Fram Endurance / Walmart End of Life ?

[4WD]

It’s not the seating of the plastic valve itself….
It’s the seating of the spring plate as it sits on the filter top that has shown gaps using a flashlight.
For me, it’s a nothing burger…but for most here it’s “catastrophic”.
The final test is what’s in the used oil…and you’ve demonstrated the filter works as advertised.

Exaggerating about exaggeration !

 

[ZeeOSix]

I actually looked at one of the Fram filters close up (we put three of the Endurance filters into use during the last "family vehicle servicing") and found that the casting seam on the plastic bypass valve is no longer present. It's totally smooth, for a good seal on the valve. It's a marked manufacturing improvement.

You talking about no leaf spring metal stamping "ruffles" were seen? You have some photos?

 

[ZeeOSix]

I think I forgot to put in the most important results from that 3,330-mile sample supported by the Fram Endurance FE7317, namely the ISO 4406 numbers: 24/22/15.

If you look at the ISO particle count data in the table and graph below (from UOAs posted on this board), the Purolator Boss had an ISO code of 24/21/15 ... basically the same as your FE7317. But the OG Ultras (with a good leaf spring seal design) has an ISO code of 23/17/12 and 23/18/11. The FE is suppose to be as efficient as the OG Ultra (99+% @ 20u), but doesn't seem to be based on your ISO cleanliness code. Leaking ruffled leaf spring perhaps?

My interest is in the last one, as the first two are for particles >4 and >6 microns, respectively. That "15" is for particles greater than 14 microns, which to me is the more important of the three. @Jim Allen came up with an ISO number of "17" as an average for new oil in quart bottles via testing and obtaining data from other means. This means the Fram Endurance kept the oil "cleaner than new" for particulates greater than 14 microns, while the oil held the smaller and much smaller particles in suspension until the next oil change.

I'd like to see the clean oil ISO report. I doubt new oil in the bottle is really that dirty.