Just bought a three-year supply of Motorcraft oil filters.

02 281 GT

Agreed...My wife has great Boobs
15 Year Member
Feb 3, 2009
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Cabot, AR
The wife and I (and the son, now) are going to be here in Germany for another three years; the base exchange has a small section that sells car-related stuff, but they only stock Fram filters. I can't get my hands on a 5.0 Motorcraft filter from the German auto parts stores, so I ordered 12 FL300 filters from Rock Auto on wholesaler closeout for $2.26/ea.

But here's the kicker...

Being that these were a wholesaler closeout, they seem to have sitting around for a while. Eight of them look like they may be older than the Cobra itself. I'm not really thinking it would be a bad idea to use them, but I'm just wanting a second opinion. What do y'all think? Still better than a Fram, right?
 
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I havent seen any actual tests, but reports of tests. It seems Fram's reputation was spoiled due to faulty anti drainback valves in their filters causing lots of engine problems. I'm sure they've fixed that, but now they've been bought out by some private British firm called the Rank Group. Most likely made in China now. Motorcraft for my Fords and Wix for my Volvo. Wix makes the Volvo branded oem filters as well.

Back to your find, I wouldnt see any isdue with using them, maybe blow em out a bit with some low psi air hose to rid of any debris. One readon i like the Volvo/Wix filters, they have a plastic sleeve over the open end.

CHEERS
 
Is there an independent testing link that shows Fram as not being as good as others?

Yeah. The Society of Automotive Engineers does independent testing on almost all the oil filter brands. They measure by the number of ppm contaminants that get through the filter. The last time I saw the report, the Purolator Pure One was still the number one filter, and the standard Purolator was still the number 2. However, I don't think they tested the Amsoil filter since it didn't have a signifigant market share. Fram consistently scored poorly. If you open up a Fram filter, you will see that they use a good deal of cardboard in certain areas where others use metal with rubber seals. Some oil is able to pass through the cardboard without being filtered very well.

Kurt
 
Actually, that's not entirely true. I believe they make Castrol Syntec, but the GTX is bought from the lowest bidder. I think the honest truth is that as long as something has and SAE seal, it's good enough. Even if a Fram has cardboard in it, the filter isn't really that big of a factor in engine wear. Same goes for oil. Even if it's made by the lowest bidder it has to be built to a standard. My engine has almost 2 gallons of Advance Brand oil in it right now, which is just rebranded Havoline. I used to get these unbranded PowerFlo filters from Advance too for $1.18/each. They were just Purolators with another name sprayed on the side of them. Too bad they discontinued them.

Kurt