Reply from Wix about Motorcraft Filters

[Ryan00TJ]

I recently saw on this forum where a former Wix employee stated that Wix makes the line of Motorcraft oil filters for Ford. I sent a email to Wix concerning this matter and here is the reply I received below......

We are exclusive suppliers of light duty air filters for both Ford OE, OES
and Motorcraft. Although we have supplied oil filters in the past to both
Ford and Motorcraft, we do not currently provide these products. Due to
manufacturing efficiencies, when we set up a production run for Ford , we
run their products then run our aftermarket brands next, with no changes in
materials.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Chris Greeson
Technical Service Representative

 

[joee12]

Ryan, I know that Champion makes the OEM Motorcraft that is put on the engine at the factory, and Purolater makes the aftermarket Motorcraft that you buy at the dealer and auto parts stores. -Joe

 

[novadude]

Joee12... How do you know this? Why would Ford source from 2 different suppliers, and distiguish between assembly line and service dept?

 

[Patman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by novadude:
Joee12... How do you know this? Why would Ford source from 2 different suppliers, and distiguish between assembly line and service dept?

---

Because the assembly line and the dealership parts department are two seperate entities within FoMoCo, and each of them works independantly of the other, so they cut seperate deals.

 

[novadude]

I see. While it could be ture, it just surprises me. In this day of "lean manufacturing", would a major corporation actually let two purchasing depts function independently?

At my last job, I worked for a division of a manufacturing company. The company was comprised of 10-12 seprerate divisions. During my tenure, a corporate mandate was issued that forced all divisions to use the same hardware suppliers to get volume deals. We were a small organization compared to Ford, and definitely amatuers at lean manufacturing.

Why wouldn't Ford do this with filters?

 

[Patman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by novadude:
I see. While it could be ture, it just surprises me. In this day of "lean manufacturing", would a major corporation actually let two purchasing depts function independently?

---

Definitely! My cousin works for GM (he's the engine test engineer at the LS1/LS6 engine plant) and he says it's insane how bad GM is with stuff just like this. For instance, they could know about how a part that costs 50 cents more per engine would reduce warranty claims overall by a ton of money, but the beancounters won't allow it since they just look at the extra costs in that one division only. In other words, each division worries about it's own costs, they don't look at the bigger picture. They'd save money if they all worked together, but they simply don't, they are too huge.

 

[Mystic]

I had heard myself that Champion Labs oil filters are installed on new Fords at the factory, but that Purolator supplies the replacement oil filters. I wondered about this-was the Champion Labs oil filter superior since it was the first oil filter going on the vehicle? I could not understand why different companies would be supplying the factory oil filters and the replacement oil filters. Still seems strange to me.

 

[MNgopher]

And I'll conform it yet again: The facotry Motorcraft oil filter is a Champion, the replacement part motorcrafts are Purolators. Bizzare, but true!

One other theory is that for warrantry purposes it makes it wasy to tell if an oil filter change has ever been done - if its a chanpion motorcraft, then the answer is no way!

In the end it all comes down to dollars - who knows how Ford has both Purolator and Champion wrapped around its fingers...

 

[Dick '97FLHRI]

Thanks Gopher,

When I did my first oil change on F-150 V-6 a couple of years ago, I bought Motorcraft oil filter at store, but it was different construction from OEM filter originally installed
at factory that I pulled off. Seemed strange it the time, but you just provided the answer.

 

[Spector]

It has been said that the Motorcraft filters are similar inside to the Pure Ones. If so this would account for why they flowed so poorly in Bob's test. A huge drop in flow if I recall.

 

[Neil Womack]

More reasons Ford may like two providers:

Diversity:

One manufacture goes down due to strike or natural event and the other manufacture can start meeting the demand with an already tooled line.

Competition:

Ford can play these two manufactures against each other at contract negotiation time.

 

[Ray H]

Very good point, Neil! If anyone remembers the old IBM AT PC (running at a blazing 6 Mhz...), IBM sourced the hard drive from one company. The drives were terrible and typicaly failed at about the 6 to 9 month usage point. IBM never made that mistake again. After two Shuttle disasters, NASA, and its congressional overseers, still haven't learned the folly of letting out contracts to the lowest bidder.

 

[joee12]

Novadude, aside from contantly talking to Champion and Purolater Techs, I cut open the OEM Motorcraft filter off of my Explorer when new to see if true, and yes, it was clearly a Champion filter. I have also cut open numerous aftermarket Motorcrafts and they are clearly made by Purolater. They area actually a mix between a Premium Plus and a Pureone. They have features of both filters. -Joe

[ May 17, 2003, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: joee12 ]

 

[fields]

How about the original filters bveing real cheap. Then, the replacement filters are better-but we pay for them.

richard

 

[mark pruett]

Nah... it's inefficiency, plain & simple. This is a classic example- assembly and aftermarket having different contracts for oil filters means that they're building "silos" where communication moves up and down, but not sideways within the company's functional units. In MBA school, we discussed at length why Ford was/is going down the toilet, and this kind of behavior is one of the chief causes.

After all, if they could have got all the oil filters under one contract from one supplier, they could have cut a better deal and saved money for the company.

As for competition and diversity- they probably already play them off against each other at buying time- ever heard of a reverse auction? And diversity- maybe... but it's still easier to just write a big penalty into the contract in case the supplier fails. Plus, if one of the contractors fail, they can always go to any of the other manufacturers who are already making those same filters aftermarket and deal with them.