't walk under ladders either.

(Amsoil stuff snipped. Who uses Amsoil? That's crazy.)

If you can't prove it, it's no better than voodoo. Anyway, maybe the AC/Delcos, Purulators, etc I use are no better than the Frams. Just nobody is spreading myths about them. Hell if I know. And you don't either, unless you can cite a scientific and peer-reviewed study of current oil filters.

--Vic

I don't know what you mean by "these companies" but if the topic is still Fram, they meet the engine maker's specifications for each type of filter they make. That includes a working anti-drain back valve. SAE testing is credible evidence. Somebody cutting open a filter and inspecting the contents is not believable evidence.

You first made up a story about a company not having API certification. When that story turned out to be false you seemed to be trying to turn it into something else. I don't know anything about the Amsoil company other than they sell oil.

All the real evidence suggests the problems are mostly all in your head. I suspect those ideas got into your head from reading internet mythology.

And would this be knowledge you have acquired from internet folklore? From what I have read most of the filters that are put on car engines in the US today are Frams.

That is not what a company I have done some work for tells me. They make oil filter housings for both engine and hydraulic applications. They recommend Fram filters to their customers because they say that their testing show it does the best job of keeping oil clean. They rely on testing and not rumors like you do.

Like you have the slightest clue. The main reason they make the more expensive versions is probably because idiots like you are willing pay more for nothing.

-jim

Changing oil and filter at 3000 mile intervals addresses the dirt and oil quality problems, but does NOT address the dry-start / noisy valves on startup issues that faulty anti-drainback valves can cause.

Might not make the engine fail within the normal lifespan of the vehicle, but nobody who really cares about their car wants it rattling and clattering every time it starts up or they'd all drive deisels.

And vehicles with timing chains and hydraulic tensioners - particularly those with LONG chains like the old 2.6 Mitsubishi, eat timing chains and tensioners early in their life if they don't get adequate oil pressure very quickly on startup - EVERY TIME.

Well yes it actually does. In my experience just about the only thing that will ever cause a filter to fail to work properly in any way is excessive dirt in the engine. Excessive grit and dirt in the oil will cause things like anti-drain back valves and bypass valves to fail to seal properly. Gum and varnish will cause valves like the pressure regulator or bypass valve to stick. When those valves fail then you have oil pressure problems. And of course a very dirty engine can plug the filter media. An excessively dirty engine can be the cause of a malfunction for any brand oil filter. I'm not particularly interested in which filter fails first under those conditions. Instead of fretting over that question it is a much more intelligent strategy to just keep the engine in a condition so that no filter can fail.

Yeah that is definitely correct - nobody wants a rattling and clattering when the engine starts. Fram is the #1 selling filter. Fram oil filters are on more engines than any other oil filter brand. One thing that tells me is that people are using them because they are not having the problems you say they will.

-jim