FRAM TG3614 CUT OPEN

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

This one is off the 2004 Ford Taurus with the 3.0L Vulcan that's been in some other threads. Just rolled over 127k original miles. This engine also has seen HPL PCMO as well. This car is presently having a fuel issue (I think the fuel dilution is because the fuel pump is flooding the engine with fuel sometimes, starving it of fuel on WOT. This discovered in verifying functionality. A weak fuel pump is likely.) So this engine has seen more frequent oil changes and checks until that can get remedied. Now onto the oil filter.

I can tell you it felt like a brick before cutting it open.

This engine and filter has seen some of this as well. @OVERKILL mentioned in a thread, I believe the HPL NO VII oil thread last month, that they dropped his moniker from the labeling and I can confirm.. that is correct.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I used to be a die hard Fram user. I'd used them since the late 1980s. If they hadn't gotten so expensive here I'd still use them. The TGs here for my Accord are $8. My Z only gets Nissan oems.

 

[fantastic]

Filter doesn't look too bad.

 

[Furious]

What was the interval?

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

What was the interval?

Date code A22223 on this one, and I think I have one more of same.

This was probably 2 months on there , I took the first filter off around Christmas, sent to @53' Stude before he turned on me. Took suggestion to get a filter cutter, it is easier than I thought, I believe I wrote the mileage and date on the one that replaced this at least I think I did. Interval shorter because the Taurus is having a fuel issue of some kind and may have been fuel diluting the oil at an accelerated rate, which we all know is not good.

So I think about a month and a half to two months this was on the 3.0L Vulcan.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

Tough Guards are fiber end caps these days, huh?

 

[Furious]

Tough Guards are fiber end caps these days, huh?

They have been for a long time, fiber end caps work it just comes down to preference really.

 

[DannyM]

Tough Guards are fiber end caps these days, huh?

 

[aquariuscsm]

They have been for a long time, fiber end caps work it just comes down to preference really.

There has to be something even minutely superior to metal end caps, or Fram would use fiber on their Ultras.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

There has to be something even minutely superior to metal end caps, or Fram would use fiber on their Ultras.

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe it's a longevity thing. The highest mileage rated filter gets the metal caps, because perhaps the fiber caps get too out of shape in longer runs.

I know it's all pressed together inside of the can, but I'm not a fan of how weak and wavy used fiber caps look. The lack of structure compared to a metal cap filter is always a little unnerving to me. That said, do I use fiber cap filters sometimes? Sure do.

 

[ZeeOSix]

There has to be something even minutely superior to metal end caps, or Fram would use fiber on their Ultras.

The Ultra metal end caps stems back to when it used the thick wire-backed full synthetic media. Now that it's not wire backed media, it could be the Ultra might go the way of non-metal end caps, but IMO Fram probably won't do that because they want to keep the Ultra above the TG with the 20K mile rating.

 

[Chris142]

The fuel pump only supplies fuel. If that engine has a fuel pressure regulator I'd look at that. Possibility a wearing injector but that's rare.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

This one is off the 2004 Ford Taurus with the 3.0L Vulcan that's been in some other threads. Just rolled over 127k original miles. This engine also has seen HPL PCMO as well. This car is presently having a fuel issue (I think the fuel dilution is because the fuel pump is flooding the engine with fuel sometimes, starving it of fuel on WOT. This discovered in verifying functionality. A weak fuel pump is likely.) So this engine has seen more frequent oil changes and checks until that can get remedied. Now onto the oil filter.

I can tell you it felt like a brick before cutting it open.

View attachment 143147View attachment 143148View attachment 143149View attachment 143150View attachment 143151View attachment 143152View attachment 143153View attachment 143154View attachment 143155

This engine and filter has seen some of this as well. @OVERKILL mentioned in a thread, I believe the HPL NO VII oil thread last month, that they dropped his moniker from the labeling and I can confirm.. that is correct.

View attachment 143157

Are you hacking these filters open with a shiv??