Fram Ultra Synthetic failure at 8,000km

[facility1]

have been using Fram Ultra filters, wondering if they are any good, or should I switch to Mobil or Purolator filters?

 

[Sayjac]

Yes there was quite a bit of carbon deep in the pleats and lots of short trips therefore moisture.

The truck has only 113,000km on it.

Shouldn’t the bypass open if the media becomes plugged?

As I noted, without excusing explains quite a bit here. The moisture condensation cycles in cold temps take their toll on the media. And while FB promoted synthetic media, it's a very thin layer backed by blended media for support. In reality likely not as good/durable as many 100% blended media filters, like the PGI made variants. Had the interval been accomplished in year or less, 'maybe' no tears. As background reference, never been a fan of post OG XG.

 

[K2K2]

It only had ~5000 miles on it (8000 km). Doubt his truck engine is producing that much debris.

Perhaps his engine is not producing that much debris but the filter is, in fact, full.

It was simply used too long.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Perhaps his engine is not producing that much debris but the filter is, in fact, full.

It was simply used too long.

No real proof it's "full" - it would take a sludge monster to plug a filter rated at 20K miles in only 5K miles. And besides, even if it was full it shouldn't tear media because the bypass valve is supposed to prevent that. It tore because of too wide of pleat spacing. It could have even tore early in its use - saw that with tearing Purolators.

 

[Hohn]

But remember folks, the "blend" media was just as good, if not better than the OG wire-backed stuff according to Worst Brands

I recently took off a Titanium with wire backing. The C&P was an abject failure. Almost impossible to remove that stuff.

Oh well, I did get enough of it out to determine that Euro FS in the API SN vintage did no additional cleaning on my van whatsoever.

 

[Hohn]

Wide pleat spacing did it no favors. Also could have had moisture issues assuming it sat for extended periods during those three years.

Sure looks like moisture compromise to me.

 

[mva]

No real proof it's "full" - it would take a sludge monster to plug a filter rated at 20K miles in only 5K miles. And besides, even if it was full it shouldn't tear media because the bypass valve is supposed to prevent that. It tore because of too wide of pleat spacing. It could have even tore early in its use - saw that with tearing Purolators.

I agree with this assessment ZeeOSix. I also don’t think that we can say the filter is full just by looking at a photo. What happens in cold start conditions if the media construction isn’t strong enough to withstand the pressure of the bypass opening?

One other thing - I just realized that the last year I was running 5W40 Euro oil (Canadian tire Motomaster produced by shell) which was thicker than the previous oils.

And what about moisture? I’m not the only one doing short trips and extended periods of limited use.

This incident has me rethinking my filter strategy - I was pursuing excellent filtration to minimize wear and I mistakenly thought it would be totally fine to change the oil without changing the filter since my annual mileage was so low.

I’m thinking that Toyota might have a better strategy of tons of surface area, lots of pleats and 95% removal at 40 microns.

I use my truck as a truck - hauling firewood and gravel, launching my boat, going to the dump, etc. This results in lots of short trips.

 

[demarpaint]

I agree with this assessment ZeeOSix. I also don’t think that we can say the filter is full just by looking at a photo. What happens in cold start conditions if the media construction isn’t strong enough to withstand the pressure of the bypass opening?

One other thing - I just realized that the last year I was running 5W40 Euro oil (Canadian tire Motomaster produced by shell) which was thicker than the previous oils.

And what about moisture? I’m not the only one doing short trips and extended periods of limited use.

This incident has me rethinking my filter strategy - I was pursuing excellent filtration to minimize wear and I mistakenly thought it would be totally fine to change the oil without changing the filter since my annual mileage was so low.

I’m thinking that Toyota might have a better strategy of tons of surface area, lots of pleats and 95% removal at 40 microns.

I use my truck as a truck - hauling firewood and gravel, launching my boat, going to the dump, etc. This results in lots of short trips.

