FL820S to become obsolete?

[RF Overlord]

I've been reading here lately that the FL500S fits FL820S applications and that some of the private-label brands are consolidating inventory and deleteing the FL820S equivalent in favour of the FL500S size.

My concern is whether Ford will tell Motorcraft they don't need the FL820S anymore and it will stop being made. I suppose that as long as the FL500S can do the job properly in my application I shouldn't be concerned, but......will it? I don't wanna have to know this.

On a side note, if I do end up all paranoid and want to buy a whole bunch of filters to keep me covered, what is the shelf life if stored in a relatively dry and cool basement?

 

[TallPaul]

Bean counters ruin things. I'll be watching this thread because I just bought a vehicle that takes the FL820s, and it came from a Valvoline oil change shop with their FL500s version, a VO-105. Pretty shabby, the Fl500s has half to maybe 2/3 (if we are overly generous) the filter element of the FL820s based on circumfrence of the filter element. I would hope and expect that Motorcraft will continue to supply the FL820s.

If only all vehicles were spec'ed to fit the FL1A. Nice big filter which has been around probably since Ford first developed the 289 CID V8 (later 302, called 5.0L though it actually figures to 4.9L), or some 30-40 years.

 

[chubbs1]

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
I've been reading here lately that the FL500S fits FL820S applications and that some of the private-label brands are consolidating inventory and deleteing the FL820S equivalent in favour of the FL500S size.

My concern is whether Ford will tell Motorcraft they don't need the FL820S anymore and it will stop being made. I suppose that as long as the FL500S can do the job properly in my application I shouldn't be concerned, but......will it? I don't wanna have to know this.

On a side note, if I do end up all paranoid and want to buy a whole bunch of filters to keep me covered, what is the shelf life if stored in a relatively dry and cool basement?


Stock up IMO. They have a LONG shelf life (years) as long as moisture and large temperature swings are minimized.

 

[hhu168]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
I've been reading here lately that the FL500S fits FL820S applications and that some of the private-label brands are consolidating inventory and deleteing the FL820S equivalent in favour of the FL500S size.

My concern is whether Ford will tell Motorcraft they don't need the FL820S anymore and it will stop being made. I suppose that as long as the FL500S can do the job properly in my application I shouldn't be concerned, but......will it? I don't wanna have to know this.

On a side note, if I do end up all paranoid and want to buy a whole bunch of filters to keep me covered, what is the shelf life if stored in a relatively dry and cool basement?


Stock up IMO. They have a LONG shelf life (years) as long as moisture and large temperature swings are minimized.


The rubber gasket and the silicon valve are the parts that degrade. Shelf life is about 5 years.

 

[Nick R]

Kitchen they may be physically smaller but they made up for it in a much larger number of pleats, so the surface area of the media is the same or actually bigger.

 

[Michael_P]

Anyone know the biggest filter that will work for this application?

 

[Hallmark]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Anyone know the biggest filter that will work for this application?


If you browse around the several Mustang forums, you'll find a lot of discussion about the FL820S vs FL500S and alternatives including some conversion kits for larger filters. Also, some conversations about the FL500S filter media(content/material).

What's really amusing about some of the other forums is all the unanswered inquiries/discussion/debate about the Ford factory-installed MYSTERY FILTER and aftermarket FL500S spec filter. The BITOG folks determined long ago that the 'mystery filter' is made by Champ Labs and the Motorcraft FL500S is made by Purolator to Ford's specs.

 

[chevrofreak]

The Purolator branded filters, and the Motorcraft and Mopar branded filters are the only ones still made in the FL-820S size as far as I know. Who knows how much longer they will be around.

 

[MNgopher]

As I recall, it seems that only the quickie lube filter lines (Pennzoil, Valvoline, etc...) that have done away with the FL820s. They are readily available in every other filter lineup (Fram, Wix and Clones,Purolator, Champ, etc..)

 

[bdcardinal]

Nothing from Ford about this filter going disco duck.

Remember the FL-1A was the bees knees, used forever and hasnt been used since about 2000 MY, yet other MC filters will screw on and hold.

 

[caravanmike]

hopefully what is being seen is a quickly lubes attempt to lessen their inventory

 

[TallPaul]

Ah, to get an adapter so the FL1A could mount in place of the FL820s!

I have run FL1A on the Aerostar 3.0 for years and it is listed to take the FL400s.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Ah, to get an adapter so the FL1A could mount in place of the FL820s!

I have run FL1A on the Aerostar 3.0 for years and it is listed to take the FL400s.


Maximum Motorsports out of San Luis Obispo makes a real nice remote mount kit to convert FL-820S to FL-1A.

 

[RF Overlord]

Well, I got this back from Todd Vick, Manager, IAM Product Engineering | Purolator Filters in under 2 hours: (I also asked about shelf life)

"When comparing performance of the FL500S and the FL820S, the filter performance is the same for efficiency and capacity. The FL500S has a higher hydrostatic burst rating. We do not recommend storing extended years of oil filters due to concern of aging of the media and the gasket. I would recommend no more that 2-3 years and would seal the product, keep it in a climate controlled environment. Do not store in open air as humidity will not only attack the media over time but also the metal components."

Once again, Purolator shows what REAL customer service should be...

 

[TallPaul]

The smaller filter may hae a higher burst rating because it is smaller. By capacity they are refering to flow I would assume. If filter element is the same capacity, it must be really packed in on the small can.

 

[Drew2000]

I also noticed that the FL500S has a much higher bypass PSI than the FL820S...something like 16-20# vs 8-10# for the 820. Don't know how much difference that makes in the "real world".

 

[Hallmark]

Originally Posted By: Drew2000
I also noticed that the FL500S has a much higher bypass PSI than the FL820S...something like 16-20# vs 8-10# for the 820. Don't know how much difference that makes in the "real world".


According to tech info from a Ford source (sorry, I can't recover a link to verify), FoMoCo tinkered with some oil pump outputs (e.g. the source specifically referenced the 3.0 V6) applicable to model year 2009 engines apps forward that required the switch from FL-820S to FL-500S filters with different bypass PSIs.

I also don't know what 'real world' difference that makes, but I'll stick to Ford's recommended filter for my 2010 Fusion when I change oil/filter.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Ah, to get an adapter so the FL1A could mount in place of the FL820s!

I have run FL1A on the Aerostar 3.0 for years and it is listed to take the FL400s.


Maximum Motorsports out of San Luis Obispo makes a real nice remote mount kit to convert FL-820S to FL-1A.


I have that exact kit on my 99 Mustang, very high quality.

 

[TallPaul]

Was just on the Fleetguard site. They have two filters for the FL820s application, one being synthetic media. I tried to cross reference the FL500s and they did not have a filter for that application yet.

I doubt that all filter companies will phase out the FL820s size filter.

 

[TallPaul]

Wow, Fleetguard is fast in responding to customer questions. I submitted the question around 2 pm today and got the answer by 5 pm:

QUESTION:
Quote:
My 2005 Mercury Mountaineer 4.0 V6 takes a Motorcraft FL820s. Your site gives cross reference of LF3681 and synthetic media version of LF16002. Do either of these filters have the bypass valve in the base of the filter (threaded end)? THat is what I am looking for and so far it seems only Motorcraft has. Also is there a longer filter, perhaps 5 inches, that would fit this application?


RESPONSE:
Quote:
Thank you for contacting us using FleetMaster. I show that both the LF3681 and the LF16002 have a bypass valve in the dome end of the filters. These are the only two filters we recommend for this application. Please let me know if you need anything else. Thanks again and have a great day! Thank you for using FleetMaster