Opinions on going 21k miles on a Fram Ultra

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jdavis

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In a clean engine, what's your opinions on squeezing three 7k OCI's out of a Fram Ultra? Vehicle has had very regular oil changes and mostly synthetic it's whole life. It will be getting M1 for a while now since I picked a bunch up on sale.

Toyota V6 2GR-FE so canister type filter XG9972 I believe.

Thanks
 
It sounds macho and so on, but really, those tiny filters they make today circulating 1000s of gallons of oil thru your engine, whats 40 bucks for an oil change versus a 5000 dollar engine change out. Note, my statement is just an example....
 
I really don't see logic behind spending good money on Mobil1 just to run it through a dirty, and potentially clogged filter. Pony up the $6 and replace the filter when you replace the oil. Is this really an item to skimp on?
 
What does the car manufacture say?
confused.gif

Your willing to toast a 5k engine for the cost of a Starbucks coffee or 2 or handful of snickers bars?
 
I'd pull the filter--with it being a canister it's dirt simple to examine. Examine and decide if you want to run it longer.

That said: after doing all the work to pull, and since you had to have a clean filter in-hand in case you didn't want to reuse the old filter... you'll have done the same amount of work as to just change it.
 
It's not a question of cost, more of a PITA to change the filter on this particular vehicle (metal canister that literally takes a breaker bar to break lose even if it's not tightened crazily during an oil change).
 
With a canister filter you can atleast have a look at it. If you are doing all hwy miles with no short trips then I'd say go for it, but if you have more typical usage then I'd play it safe with 2 changes. I run my Focus with a Fram ultra for 16k miles/2 oil changes as it mostly does hwy commuter duty 40 min twice a day.
 
If it's taking a breaker bar to get off, it's being 'crazily tightened'. It's been years since anyone besides me has done an oil change on one of my vehicles. When I stick to the method of hand tight, then 1/8 turn with a filter wrench, I NEVER have an issue removing a canister filter. I've even tried stopping at 'hand tight', but the Motorcrafts on my Focus leak if I don't go a little further.

I've used just about every tool out there designed for filter removal, and haven't found anything that works better than a cap-style. If you don't have one, make that investment. Couple that with a ratchet & extension to get you hands away from the 'danger zone' (knuckle-busting on the sub-frame or engine), you shouldn't have any problems with your filter.

Are you lubricating the seal before you install?
 
I wouldn't do it for the reasons listed by others.

I would take the M1 out to about 8K and do a UOA and if it looks good go from there and do 2 OCIs with the Ultra.... I think your plan may be over utilizing the Fram Ultra and under utilizing the Mobil 1.
Of course everything depends on how clean your engine is, the type of driving you do etc....
 
Fram says the Ultras are good for 15,000 miles. It is probably fine for 21k (people have pulled them with well more than that looking absolutely fine), but why tempt fate? I would change it, for all of the reasons already stated.
 
You should never have to use a breaker bar to remove the oil filter drain bolt and the filter housing itself. If you do, it's over torqued.

I recall Jay B. coming on here saying the FRAM Ultra can technically go 30k miles, but at their lawyers' advice, they could only guarantee it to 15k. You could conceivably go 21k miles on the FU if this engine is clean, so personally, I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Loved the 2GR-FE engine when I had my Lexus RX 350.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: sir1900
I recall Jay B. coming on here saying the FRAM Ultra can technically go 30k miles, but at their lawyers' advice, they could only guarantee it to 15k. You could conceivably go 21k miles on the FU if this engine is clean, so personally, I wouldn't sweat it too much.


https://www.amazon.com/FRAM-XG9972-Ultra-Premium-Filter/dp/B00EAOI93W

I agree with this.

If the filter lasts 15,000, I don't see what "voodoo" could occur in the next 6,000 miles to make it fail. Even the "lowly" motorcraft filters will go 15,000(and MORE) if it's a clean engine.
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3199542

7,000 mile OCI's with Mobil 1 will most likely NOT cause any filter issues at all.
 
Sounds like the canister is being over tightened. It only needs to "kiss" the end. I forget what the torque spec is, but ultimately, when you feel it bottom out -- stop! You don't need to go any further. As long as you changed the o-ring the canister is not going to back out on its own. I put >300k onto a VW with the same setup, and it was not an issue. I've put over 60k onto my Camry, and 60k on my Tundra doing the same thing.

[One word of caution: I used the cheapo filter from Walmart on the Camry for one oil change, and when I removed it after 10k I found that the o-ring was not up to task. It had thinned out and was no longer providing drag while removing. Buyer beware. But although the canister could be easily turned out by hand--it was still in place.]
 
I just ran Napa Platinum through two OCI's with a total of 19.7k miles on it on my Accord. No big deal.
 
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