Motorcraft cartridge filters

[Finklejag]

My friend owns a 08 Mazda 3 2.3L. He had his first two oci's done at the dealer, they were free. I told him I would do his next. He gave me $20.00 for the oil and filter. I bought Motorcraft 5W-20 and a Motorcraft filter for $17.17 at Wallyworld.

I had to go through eight boxes before I found a filter that wasn't deformed, strings hanging out, glue over over the media, and pleats that protruded out of the end caps. It says "Made in the USA" on the filter. Who makes these for Ford? Their quality control is quite shoddy!

 

[tom slick]

On the upside, because it was a cartridge style filter you could inspect every one of them for quality. A spin-on type is hope-for-the-best when you buy it blindly.

 

[brianl703]

They might be made in China without Ford's knowledge or consent, ie, counterfeit.

 

[LS2JSTS]

That "looks" like a Champ brand filter to me. The Wix usually have a thinner top and bottom plastic edging.

 

[Finklejag]

I stopped at CSK to buy some car wash product. The "Made in Korea" Fram looks to be better built then the Motorcraft filter. It looks to have more pleats and put together better. It's 2X the price of the Motorcraft though!

 

[LS2JSTS]

Take a look at a Pure One or the Bosch equivalent.....They both look very good with similar numbers of pleats and made in USA.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Finklejag
The "Made in Korea" Fram looks to be better built then the Motorcraft filter.

That's because they're not actually made by FRAM. AFAIK, FRAM outsources their cartridge filters to others.

As far as quality cartridge filters, I have been happy with Mann and Mahle. Not sure if they make the specific model that your friend's engine requires though...

 

[bdcardinal]

did the ones in Wal-Mart have ak "ok" mark on the bag of o-rings? Ford recalled all the filters from the dealers up to a certain build date.