All valid points, however under those conditions three years might have been the final nail in the coffin. That's a long time under severe service conditions, and something that many of us should consider if we decide to leave a filter in service that long. JMO

 

[ZeeOSix]

I agree with this assessment ZeeOSix. I also don’t think that we can say the filter is full just by looking at a photo. What happens in cold start conditions if the media construction isn’t strong enough to withstand the pressure of the bypass opening?

Weak media and wide pleat spacing is a formula for media tearing when the dP is high across the filter. If the engine is revved pretty high before the oil warms up a lot, then the filter is probably going to see some elevated dP across the media.

One other thing - I just realized that the last year I was running 5W40 Euro oil (Canadian tire Motomaster produced by shell) which was thicker than the previous oils.

It's was still a 5W winter grade, and the 50 hot grade shouldn't really matter to the filter.

And what about moisture? I’m not the only one doing short trips and extended periods of limited use.

Repeated exposure to moisture from short trips could also be a factor as others have also mentioned. You said you did dump the oil every year, but the cumulative effect on the media from short winter trips might have compromised the media.

This incident has me rethinking my filter strategy - I was pursuing excellent filtration to minimize wear and I mistakenly thought it would be totally fine to change the oil without changing the filter since my annual mileage was so low.

I’m thinking that Toyota might have a better strategy of tons of surface area, lots of pleats and 95% removal at 40 microns.

I use my truck as a truck - hauling firewood and gravel, launching my boat, going to the dump, etc. This results in lots of short trips.

I'd be looking at a full synthetic media filter like the Carquest Extended filter which also has wire backed media. Think they should be available in Canada if you have a Carquest. The Carquest Premiums would probably be OK too since you don't put lots of miles on the truck. Those are better efficiency than the Toyota OEM filters.

 

[mva]

I took a photo under the fill cap and there appears to be no visible sludge. The truck doesn’t use oil and no timing chain issues yet.

Also, I reviewed the oil change history of this F150 Ecoboost which I have owned since new:

Purchased Dec 23, 2014 45km

11,618 km Apr 25,2015 Ford dealership oil change

24,268 km Nov 21, 2015 Castrol Edge 5W30 & Motorcraft FL500S filter

36,084 km May 7,2016 Castrol Edge 5W30 & Motorcraft FL500S filter

50,248 km Nov 19,2016 Castrol Edge 5W30 & Motorcraft FL500S filter

57,905 km Apr 29,2017 Castrol Edge 5W30 & Motorcraft FL500S filter

65,972 km Mar 17,2018 Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 Pennzoil filter (done at Quik Lube)

73,955 km Jan 27,2019 Castrol Edge 5W30 & Motorcraft FL500S filter

75,259 km Mar 8,2019 Ford dealer changed oil & Filter doing warranty work

83,593 km Aug 31,2020 Castrol 0W40 no filter change

89,323 km July 4,2021 Pennzoil Platinum5W30 Fram XG10575

96,102 km June 16,2022 Pennzoil Platinum5W30 no filter change

102,560 km May 2,2023 Castrol Edge 5W30 Fram XG10575

106,908 km Apr 14,2024 Motomaster 5W40 Euro no filter change

108,422 km Apr 13,2025 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W30 no filter change

110,519 km Apr 21,2026 Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W30 Fram Endurance 10575 (wire backed media)

 

[69GTX]

I had an XG2 with 23 months/4360 miles pulled out of service a month ago. Had a one time incident with the red oil pressure/level light flickered on for a few seconds while backing up in the driveway following a 4 mile short, round trip in 40 deg F weather. Never seen it come on before following initial start. That was the impetus to change that Fram XG2 filter and 900 mile Quaker State Full synthetic oil immediately. No recurrence at all over several trips of the light coming on with the engine running other than showing up during initial startup for a couple seconds. I have a couple more 2023-2024 XG2's to use up, but no more doubling up on the oil changes.

New filter weight 15.2 oz. My 3 used ones fully drained are all about 1 lb 4.9 oz. So no usual weight on the latest one. No way to measure the entrapped oil in the filter media. Still, filters are supposed to only handle 13-30 gm (<1 0z) of debris/sludge. I have 6 oz
of 'something' in my filters.

