Fram Ultra Cartridge Filter Failure

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I see that so much in my shop with bmw and fram cartage filters. The only ones that dont seem to have the end caps come off are mahle or mann ones. Thats what ive noticed lately.
 
Mann is built differently, with the ends of the media potted in the end cap material.

Older cartridges were too long, but had a metal center tube and thick rubber seals designed to compress.

Barring a true sealing mechanism in the filter, length is necessary to force a friction fit of sorts.
 
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Originally Posted by JHZR2
I bought this filter a couple years ago. It was known that there were issues; I ran it anyway.


Could be they've been improved since then if Fram found out there were issues with those particular filters.

Yes, they could very well be fine now. Although I'm not sure if I would take the chance in running one to find out. I'd let others do the testing for me.
wink.gif
 
There have been a number of "American company" cartridge filters fail like this and they all appear to be too long. I do wonder while compressed in place if it actually "fails" or if it seals.

Plenty of Mann/Mahle filters out there for cheap to look at non-European filters.
 
Mann filters for Mercedes aftermarket have a line on them for the depth of insertion into the cap. It's a tight fit. Being a tight fit if the element isn't fully inserted, the cap will put a lot of twisting force on an element as it tries to push the element further into the cap. If the element isn't strong enough the threading in of the cap will bend it.
The elements have to be measured to know if too short or too long.
Motorking wrote here they don't make the Ultra in cartridge because of problems with bonding of the mesh. Then they started making them and there have been several shown like this. One guy was booted off, his was a BMW also. Whether it was improved or not is the same as asking if Puro has improved the basic filter tearing issue or not.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
... Older cartridges were too long, but had a metal center tube and thick rubber seals designed to compress.
Barring a true sealing mechanism in the filter, length is necessary to force a friction fit of sorts.
Many cartridges have no center tube, other than one built into the cap (which may or may not be effective, depending on dimensions of the cartridge).

There's no need for tight tolerance on the cartridge length, as long as there's a spring in the cap (or housing) to adjust for minor length variations.
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Originally Posted by JHZR2
I bought this filter a couple years ago. It was known that there were issues; I ran it anyway.

Could be they've been improved since then if Fram found out there were issues with those particular filters.

Yes, they could very well be fine now. Although I'm not sure if I would take the chance in running one to find out. I'd let others do the testing for me.
wink.gif



That's why he should contact Fram and report the failure, and give the date code on the filter. They may have info if there were problems and if anything was done to fix the issue. Can't hurt to find out what they say.
 
Yeah they did something all right, moved production of it to South Korea & no longer use the wire backed media.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/FRAM-Ultra-Synthetic-Oil-Filter-XG10075/35743165

Pictures 4-6 with white media show the new filter. I bought a few at my local WM last year as they were being clearanced for well below the current price. I did ask Fram about the new style, and they responded that the media was provided to the manufacturer from Fram and the filters retained the same efficiency. Another Fram Ultra cartridge filter that I use for Toyota trucks experienced a similar change around the same time, and production shifted to China.



Originally Posted by ZeeOSix


That's why he should contact Fram and report the failure, and give the date code on the filter. They may have info if there were problems and if anything was done to fix the issue. Can't hurt to find out what they say.
 
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Originally Posted by drtyler
Yeah they did something all right, moved production of it to South Korea & no longer use the wire backed media.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/FRAM-Ultra-Synthetic-Oil-Filter-XG10075/35743165

Pictures 4-6 with white media show the new filter. I bought a few at my local WM last year as they were being clearanced for well below the current price. I did ask Fram about the new style, and they responded that the media was provided to the manufacturer from Fram and the filters retained the same efficiency. Another Fram Ultra cartridge filter that I use for Toyota trucks experienced a similar change around the same time, and production shifted to China.



Originally Posted by ZeeOSix


That's why he should contact Fram and report the failure, and give the date code on the filter. They may have info if there were problems and if anything was done to fix the issue. Can't hurt to find out what they say.


On the Ultra boxes they have the efficiency number and call out three tested models. We can assume the wire media ones are the same, but what does the white Boss look alike media Ultra box say?
 
The box will most likely call out the same 3 test filters. That's what Fram's efficiency claim is based on.
 
Question to the OP - Are you snapping the filter into the cap cage and then placing into the oil filter housing and tightening the cap/filter assembly? Or are you placing the filter into the oil filter housing and then screwing the cap on? I ask as years ago, after acquiring our Z3, not knowing better, I was guilty of having the replaced the filter a couple of times by just placing the filter into the housing and tightening the cap. The Mahle, Hengst or Mann (whatever I used), came out a little bent with wavy pleats due to being torqued during cap tightening. I learnt quickly and started installing it correctly. No issues thereafter. Just visual appearance and the fact that it is Made in the USA (perhaps Korea now), I will try the Fram, unless it is cost prohibitive vs. the German brands. It looks like a stout filter element.
 
A few years back I changed the oil on a friend's E83 X3 with the 2.5 M54 motor. The filter looked similar to OP's but in addition the plastic end caps had started to crack. I just stick with OEM filter cartridges.
 
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
The box will most likely call out the same 3 test filters. That's what Fram's efficiency claim is based on.

I was at WM and looked at this filter and some boxes. You are correct they have the same efficiency language on the cartridge filters that use different media than the pink. This filter has the Wix type mesh and white media.

DCBEC8C4-C958-4097-8189-408346911940.jpeg
 
I could be wrong but thats what bothers me about them oil filters that are just packed and packed with fiber media...

If you have a BMW us a nice MANN or MAHLE oil filter and you will have no problems.
 
Originally Posted by aba4430
Question to the OP - Are you snapping the filter into the cap cage and then placing into the oil filter housing and tightening the cap/filter assembly? Or are you placing the filter into the oil filter housing and then screwing the cap on? I ask as years ago, after acquiring our Z3, not knowing better, I was guilty of having the replaced the filter a couple of times by just placing the filter into the housing and tightening the cap. The Mahle, Hengst or Mann (whatever I used), came out a little bent with wavy pleats due to being torqued during cap tightening. I learnt quickly and started installing it correctly. No issues thereafter. Just visual appearance and the fact that it is Made in the USA (perhaps Korea now), I will try the Fram, unless it is cost prohibitive vs. the German brands. It looks like a stout filter element.


You know that's a really good point and I don't fully know!

My old BMW and MB cars were different and you did drop the cartridge in, and then insert the cap which had a long metal tube on it, in through the filter.

Not 100% sure but I'll verify next time. Thanks!!
 
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