So check this out I went to Wal-Mart to get some 15W40 Rotella and a Fram PH9100 Filter. Hmmm......I wonder if there is a filter that fits the DMAX with a different part number. Come to find out the Fram PH9100 is actually a "rebadged" PH5 for a Small Block Chevy, that is why they both cost 3.47. So I bought a XG5, Extended Guard since it has the synthetic media backed up by stainless steel mesh for 9.97. Hell, in an emergency, on the road, go to your local parts store and get a filter for a 1974 half-ton with a 350.

Well I Have Been Using Fram For Ever, But You Will Find Out That We Are Stupid For Doing So.

Arm

Interesting... if correct, that would make finding a larger (longer) 2 qt oil filter for the MAX quite simple. Cheers.

Well I Have Been Using Fram For Ever, But You Will Find Out That We Are Stupid For Doing So.

Arm

What do you mean?

Oh yeah, I forgot. Fram sucks! :D

How does Fram stack up against other filters? They have different lines i.e. Extra Guard, Tough Guard, High Mileage, and Extended Guard (Synthetic Crap that I bought). I mean is there any pics or evidence of test performed by some third party not endoresed by Amsoil or some bypass company? If you got a sight please share. I don't want my truck to take crap on me like Powerbroke I had. I've used Fram and the cheapest 10w30 oil I could find in my 1991 350 gasser and it now has 205k. The engine hasn't been touched. I does burn about half a quart a month but does not smoke or leak. I'm happy. It to easy to make your own bypass system for the DMAX since you can just rip a sandwich adapter off of a burb or 3/4+ ton gasser.

So check this out I went to Wal-Mart to get some 15W40 Rotella and a Fram PH9100 Filter. Hmmm......I wonder if there is a filter that fits the DMAX with a different part number. Come to find out the Fram PH9100 is actually a "rebadged" PH5 for a Small Block Chevy, that is why they both cost 3.47. So I bought a XG5, Extended Guard since it has the synthetic media backed up by stainless steel mesh for 9.97. Hell, in an emergency, on the road, go to your local parts store and get a filter for a 1974 half-ton with a 350.

bzzzt....Wrong.......

I don't give a rat's *** what the Fram book says...A SBC oil filter and a Duramax oil filter are not the same unit.

Look in any quality filter guide and you'll find out this is true.

Just because a filter will spin on to the threads you have on the filter mount and the gasket matches does not mean you have the right filter in your hand.

Just because a filter will spin on to the threads you have on the filter mount and the gasket matches does not mean you have the right filter in your hand.

:exactly: Same holds true with spark plugs, even though we don't use them in diesels :D

Fram filters are im my opinion the worst on the market. spend $3 and cut one open yourself. Cheap third party test.

How does Fram stack up against other filters? They have different lines i.e. Extra Guard, Tough Guard, High Mileage, and Extended Guard (Synthetic Crap that I bought). I mean is there any pics or evidence of test performed by some third party not endoresed by Amsoil or some bypass company? If you got a sight please share. I don't want my truck to take crap on me like Powerbroke I had. I've used Fram and the cheapest 10w30 oil I could find in my 1991 350 gasser and it now has 205k. The engine hasn't been touched. I does burn about half a quart a month but does not smoke or leak. I'm happy. It to easy to make your own bypass system for the DMAX since you can just rip a sandwich adapter off of a burb or 3/4+ ton gasser.

I know there are other sites that have done this but here is one I found.
I hope I have typed it O.K. for proper use.

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html#fram-ph8a

Seems to be a fairly honest and well done study of misc. filters.

Personally, I have two lawnmowers that have filters and I wouldn't use a Fram on either.

wix filters are great too

I know there are other sites that have done this but here is one I found.
I hope I have typed it O.K. for proper use.

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html#fram-ph8a

Seems to be a fairly honest and well done study of misc. filters.

Personally, I have two lawnmowers that have filters and I wouldn't use a Fram on either.

Nice find Cleve. Thanks.

I forgot the name of the site and cant find it now bobs diesel or bobs something had a site he cut apart every filter you could think of wix, delco, fram, wally world amsoil etc mobil 1 everything. The delco seriulsy really was about the best.

Thanks for everyone's input and the great info that everyone has posted, that's what makes this the greatest place for Duramax owners. I know I'll stick to AC Delco $4 at autozone.

Thanks Cleve for the site.

I have seen a fram filter blow open at the crimp on a 97 BBC. Keep in mind that a gas engine has no where near the 90+psi oil pressure that the Dmax generates. I wouldn't risk it even if it screws on just fine.

I used a napa gold, I believe it was called. I knew from this site to stay far away from fram and dont let anyone in my family use them either. But has any one had good or bad luck with the napa?

Here's cool site that provides good filter reviews. I don't feel so bad that I bought the Fram XG5 now but will stick with the AC for price and warranty reasons. Baldwin looks like a good bang for the buck filter. http://www.oilfilterstudy.com/
Baldwin http://www.baldwinfilters.com/

I used a napa gold, I believe it was called. I knew from this site to stay far away from fram and dont let anyone in my family use them either. But has any one had good or bad luck with the napa?


