Fram Fail

Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
4,131
Location
Richmond, VA
today I pulled the air filter out for a quick visual inspection. I have used Fram air and oil filters hundreds of times over the past 30 plus years and never had a problem. Today=problem. The filter was not seated at all, you could tell it has been letting unfiltered air into my engine...and it has been doing it for a long time(i dont check my air filter very often)

went to wally world to buy a new filter and found that Fram has some moron running their website now. Of course the little battery operated selector was not working and there was no filter book available. But i thought its ok because Fram has really smart people working there and they want to sell air filters. Wow was I wrong, some idiot at fram thinks it is really important to tell me where i can buy their products but their website has no where (that i can easily find on my phone while standing in front of a wall of air filters) that I can find which filter to use. Luckily I found another website that had a bunch of cross reference filters and found which model to buy.
 

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I use rockauto on my phone if I ever need a filter I’m unsure of, while in store. It usually at least gives the fram part numbers.
 
i usually don't have any issues with any brand air filter, but the last fram air filter that i put in a my parents escape didn't fit properly, its kind of a cone style filter that slides down into the air box and its like it was too long i had to force it in to get it to work and it'll probably crunch down after being in there for sometime but i didn't have any issues with the factory motorcraft filter or the wix filter that was in there previously.


other then that the regular panel style filters or conical etc in other vehicles no issues.
 
What filter PN? year/make/model?

Looks like an installation problem.
CA9895

2007 Mustang GT

This filter box does not make it easy to install an air filter. Could have very well shifted while I was attempting to snap the box back together. IMHO - a more robust filter would lessen the chance of it moving.
 
So you may have damaged it during installation?
The quality on these things went downhill. I got one for the Hyundai and promptly returned it without even installing it. It was cheaply made, bent out of shape, and said "Made in China" on it. FRAM can keep it.
 
I have personally installed more Fram filters in my time wrenching than I could ever hope to count.
One time, I bought an oil filter PH2870a that was defective.
No "o-ring" seal, and not loose in the box either.

I have always figured that no matter how good your manufacturing process is, every now and then a defect will ship.

fat biker
 
I'm at the "trust but verify" stage with Fram. I'm still using their air filters but they get a thorough inspection before they go in. I will note that the filters they're making for the last gen Focus and Focus ST do not fit the airbox properly. They are a millimeter or two longer than a Motorcraft unit and it makes closing the end of the air box very difficult.
 
Last edited:
CA9895

2007 Mustang GT

This filter box does not make it easy to install an air filter. Could have very well shifted while I was attempting to snap the box back together. IMHO - a more robust filter would lessen the chance of it moving.
Is it possible to remove the box to install the filter, then reinstall the loaded box? My Cadillac works this way...the filter shifts around and the box is hard to close when when I try to do this with the box installed. But it takes about 1.5 minutes to remove 3 bolts and a hose clamp, and pull the whole box out. This way I can verify that the seal is seated properly and the box is securely closed.
 
A car I bought when I was 17 had one of those cone type filters. I checked a few months after buying it and found the cone had fallen completely off the end of the filter. It was a Fram, I only bought OEM after that. Who knows how long it was like that, car had 63k when I purchased and 235k when sold. Still ran great but unibody was rusting through.
 
So you may have damaged it during installation?
👍🏻 some airboxes definitely need to be detached from the intake tube to properly seal the airbox to the filter without crushing and damaging the seal. There’s just not enough range of motion to get the locking tabs and clamps in place while attached. Many people are in a rush when changing air filters and end up with something similar to the OP’s pic.

I assume this is what you were referring to?
 
today I pulled the air filter out for a quick visual inspection. I have used Fram air and oil filters hundreds of times over the past 30 plus years and never had a problem. Today=problem. The filter was not seated at all, you could tell it has been letting unfiltered air into my engine...and it has been doing it for a long time(i dont check my air filter very often)

went to wally world to buy a new filter and found that Fram has some moron running their website now. Of course the little battery operated selector was not working and there was no filter book available. But i thought its ok because Fram has really smart people working there and they want to sell air filters. Wow was I wrong, some idiot at fram thinks it is really important to tell me where i can buy their products but their website has no where (that i can easily find on my phone while standing in front of a wall of air filters) that I can find which filter to use. Luckily I found another website that had a bunch of cross reference filters and found which model to buy.
Yes walamrt needs to install new batteries or atleast a catalog, but you can go to service and they will look up the part number.
 
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