The following list of filters have known problems. You
will see well-known names here and will probably be disappointed. This is
because many of these brands have stopped making their own filters and buy from
a common manufacturer.
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.
Another bad filter idea brought to you by your friends at
Fram. The filter itself is a slightly improved design over the Fram Extra
Guard, but still uses the same filter element. It has a silicone
anti-drainback valve, a quality pressure releif valve, and enough inlet holes
for good flow. The big problem is that they are trying to cash in on the Slick
50 craze. They impregnate the filter element with bits of Teflon like
that found in Slick 50. As with Slick 50, Teflon is a solid and does not
belong in an engine. It cannot get into the parts of the engine that oil
can and therefore does nothing. Also, as the filter gets dirty, it ends
up filtering the Teflon right out. Dupont (the manufacturer of Teflon)
does not recommend Teflon for use in internal combustion engines. Please
do not waste your money on this filter.
This filter is a Fram! It is the exact same design as
the Fram Extra Guard filter and it is junk. On the up side, it costs $1
less than the Fram version.
This is another Fram Extra Guard that I have seen at
K-mart. It used to be a Purolator, but Quaker State is now
owned/controlled by Penzoil...