Oil filter won’t fit
- Thread starter DougE
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DougE
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Positive that I’m not cross threading. Tried a few times and it gets tight st the same spot.
DougE
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K&N on left, OEM middle, FRAM right
$50 spent on filters and oil filter wrenches. Most expensive oil change for me. I already had the filter cup wrench for the OEM filter but didn’t fit so had to buy more tools.
i noticed the OEM and K&N had a flush thread while the FRAM had the thread sticking out so not sure if that has anything to do with it. I made sure not to cross thread but a few turns in, the filters would get stuck. New FRAM went in with no issue
Normally takes me 30 minutes for the oil change turned into a 2.5 hour job trying to get the filters to fit and running to the store.
Once the filter was in, i put in Mobil1 synthetic oil and took it out for a ride. Feels smoother now. Definitely needed the oil change.
I noticed on a few different bikes I changed oil on last year all using that same suzuki filter that they had a tight spot where it almost felt cross threaded, I backed them off and tried a few times and kept getting the same result so I finally said to hell with it and put a little extra force into it and it went past that spot and threaded the rest of the way on smooth as normal. Only thing I could come up with is something in the threading or assembly process of the filter is making an area of the thread extra tight but after having it happen a few different times I just got accustom to it.
DougE
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One of my biggest fear is cross threading any bolt on a vehicle so I tend to play it safe. When I was screwing in the OEM filter it kept getting tighter but there was still a gap. On the K&N, I ended up rounding the end of the filter. I think I’m ok with using FRAM filters for now.
I'm one of the people that drank the "fram filters are bad" kool-aid lol so I won't touch em but I totally get u not wanting to risk cross threading it. I happen to be a mechanic so I deal with the same issue regularly with some of the oil filters we have at work so I can kinda feel if I think it's safe to keep going a little more then an average person
DougE
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This this the first time I heard about Fram filters being bad. I use OEM filters for all my vehicles so guess I never had to read up on other brands. I did hear once that K&N oil filter would fail at the end nut piece. I’ve run the bike for about 3K miles on the old Fram that came with it when I bought the bike and it seemed fine. So I’ll give it a shot this time and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll see if I can get an OEM to fit again. Working at home with limited tools definitely makes me stay on the safe side lol
pcs
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fram filters have turned into some of the worst filters u can use. you can look across the power sports and motor sports world. they do a horrible job filtering and they have bad quality control. you can look online and various frams being cut open on youtube if u want to see for yourself. there Cummins engine guys call them the orange can of death. ford tried to void warranties if you had engine problems and showed up with a fram. u can do your own research and decide if you should keep using frams.
pcs
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ive used oem, k&n, and once fram. the only issues i have is the oem and k&n dont clear the brocks header and i have to disconnect an oil line to get the filter to slide in. the fram is smaller and fits right in.
Kiwi Rider
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Hayabusa Wannabe
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K&N oil filters: VFR800 owners have had oil blow out the endcap where the nut is welded or riveted on. Some are experienced and knew not to apply any torque to that nut on installation. It would appear the filter is weak due to that configuration. I do not know how many filter models have that nut on them.
DougE
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I have gone down the oil filter debate rabbit hole and read that K&N oil filters were banned at certain racetracks, and that they would leak at the nut. I did learn that the nut is meant just for loosening the filter, not tightening it.
FRAM: The Orange Can of Death - After doing a lot of online reading, YouTube videos I have seen a 50/50 opinion. There are people who state that they have used from on their cars for thousands of miles with no issues. There are others who say that it blew up their engine. While doing this research, I could not find any type of class action lawsuit for FRAM filters causing damage to engines. In the cases of FRAM failure, I did not see any other factors listed that could have contributed to it. (was the oil filter changed on a normal interval or was it changed only when the car started acting up.) This is my first time using a FRAM oil filter and for the 3k miles I have ridden the bike, it felt fine. I asked a few older co workers who do their own work on their car, and they said they have used FRAM filters with no issues. I do believe that the filter is not the best quality and could have caused damage to some vehicles but at the same time, that could be said about other brands as well.
I am someone who has always done OEM oil filters in all my motorcycles/cars. Only used the FRAM due to the issue i was having with the other filters. Next oil change, I will try to get the OEM to fit.
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