 

[ChrisD46]

I found the Fram XG10575 had failed with 4 holes through the media after 8,000km of use on my 2014 F150 3.5 Ecoboost!

Admittedly it has been in service 3 years and annual drain and fill oil changes with good quality 5W30 synthetic oil each time. And the air filter was in good condition throughout.

A Fram Endurance, with mesh backing, went back in but I will not be using Fram XG on my vehicles in the future.

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That thing looks aweful - what kind of shape was that engine in ? I’ve seen Fram Ultra’s used for three 4,000 mile OCI’s that looked far better than that nasty thing !

 

[ZeeOSix]

... what kind of shape was that engine in ?

See post 30.

 

[lazarus55]

Is it just me or does that look awfully dirty for only 5k miles? Is the engine sludged or something?

 

[bullwinkle]

I had an XG2 with 23 months/4360 miles pulled out of service a month ago. Had a one time incident with the red oil pressure/level light flickered on for a few seconds while backing up in the driveway following a 4 mile short, round trip in 40 deg F weather. Never seen it come on before following initial start. That was the impetus to change that Fram XG2 filter and 900 mile Quaker State Full synthetic oil immediately. No recurrence at all over several trips of the light coming on with the engine running other than showing up during initial startup for a couple seconds. I have a couple more 2023-2024 XG2's to use up, but no more doubling up on the oil changes.

New filter weight 15.2 oz. My 3 used ones fully drained are all about 1 lb 4.9 oz. So no usual weight on the latest one. No way to measure the entrapped oil in the filter media. Still, filters are supposed to only handle 13-30 gm (<1 0z) of debris/sludge. I have 6 oz
of 'something' in my filters.

You would have to cut the filter open, use the “rubber bands & paper towels” trick, and weigh all the pieces after it’s all dried out to get an idea of how much got caught.

 

[K2K2]

No real proof it's "full" - it would take a sludge monster to plug a filter rated at 20K miles in only 5K miles. And besides, even if it was full it shouldn't tear media because the bypass valve is supposed to prevent that. It tore because of too wide of pleat spacing. It could have even tore early in its use - saw that with tearing Purolators.

Yes we did (Purilators tearing) and "full" is a relative term -- but there's no way to tell when it tore; however the Delta across the media certainly increased over time.

I guess we could argue semantics but I'm done here, other than suggesting another look at the pictures to see all the crud that filter caught. It was simply run too long.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Yes we did (Purilators tearing) and "full" is a relative term -- but there's no way to tell when it tore; however the Delta across the media certainly increased over time.

If you go look at all the Purolator tearing threads in their tearing haydays, some where found to be torn with very low miles on them, like 2000 miles or less in some cases, and looked clean when cut open. So oil filters can certainly tear media without being really loaded with debris. Again, the wide pleat spacing is the root cause of media tearing. And if the media is brittle or compromised it can tear easier with wide pleat spacing.

I guess we could argue semantics but I'm done here, other than suggesting another look at the pictures to see all the crud that filter caught. It was simply run too long.

No way that filter can be totally loaded based on the info the OP gave in post 30. His engine is pretty well taken care of an clean inside. A 5K run on a filter rated for 20K miles isn't going to load it much. It may look loaded because it's dark colored, but doesn't mean it totally loaded and clogged.

 

[lazarus55]

If you go look at all the Purolator tearing threads in their tearing haydays, some where found to be torn with very low miles on them, like 2000 miles or less in some cases, and looked clean when cut open. So oil filters can certainly tear media without being really loaded with debris. Again, the wide pleat spacing is the root cause of media tearing. And if the media is brittle or compromised it can tear easier with wide pleat spacing.


No way that filter can be totally loaded based on the info the OP gave in post 30. His engine is pretty well taken care of a clean inside. A 5K run on a filter rated for 20K miles isn't going to load it much. It may look loaded because it's dark colored, but doesn't mean it totally loaded and clogged.

Looks more loaded than my cartridge filters ever would after 5k miles…