Fram oil filter imploded!!!

I was changing the oil for the second time on this new car to me and what did I spy?

 

The filter walls were crushed inward. Makes a nice hourglass inside the filter and probably spreads pestilent death around the inside of the engine. Seems to run fine though so I will change oil in 500 miles to clear our the crap.

 

Pics of the inside of a very dark space are hard to get but you can see the shadows of the walls.

damn!!

Fram oil filter is on the bottom of my list...

holy geez. u running 50lbs of boost. lol

Yeah man, did you find a way to boost you oil system? That'd be sweet!

 

 

Seriously though, Fram uses some shoddy construction practices. There are those on here who (rightly) decry the validity of statements about Fram due to the scarcity of filter-related engine problems. Nevertheless, there's a good reason they have a name for themselves as crap (on their low-end filters that is).

I'm a mechanic myself and one of the schools I went to had several filters opened up to look at the design and fram was the worst, wix was one of the best , I use amsoil filters they are a good design similar to wix

Bad filter construction combined with an oil that's too thick when it's cold.

 

There are a lot of filter manufacturers out there, and they vary depending on market too. Some manufacturers are prominent in Europe but unheard of in the US.

From now on, just buy in bulk a bunch of OEM filters from Fred Bean's. Cuts down on oil changes costs, and you won't worry about this happening again.

^ aren't the new OEM filters produced by Fram, now?

Yes, but the oem subaru filter has a different bypass valve pressure setting.

 

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/398/engine-oil-filters

I hear Frams Tough Guard and Xtra Guard filters are pretty good. Its the basic ones that are crap

 

I just did my first oil change on this car (23K) with Pennzoil Ultimate synthetic (Walmart was out of Platinum) and Mobil M-108 filter

Been using Fram since I was 16y/o, I'm 55y/o now. Never had a issue.

Fram filters are garbage yet people still use them as they are so easy to get. Just google fram filters and you will see the construction is pure garbage.

Been using Fram since I was 16y/o, I'm 55y/o now. Never had a issue.

 

Me too. But I'm only 50.

I only use wix..... alway use the right filter for your car. just because it threads on and is the same size doesn't mean its the same inside.

I have rebuilt two engines because Fram filters imploded sending debris around the engine.

^ I have used Fram's on Honda's which tend to run high oil pressure compared to domestics. Ran Fram's on my 340 Duster with a high volume pump.

 

Never had a problem. There's good and bad in everything.

Wix!

i've heard bad things about fram oil filters.

I haven't had any trouble out of many Fram's. But I have noticed that the quality of things over the years has gone down. I have found that the price of oil filters from the Subaru Dealer isn't really that much different than Wal-Mart. Use your Subaru Bucks and it makes them pretty cheap.