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Just an observation


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I'm preparing to rebuild and upgrade the 2.5 in my truck and have been picking up spare parts and blocks recently. Got one longblock for free from a TJ, and bought another one from a TJ fully dressed. The first one definitely has lost at least one rod bearing, the fully dressed one is in unknown condition and may or may not be OK. The thing is they both have one thing in common... the oil filter. Anyone want to guess what brand?

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They both have Fram oil filters. Not sure of filter failure, but they have a bad reputation on the Jeep 2.5 and 4.0 engines.

 

As for a prize for the winner?  Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So, you got that going for ya, which is nice.

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is there any actual documentation of the failures of Frams in jeeps -or is it just one of those "I know a guy who knows a guy" story? reason i'm asking it the guy i bought my jeep from must of gave me half a dozen new frams and a fram was on the jeep, which i replaced with another brand  -  but if its all unicorn talk......

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BOB IS THE OIL GUY is a site on the web that is run by a group of petroleum engineers out of Houston.  Their forums will tell you anything and everything you ever wanted to know about motor oil and related subjects.  That is where I first learned about FRAM junk.

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is there any actual documentation of the failures of Frams in jeeps -or is it just one of those "I know a guy who knows a guy" story? reason i'm asking it the guy i bought my jeep from must of gave me half a dozen new frams and a fram was on the jeep, which i replaced with another brand  -  but if its all unicorn talk......

 

It's not all unicorn talk. There is (or was) also another Youtube video by "Minimopar" that dissected oil filters and found Fram to be about the worst of the lot. But the  real evidence is the huge numbers of Jeepers who have reported oil pressure problems, cold start knocks, and other symptoms that disappeared once they switched from Fram to a good filter.

 

Don't ... use ... FRAM ... filters.

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I could be wrong but I thought they made changes in manufacturing to all of their filters in 2012-2013ish?

 

The problem with either blacklisting or enamouring a certain filter or oil manufacturer is that they periodically change the design, processing, or formulation of said products.  Because it was bad last year does not mean it is bad now, because it was good last year does not mean it is good now...

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I know of people who swear by frams and claim they've never had an issue, but they're also the kind of people who always change oil and filter every 5000km or 6 months, and with that religious a schedule (plus not running the cheapest oil) anything will last a while.

I don't run them myself, although there is one on my old 4.0 which I bought because it was the cheapest when I changed to 20w50 after it started knocking so I could move it around the yard. I've got a Mobil-1 m204 on the 4.0 in the MJ now, buy them in bulk cause they also fit my Niva. Between that and running the same Rotella (in pails when it's on sale) in both of them I can save a bunch of money.

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I used Frams for year.  Mostly because that's what the parts stores carry and their not expensive.  I've never had any issues.  Of course, I change oil 3000 to 5000 miles or 6 months, which ever occurs first.

 

That said, I have discontinued using Fram after all that I have read about them.  

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I could be wrong but I thought they made changes in manufacturing to all of their filters in 2012-2013ish?

 

The problem with either blacklisting or enamouring a certain filter or oil manufacturer is that they periodically change the design, processing, or formulation of said products.  Because it was bad last year does not mean it is bad now, because it was good last year does not mean it is good now...

 

Agree. Fram got a deservedly bad rap for a poor design once, and even though they have since corrected it, they still get bad-mouthed and always will especially in the Jeep community. Yet depending on who's list you look at, they are nearly always rated in the the top 5 of the best sellers list.

 

But I still would never install one.............

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