The bottom fell off of my Turkish FRAM oil filter! - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jeremy5848 · #1 06-07-2008, 04:22 PM

When I changed the oil and filter in my 1985 300D the other day, I was shocked and dismayed to discover that the (metal) bottom had come off of the Fram oil filter and was sitting in the filter cannister while I held the bulk of the filter in my hand.

The filter was my usual Turkish Fram, CH2930, which I had purchased at Pep Boys during one of their "Two for $6.99" sales in July 2006. The filter and Mobil-1 5W-40 had been installed in October 2007. Since it had been 8-1/2 months, I decided to change the oil and filter even though the car had traveled only 2210 miles in that time. (I had installed Mobil-1 for its cold weather abilities, having planned a winter trip to snow country.)

Fortunately, I was able to reach into the filter cannister and remove the bottom piece with my gloved hand. The damaged filter and an identical new one are shown in the picture. It looks like the glue that was used to attach the metal bottom to the paper element had simply failed to hold -- maybe the machine burped and didn't use enough glue. I doubt that the kind of oil had any effect -- I've used Mobil-1 in this car before with no problems.

Rather than dissing Fram, my purpose here is to point out that I could have put the new filter (another Fram) in on top of the old bottom if I had not been paying attention or if I was "Quickie Joe" at the $20 oil change place. The filter does not really fit completely into the cannister but the lid will go on and if you really crank down on the two nuts, the thing might hold together long enough to squirt oil all over the place. Worst case, you ruin the engine.

I'm in the process of contacting Fram (now owned by Honeywell, I see) to ask if they would like the filter back for examination by their QA people. I'll update this thread with results, if any. Caveat emptor!

Jeremy