The Napa(GOLD)brand Is produced by WIX and re' badged

I've run them (WIX) for years in my race car's with over 800hp, and motors costing more then our trucks. Its the same filter.. You made a good choice with Wix, or NAPAGOLD.

Do not mistake the SILVER, and or any of the other "off" brands they sell as being the GOLDS equal. They are not.

I read an article in Chevy High performance about one of their engines blowing up due to a FRAM filter, good enough for me...Do you self a favor and order a case from Fleet filter.com:D

If you drive a 4 x 4 truck like mine it is very important to use a filter with an antidrain valve so that the filter that s located sideways will not drain in the pan every tme the engine is shut off. We use to buy OEM filters for our equipment and the Fram supplier assured us that most filters are made by a few manufactures and paint them to suit and charge all kinds of prices for them. The Micron spec. and O-Ring and thread size usualy is most important when choosing a filter. Surely a hydraulic filter is most important as they have different Micron rating. the smaller the rating the faster they will plug up and bypass, defeating the filtering purpose.

W R O N G !DURAMAX OIL FILTER is the same as SBC 350 OIL FILTER

A SBC 75-86 filter WILL fit on our D-max's... The problem is that the SBC filters do not have a internal bypass installed in them because it's on the engine block. Our D-max filters have a 25lb bypass inside them. Also, the SBC filters are only required to filter down to 25 micron. Most Duramax filters will filter down to less than 10 micron.

I do use the Duramax filters on my SBC 383 stroker though, as I like the extra filtration offered.:D

Need more info on filters? Go here: www.bobistheoilguy.com

www.bobistheoilguy.com is a wonderful site. I have learned alot from the people on there. As far as NG/WIX filters go check us out and see if we can save yall some money.
Bryan

Spartus is correct. The bypass was built into the older GM's. Interesting thing is that years ago, probably late 80's I was reading a tech article in Corvette magazine about the 10 most recommended upgrades to make to your Vette engine and one of them was to put a pipe plug in the bypass port (right where you screw on the filter) and have 100% of your oil filtered instead of letting significant amounts of unfiltered oil circulate into the engine & if you have the room, put on a larger filter to increase your capacity. All you needed to do was monitor your oil pressure and when it started to rise, due to the filter getting clogged & no by-pass to provide another path, you change your filter ASAP. Basically the article stated that the by-pass was there so that the engine would always have enough oil flow even if the filter was clogged and non motor head couldn't fit a change & new filter in there busy schedules between golf games, but so long as you were a motor head and understood that your oil pressure guage needed to be monitored and the filter changed soon when the pressure started rising, there was not only no need for by-pass but that you were better of without it.

Spartus is correct. The bypass was built into the older GM's. Interesting thing is that years ago, probably late 80's I was reading a tech article in Corvette magazine about the 10 most recommended upgrades to make to your Vette engine and one of them was to put a pipe plug in the bypass port (right where you screw on the filter) and have 100% of your oil filtered instead of letting significant amounts of unfiltered oil circulate into the engine & if you have the room, put on a larger filter to increase your capacity. All you needed to do was monitor your oil pressure and when it started to rise, due to the filter getting clogged & no by-pass to provide another path, you change your filter ASAP. Basically the article stated that the by-pass was there so that the engine would always have enough oil flow even if the filter was clogged and non motor head couldn't fit a change & new filter in there busy schedules between golf games, but so long as you were a motor head and understood that your oil pressure guage needed to be monitored and the filter changed soon when the pressure started rising, there was not only no need for by-pass but that you were better of without it.

Ditto.When I got my first LB7 back in '01,my service manager told me immediately what you just said--it actually was a bulletin from GM to their dealers warning not to use the gas small block filters.

in my engine class i took last semester, my teacher had a few cut away oil filters and showed us the difference. basically the regular orange fram was as bad as some of walmarts filters, cardboard supports and such. but for short the best he had was wix, ac delco, and motorcraft.

Spartus is correct. The bypass was built into the older GM's. Interesting thing is that years ago, probably late 80's I was reading a tech article in Corvette magazine about the 10 most recommended upgrades to make to your Vette engine and one of them was to put a pipe plug in the bypass port (right where you screw on the filter) and have 100% of your oil filtered instead of letting significant amounts of unfiltered oil circulate into the engine & if you have the room, put on a larger filter to increase your capacity. All you needed to do was monitor your oil pressure and when it started to rise, due to the filter getting clogged & no by-pass to provide another path, you change your filter ASAP. Basically the article stated that the by-pass was there so that the engine would always have enough oil flow even if the filter was clogged and non motor head couldn't fit a change & new filter in there busy schedules between golf games, but so long as you were a motor head and understood that your oil pressure guage needed to be monitored and the filter changed soon when the pressure started rising, there was not only no need for by-pass but that you were better of without it.:badidea:

- One big problem with this idea is that if you have no oil filter bypass, you will be starving the engine for oil during cold starts. This will be even worse in cold climates. When the engine is first started cold, the oil is too thick to pass though the filter medium and the filter bypass ensures that enough oil is pumped through the engine for adequate lubrication when cold. You could even end up with a collapsed oil filter if your oil pump develops too much presure when the engine oil is cold.

Actually, you would see LESS oil pressure, and most pressure sending units are AFTER the filter.

And the moral is.....just buy a duramax oil filter, not fram