Little engine, big filter

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So I recently bought a 1997 Ranger with the 2.3 liter Lima 4-cylinder. The oil filter for this rather small engine seems to be a gigantic PH8A (I haven't actually changed the oil yet). This filter looks to be about 4X the volume of the little filter (PH7317) on our J35 Honda minivan engine. It's kind of crazy!

FWIW, the Ranger has 265k miles and as far as I can tell, the oil is very clean and clear and it is not consuming a significant amount. I'm impressed.


What do you think? Which engines seem to have a filter that is out of proportion in size? Should I run my filters (I bought a batch of Fram Ultra for it) on this little truck for 50k miles, LOL?
 
I'm sure Fram and Ford recommend a smaller filter for that engine. My guess is 3614 in the
Fram numbering system. Fords have a very wide range of filter sizes that will fit, from the size that
goes on a lawn tractor to that big 8A. Take your pick of the size that trips your trigger.

I doubt any of them will last for 50K miles.

My 2¢
 
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Originally Posted by brages
...gigantic PH8A...
Yeah used that same PH8A filter (OE Motorcraft cross-reference btw) on my sexy '73 2.0L Pinto Runabout.

Upgraded to the beefy HP1 when flush with cash from boxboy gig.
 
Back in the day, Wix speced the 51068 Mopar-sized filter for Toyota's R-series and 5M-GE engines and an PH8A/FL1A/51515-sized filter fit those engines as well. Fram speced the smaller PH3614 for those.
 
and another thing -- in oil filters, it seems like the less you get, the more you pay...

Gigantic filter for ancient domestics: $5
Tiny filter for newer import: $8
Just the paper media for a cartridge filter: $12

maybe that's just my perception, apologies for the hijack
 
If your Ranger is like mine, you need that extra length to reach the filter from underneath the truck, thanks to that bracket and wiring harness that sit right below the filter and are in the perfect spot to get coated in oil when you take off the old filter. If I ever meet the engineer that designed that...
spankme2.gif
 
Kind of the other way around but when I went to buy a filter for my first GM 3800 and seen how small it was I thought this can't be right. I also think the filter for my 5.7 is to small.
 
Yeap
The FL1A was the go to filter with Fords for years and years
Wish they'd left it that way instead of all the different ones of today
 
The larger filter allows for more oil in the system. I use a filter that holds a quart, the filter that is factory recommended holds a cup, about 8 ounces. The larger filter fits perfectly where the smaller one was. Larger filter provides a smaller differential pressure across the filter media . I cut the filters apart after oil changes. Based on my observation the large filter would be good for 3 oil changes at least.
 
The 1997 has the OHC 2.3L which yes, it recs a PH8.

A few years later the Duratec 2.3L was spec'd for a L20195 size filter. Then a few years after, parts stores and Ford started changing the reccomendation to L10241 sized filters.

I still used the L20195 equivalent, which was a bigger filter, and if I remember at the time was slightly cheaper.
 
Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Kind of the other way around but when I went to buy a filter for my first GM 3800 and seen how small it was I thought this can't be right. I also think the filter for my 5.7 is to small.

$$$$$

mobil1 has the 212 that is slightly larger
and 312 which is even bigger

you can make more money with smaller filters I really Want a large filter that can hold a gallon of oil like those used in 18wheelers my OCI would be 10k-14k miles!
 
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Originally Posted by tahoe_hybrid
Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Kind of the other way around but when I went to buy a filter for my first GM 3800 and seen how small it was I thought this can't be right. I also think the filter for my 5.7 is to small.

$$$$$

mobil1 has the 212 that is slightly larger
and 312 which is even bigger

you can make more money with smaller filters I really Want a large filter that can hold a gallon of oil like those used in 18wheelers my OCI would be 10k-14k miles!

You can always go with a remote oil filter adapter and use a 2 qt. oil filter or a double remote oil filter adapter with two 2 qt. oil filters if you must have that one extra gallon of oil.

Rod
 
Originally Posted by GumbyJarvis
The 1997 has the OHC 2.3L which yes, it recs a PH8.

A few years later the Duratec 2.3L was spec'd for a L20195 size filter. Then a few years after, parts stores and Ford started changing the reccomendation to L10241 sized filters.

I still used the L20195 equivalent, which was a bigger filter, and if I remember at the time was slightly cheaper.



Cheaper... You got that right.

How about $5 cheaper for a Wix regular filter 57356 at $8.99 regular price... Versus $13.99 for the smaller 51358 regular price. . That is ridiculous.
 
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