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If you all recall the pic of the failed fram filter from the pontiac forum i frequent, you'll also recall i mentioned cutting it open. The owner shipped it to me, and i cut it open on my kitchen with my wife taping, as it was shipped to me, on film (in front of the baby bottle drying station ;) )

Here is a link to that forum:
http://psp.aquacomp.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5288


Here is a link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9h7psiMbQ8


Here is a link to the photos (hi-res ones avail on other forum link above.):

http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/1.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/2.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/3.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/4.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/5.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/6.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/7.jpg
http://www.cortcomp.com/images/fram/8.jpg


To recap: No one put the rubber piece in there, it was part of the top gasket that had ripped and poked out. The filter was on a pontiac v8 with a decade old mild build on it. The filter had about 4K miles (if i recall) on it. That is my Cars lunch box poking out on the left in the beginning.

I'm not quite sure what you are trying to show here. Was this an install error (rubber seal slipped upon install) or is this a design failure?

Craig

It's some kind of design or engineering or workmanship error.

That rubber seal is inside the filter, mating the internal center tube to the metal top of the filter. It doesn't touch anything on the car, and serves only to keep the top sealed so that unfiltered oil can't squeeze by into the filtered stream. When the center collapsed, it was squeezed and ripped and was deformed. (What it looks like anyway.) The big rubber ring gasket on the top is fine and seems normal.

FK posted a thread saying that fram filters aren't failure prone and that all internet stories are pretty much lies, third hand, and no one has actually SEEN a failed fram filter, and proceeded to educate us that it is really people hating on the filter leader.I presented a link from another forum i frequent to a first hand account of this collapsed fram filter, that had some rubber poking out of the center hole.

FK claimed that the rubber was put in there by someone who wanted attention, and basically called it a hoax, because there is no rubber like that in the filter. He then claimed he could not see at all that the tube was collapsed in the pics posted, although it was very clear.

Above is proof that:

A) That rubber is/was a part of the filter and not inserted by someone.


B) The inner tube did collapse with no damage to the outside, so the filter wasn't crushed.

C) It's a whole fram filter, that i cut open on video so everyone could see that i hadn't tampered with it prior to taking pics.


Draw your own conclusions about quality or bad luck or what not, i just wanted to correct the slander that FK had made about a fellow pontiac forum user posting about his filter failure.

Quote:

I'm popping more Popcorn. Awaiting FK's thesis on how your proof is wrong, and other numerous comedic rantings.

Attach file:

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I believe that he is banned for the moment, unless he signs up under a new account. I had to post this as i promised i would if the gentleman sent me the filter to dissect. I really doubt that we'll hear any more on the subject, if only because people are tired of hearing of it.

Obviously, we can't know if this was a one off bad filter, or something different about his setup (i doubt it) that caused it, but to widespread say that it didn't happen, and people who claim it did are liars, well that's a bitter pill to swallow when you know better.

Hopefully, others will find and read it, take it with a grain of salt if they must, and consider it when choosing full flow filters.

G'day all, With regard to a few technical points on the Fram filter set-up. I understand that most full flow filters are set at around 10 Microns whereas by-pass filters are set at 6 Microns, is this correct? I am also concerned at the low number of "flutes" in the Fram filter which indicates a low surface area. The filter collapse should be an indication that it was "blocked" and collapsed in the absence of a relief valve, in that case the filter, although failing mechanically, achieved it's filtration design limit and did its' job. Might I suggest that some pencilhead at Fram may have used low oil contamination data from very modern engines to design the filter? I may be wrong but all of the old filters had so many more flutes and therefore surface area. I prefer the lower filtration levels of the Packard filters even though they are not full flow. I also have learnt from bitter experience not to second-guess Packard engineering and their choice of filter elements. Best regards Peter Toet.

I wonder what type of use this filter has had; for how long time, miles, type of oil, and cold or warm motor.

Tom

Pontiac V8, mild build (probaly in the 300-400 horses range, if that):

Oil change 8/25. Castrol Syntec. 4,543 miles. 20 months.

"anything special here? high rpm car? high pressure oil pump?"

"Nope, cortcomp. Same old reliable engine built in the late nineties"


"I've been testing the car a lot, but most cruising is leisurely, low rpms, lambda leanish at around 1.18 or so. Not enough to wash the cylinders of oil, I'd say. But something is up."


Here is the original thread, you can scroll down to the pics, his info starts there. Other than running E85(tuned properly for it), this is a pretty standard 60s-70s V8 car:

http://psp.aquacomp.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5074

The pressure relief valve on that car is stuck. The owner needs to get that worked on.

That, or that is the wrong filter for the car. Some need to have a bypass valve built into the filter.

And, if there is that much grunt in your engine that it plugs a filter that tight in 4000 miles, that motor will be dead soon.

The Pontiac V8 has an oil filter adapter housing that is not part of the block, it bolts on...i do believe the pressure bypass is there, but maybe it's integrated with the pump? I'm not 100% sure. Either way, i don't think there was any excess pressure in this situation:

Owner states no abnormal pressure readings or anything of that sort. I would think if the relief valve was stuck that the pressure would read higher?

Either way, if it IS a pressure relief issue, it will destroy another filter shortly, regardless of brand.

It's the correct filter for the car for sure, we checked it.

It's the same the driver had been using on the car for years.

I don't think that filter is really that clogged, i think the material is black to start with so it appears dirty to begin with. This car is driven like our packards, it's someone's baby not a race toy.