The bottom fell off of my Turkish FRAM oil filter!

[Jeremy5848]

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

[charmalu]

Now that is interesting.
I pulled an 85 300D engine out of a cali. car.in April. couldn`t see the poor little thing get crushed at PNP.

So when I get it home and started taking everything off, I pulled the oil filter out. It also had a Fram Turkish filter. I pull the lid off and was surprised to see this short filter come out stuck on the shaft.
Look down inside and see another filter. HMMM, this is different.

well pull it out and it is the bottom half of the filter, it came unglued.

Don`t know the history of the eng. or how long it was in there. but still shouldn`t have happened.

Charlie

[pawoSD]

Huh, interesting! I just changed the oil on our 300D today and the fram looked fine when I took it out....and I put a new one in.

It doesn't even really matter if that happens does it? Its still held in place the way the filter is secured in there....

[bustedbenz]

Wow... thank goodness the filters I'm using that are full of cotton mill floor sweepings haven't ever separated like that...

Sorry... but somebody had to say it.

Glad you caught the mistake in time to avoid making a mess.

[Diesel911]

I think as long as the filter was pushed down onto the base nothing bad got into the engine but it is a good thing you decided to change the oil early.
I dose not look like there was even any sort of glue used to stick ot on! If you have any more filters you might want to give their bases a tug and see if they move. If any come off; degrease the metal part with brake cleaner and glue it back on with silicone sealant.

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by bustedbenz

Wow... thank goodness the filters I'm using that are full of cotton mill floor sweepings haven't ever separated like that...

Sorry... but somebody had to say it.

Glad you caught the mistake in time to avoid making a mess.

The part that came apart would not affect anything, its merely the rubberized base of the paper pleated filter..... The upper section of the Fram filters seems to be very rugged and should never come apart.

[Mustang_man298]

Interesting, I've always used Fram spin-on's on all my other cars, never had a problem one with them yet (except trying to get one off 3K miles after I used the wrench to install it....things you learn not to do back as a teenager)

I've always used Mahle on the Benz.

[DieselClack]

MANN, MANN, MANN.....MAHLE, MAHLE ,MAHLE! Order extras over the internet and keep spares around. I re-order when I'm down to 6!

[gsxr]

Despite the extra few bucks it costs, it's best to stick with the OEM filters for MB... Hengst, Knecht, Mahle, Mann.

Most Fram filters do not have a good reputation. In case you have not head of it, the infamous Oil Filter Study (circa 1999) has been udpated with new info for 2008. There is lots of info there, you can skip to the "opinions" section for the end result... Fram was not highly regarded. Although they are discussing spin-on filters, it still gives a rough idea about the mfr's design & quality standards. There is a section on German (spin-on) filters as well. Here's the URL:

http://www.knizefamily.net/minimopar...ers/index.html


Here's one short quote as a teaser:

Fram Extra Guard
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 circulating through my system. The oil passage 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.

[DeliveryValve]

Here we go again! Another filter debate.

Here is a famous one:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...d.php?t=104768



But that sux! I have like 10 more of these filters that I need to go through. After that, I guess I am switching to the Baldwin P102 filters as they are built like tanks with no waste cotton gin.

[Hatterasguy]

I have been using OE MB filters purchased from my local dealer since I got my car in 2004, and have never had any problems.

I cut one open and found the cotten filter media to be clean and white.

[DeliveryValve]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I have been using OE MB filters purchased from my local dealer since I got my car in 2004, and have never had any problems.

I cut one open and found the cotten filter media to be clean and white.

But.. For a 616.XXX or 617.XXX motor the OE will be waste cotton junk.

[Hatterasguy]

I'd be surprised if they were not from the same factory as the 603's.

I have 270k miles on my engine and its as tight as any engine of that vintage can be. I'm still waiting for it to start buring oil.

[Gurkha]

Originally Posted by bustedbenz

Wow... thank goodness the filters I'm using that are full of cotton mill floor sweepings haven't ever separated like that...

Sorry... but somebody had to say it.

Glad you caught the mistake in time to avoid making a mess.

Same goes for me.........been using them cotton mill floor sweepings filter for years without any disintegration, sames goes for BOSCH India filters.

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I'd be surprised if they were not from the same factory as the 603's.

I have 270k miles on my engine and its as tight as any engine of that vintage can be. I'm still waiting for it to start buring oil.

They are junk, I had one and sawed it open after I had used it, it had junk in it just like the others.....not quite as much of the small debris stuff, but it still looked icky.

Frams seem to be the most clean inside. Hengst have gone downhill and are terrible and spew flakes of pine cones and cotton plant all over from the bypass section's holes. So far only the Bosch and Fram filters have seemed clean enough to use. However, Baldwin makes a very very good filter for the 617....so I will be moving to those when we run out of our inventory.

Also, the dealer filters are like $18 now....insanity. Even the very high quality Baldwin (made in USA) filters are only like $13-14ish.....