Fleetguard LF777 performance

[Pyrotechnic]

Ive found various forum conversations about this filter, and at some point the micron rating comes up, and someone will post some really awful micron number allegedly from Fleetguard and then the discussion ends. It seems to get written off as an old design not worth anyone's time. From what I understand it came out around 1980 to replace the huge LF500 bypass units that were filled with newspaper and wood chips.

Looking at a Fleetguard catalog, I see the LF777 mentioned as 5 micron, but no beta ratio. The Fleetguard LF777 is made with stacked disc media, the same kind found in the Venturi series of filters. I have a hard time believing that the 777 is a poor performer, if it is full of the same media that makes the Venturi filters so great.

Does anyone have any personal experience with the LF777 and how well it performs?

 

[bullwinkle]

I have experience with the stacked disc Venturi filters, and they do a really good job keeping diesel oil visibly cleaner-but it will take before & after particle counts to tell what the actual difference is.

 

[jetman]

In 2011 I was building and installing bypass filtration systems on Cummins M11 and ISM engines. I got in a discussion on a forum about what would be the best spin-on bypass filter to use on the remote mount I was using. A Cummins/Fleetguard Field Service Engineer on a forum said the LF777 was the best. A phone call to their tech dept told me the LF3542 was better. The Field guy said the LF777 is a stacked disc design and was 98% efficient at 10 microns. He also told me the LF3542 was 99% efficient at 10 microns. Both are about the same physical size and cost about the same. The threads on both are 1 3/8" x 16. I ended using the LF3542. These days I just install Fleetguard Venturi Combo filters. They do the jobs of both a full flow and bypass filters.

Venturi Combo link

 

[CDX825]

Ive always wondered the same thing about the LF777 filter. I figure that stacked disc media has to do better than the pleated style of bypass filter.

 

[jetman]

If I was doing it today, I would us the LF777.
It would be interesting to cut each open to see what is what.

 

[Linctex]

I have the same base, but use a Wix 51749 .... just because they are so darn cheap!

 

[Pyrotechnic]

Originally Posted by Linctex
I have the same base, but use a Wix 51749 .... just because they are so darn cheap!


Have you opened one of these up or looked down the center hole? Do they have stacked disc media or pleated paper? I've heard that some of the LF777 crosses have a regular pleated paper element inside.

 

[jetman]

Here are the specs for:

Fleetguard LF777 = 99% @ 30 microns: LF777 link

Fleetguard LF3542 = 100% @ 30 microns: LF3542 link

 

[jetman]

Bad link for LF777?
Here it is again: LF777 link

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by Pyrotechnic
Originally Posted by Linctex
I have the same base, but use a Wix 51749 .... just because they are so darn cheap!


Have you opened one of these up or looked down the center hole? Do they have stacked disc media or pleated paper? I've heard that some of the LF777 crosses have a regular pleated paper element inside.


I will be very soon.

I'm 99.999% sure it's the same 5-micron pleated paper as the WIX fuel filters use.

 

[Pyrotechnic]

Originally Posted by jetman
Here are the specs for:

Fleetguard LF777 = 99% @ 30 microns: LF777 link

Fleetguard LF3542 = 100% @ 30 microns: LF3542 link


Fleetguard seems to list many oil filters on the website, both full flow and bypass, with the same 99% @ 30 or 100% @ 30 rating. It seems to be nothing more than a default value or a placeholder.

Here's a screenshot from a 2012 Fleetguard catalog. It is an installation diagram for an oil level regulator system, showing an LF777 as an optional 5 micron filter.

Then there's this post I found with communication from Fleetguard, with the LF777 being "10 Micron at 98% efficient and 5 Micron at 95% efficient."

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...in-b-164-a-good-bypass-filter#Post857926

Lots of conflicting information, but in my opinion I think that a genuine Fleetguard LF777 would be worth a try, based on the design and the more favorable numbers that Fleetguard has published.

 

[jetman]

It's not conflicting info. A filters efficiency % decreases as the micron size gets smaller. That's how it works.
100% at 30 microns
98% at 10 microns
95% at 5 microns