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Canadian Poncho Homepage -> Canadian Poncho -> The Lounge -> Near miss & another Fram filter story
Post Info TOPIC: Near miss & another Fram filter story
66 Beau


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Near miss & another Fram filter story
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Drove home from Victoria yesterday.  Stopped in Kamloops for fast food supper.  Drove from the restaurant to Princess Auto, looking for MIG wire, which they didnt have.

when I came out, noticed lots of oil under the truck (2003 Ram, 5.9 Cummins).  So, was it me, or previous car?  Turns out it was definitely me.  Started it up and a fine spray came out of the right front wheel opening.  Thats when I noticed a thin film on the body, all down passenger side.  I had to pull the air filter box to get a look at the source and there was a pinhole in the oil filter, spraying oil when the engine was running.

This had to have happened between the fast food joint & Princess Auto (maybe 3 miles) because I lost only 2 litres of oil.  If I had skipped the second stop in Kamloops, I have little doubt I would have lost all the oil and done $eriou$ damage.

This was at about 7:15 PM, and fortunately I diagnosed and caught a cab to Lordcos, that closed at 8, to get a filter and some oil.  Changed the filter, topped up the oil, and made it home. (fortunately the filter can be R&Rd without dumping any oil).

So lucky.

yes, it was a Fram filter.  I brought it home and will attempt to cut it open to verify, but it looks like a pinhole leak due to corrosion.  I used filter pliers to tighten it when I changed it last fall (I dont drive it in winter), and the teeth on the pliers damaged the paint on the filter jacket. i cant see the hole with the naked eye, but it was a pretty good jet of oil coming out of it.

As luck would have it, Lordco had only a Fram filter in stock.

On the plus side, the right side of the truck is rust protected.  But I now have a check engine light on and suspect a fouled electrical connection somewhere due to oil contamination.

 



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ARCADIAN


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Fram was once filter leader is now crap! Wix is my filter of choice!

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OURWAGON


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ARCADIAN wrote:

Fram was once filter leader is now crap! Wix is my filter of choice!

 I AGREE CHRIS.



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long stroke


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Yes WIX and AC DELCO. 



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ARCADIAN


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If I remember correctly the Fram factory was in Stratford Ontario.

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Greaser


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ARCADIAN wrote:

If I remember correctly the Fram factory was in Stratford Ontario.

 https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/doors-close-at-historic-fram-plant-in-stratford-1.976076



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65 SD L79


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Finished off lights, ceiling fan and clean up in garage so down to the store to pick up wix filters for the Shelby and Tbird. They had the Shelby filter in stock so I got that one done before dark. I m using wix on most of the vehicles except the 2 Duramax trucks. I stick with the Ac Delco on them



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ARCADIAN


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Wix XP for synthetic oils.

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cdnpont


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Is this from the can being thinner than others?

 



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MC


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cdnpont wrote:

Is this from the can being thinner than others?

 

 Same question for me.  I'm surprised that an oil filter in BC would rust through in less than a year.  I haven't even seen that happen on the east coast, where our corrosion situation is much more severe.  I've run Fram filters in the past and never had that happen, and on some of my cars that don't get driven much the filter could be on for an entire year.

Any chance that the filter pliers gouged the metal a little, creating a thin spot?



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norontcan


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Any chance that the filter pliers gouged the metal a little, creating a thin spot?

 Same thought I'm having. Rust is only where paint was disturbed by the wrench. Suspect any brand of filter canister will show rust if the paint is disturbed.

I'm not meaning to be a defender of Fram just saying assess all factors.



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66 Beau


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The leak was at a spot that a tooth on the pliers scraped the paint away, and it made a slight indentation. There is definitely some rust on the spot. This, combined with corrosion was obviously enough to yield a pinhole, and the tiny pinhole (too small to see clearly with the naked eye) resulted in a steady spray of oil.

I hope to cut the can open to see how thick the metal is, and if possible get a sense of whether the major contributor was the deformation from the tooth on the pliers, or or if corrosion was the major factor. Not sure Ill be able to dissect it well enough to be sure, but well see.

My filter pliers have just a few, quite aggressive teeth but Ive never experienced a leak or a puncture, even when removing stuck filters. I usually tighten the 3/4 turn by hand but this one is in a position that makes it hard to get a grip so I used the pliers. A strap wrench works (I had to buy yet another one to change this filter) but it is finicky and time consuming to get the strap on and then rotate 1/8th of a turn per stroke.

Id be curious to know if the thickness of the can varies by manufacturer. I too dont really want to bad-mouth Fram, but Im still shocked that this happened.

A neighbour thought maybe a stuck relief valve - he has experienced that on big some big Diesel engines, but typically the filter ballooned before splitting. My oil pressure was normal every time I glanced at it, although it could have spiked and returned to normal without me noticing. Seems unlikely it would do that though.

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MC


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Sounds like you may have gouged it a little?  Fluid under pressure doesn't need much of a hole to make an active leak.  If you've ever looked at a rusted leaking brake line it will almost always be a little pinhole.

You'd almost have to cut up some filters and mic the steel skin to compare thickness, unless there's some data floating out there on the internet all ready.



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oshawacliff


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What manufacturer has the nut welded to the end of the casing for easy removal ...and maybe over tightening. Is there just one supplier of that mount system?

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ARCADIAN


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Is it Hastings Cliff?

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66 Beau


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Found this:

84DBF1BD-097A-40D4-BAEB-18C7EA95123A.jpeg

 

 

 



-- Edited by 66 Beau on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 07:23:07 PM

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66 Beau


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This is from here:
https://www.austincc.edu/wkibbe/oilfilterstudy.htm

the author tested filters for a Ford 5 litre.  

Apparently, Mobil 1 has the thickest shell at .022 inches.  Purolator (and Quaker State) is thinnest at 0.011 inches.

 

He rates Mobil 1 and Wix highly.

 

Note - he claims Napa filter is actually a Wix.

Regardless whether its 0.011 or 0.022, neither is very thick.

I think Ill be leaving my pliers for filter removal and stick with hand or strap wrench when tightening!



-- Edited by 66 Beau on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 07:48:49 PM

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Prefectca


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We had Baldwin filters at work at one time (lowest municipal tender), the paint was so thin that they would rust right through the paint. On sander trucks they sometimes wouldnt last until the next oil change!

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MC


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Yeah, difference in wall thickness is negligible, but notably thin on all of them.

FWIW, whenever I had to use a wrench to get that last little 1/4 turn, I'd put a shop rag over the filter to prevent scratching the paint, and use a band-style wrench to snug it up.  But I've always been picky about rust due to living in the east coast rust haven.



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66 Beau


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Good tip Mark.

This was the first time Ive ever used the pliers to tighten a filter on. Itll be the last time.

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MC


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Yeah, I can be a little finicky about things, though.  I'm sure most people wouldn't bother protecting the paint on their oil filters! biggrin



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gparis7


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As bad as this is, it looks like you had a stroke of good luck in identifying the problem and fixing it before you lost too much oil.



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66 Beau


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gparis7 wrote:

As bad as this is, it looks like you had a stroke of good luck in identifying the problem and fixing it before you lost too much oil.

Incredibly good luck for sure.  If I hadnt made the second stop within 10 minutes and noticed the oil under the truck, it would have pumped the 10 litres out of the oil pan in maybe 20 miles.  Would I have noticed a drop in oil pressure, a rise in temp, or even a warning light? Id like to say yes, but in reality, probably not. 

I'm feeling very fortunate.

 

Key learning for me: be careful with the new oil filter - the shell is only as thick as a few sheets of paper...



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