WARNING! Fram Fuel Filters

Several months ago, I had bought a number of fuel filters for use on my carburetor testing bikes at an autoparts store. I bought Fram G4154 Fuel Filters (Made in Israel) G431. These are clear with 1/4" ends. I have used them in the past. I recently attempted to use one when I noted it didn't pass gas through freely. Just not enough gas will get through to allow the bike to start. I tried two others and they performed the same. I suspect they are defective as I have used this filter in the past with no issues. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up! Cheers

I've had really good success with a similar fuel filter that NAPA carries - no flow problems at all. Probably a different manufacturer like WIX.

I have had luck with these Fram filters in the past and they were my favorite cuz you can see through them... and they come in 1/4".

I have had issues with Fram filters in the past, oil and fuel, thus I dont use them

Sonny at Phillips Pro cycle in Carbondale,Il. was changing my oil and got a fram filter off the shelf,pulled it off the shelf,looked at it and told his boss,"Here's another bad one."
I'm glad he was installing the filter instead of me.
Does anyone know how to tell if the filter is bad?

i used to spend a small fortune on wix filters for my trucks and tractors and bikes then one the guy at napa told me their napa filters are made by fram,and napa oil is made by valvoline ,so now i use napa filters in everything i run ive never tryed looking for kaw oil filters there though!goodluck,happy wrenching!

For years and years, I thought Fram built the best filters around. Several years ago, when I was into muscle cars, I read an independent test on oil filters. Don't remember all the details but I do remember that Fram was the absolute lowest rated filter. Seems Wix, Puralator, and I beleive Delco oil filters were the highest rated. They used a microscope to measure the size, and amounts of particles that passed through the filter. Many of the lower rated filters had good elements, but were so poorly constructed that large amounts of unfiltered oil would bypass the elements.
Now I only use Wix filters, and as stated above NAPA
(Valvoline) oil.

Post edited by: TLH101, at: 2006/01/29 12:37

This can happen if the wrong procedure is used when installing the fuel filter. (I take for granted that the fuel filter is installed correctly according to the fuel flow direction indicated on the filter housing).
Before the fuel filter is dismissed as impoverish, the fuel flow should be checked by opening the filler cap and one, or several of the float bowl drain screws before the fuel petcock is opened. Then open the fuel petcock, note; set a vacuum fuel petcock to PRI position, and check if there is a sufficient fuel flow. That will remove any air blockade inside the fuel hose, or the fuel filter itself. If there is no fuel flow when using this method, you can suspect either a piece of the rubber fuel hose has worked loose from the end of the fuel hose while the filter was installed blocking the fuel hose between the carburettors and the fuel filter (if a rubber fuel hose is used), or the filter is impoverish.

i put one of those on my bike as well, same thing wouldnt start, then I started tearing it all apart....... damn filter. I used those on my volkswagens exclusively for the same reason, you can see the level/color of fuel....

Thanks for the tip Osama! After installing carb sets on my test bikes over 1000 times in the past year, I had only had this problem on my last 3 uses with these new Fram filters though.

Roy, the only way to test flow on one of these filters is to put it in place. I have at least four fuel hoses with inline filters on my bench next to where I put carbs on a bike and can easily swap to another type if I suspect fuel blockage. I had a bunch of those little bitty fuel filters like you buy in the bike shop that come on a card. I have 90 degree and straight and have never had a flow problem with one of those. Their main issue is that they are so small, they don't last long. I also have a bunch of the larger barrel type filters but they are for 5/8" gas line and I use 1/4" line so may just get some different gas line. I like using 1/4" since it doesn't require a clamp which takes time to install/loosen when swapping sets in and out.

Really, a 1000 times!
Sir, you must have had your fair share of carburettor trouble! Have you ever considered purchasing a set of modern Mikuni flat slide carburettors, or Dell’Orto PHM carburettors?

Osama wrote:

Really, a 1000 times!
Sir, you must have had your fair share of carburettor trouble! Have you ever considered purchasing a set of modern Mikuni flat slide carburettors, or Dell’Orto PHM carburettors?

George does carburetors. It's his business. He tests each set of carburetors on one of his bikes for final tuning before returning them to the customer. So, he probably has installed several hundred sets of carburetors at a minimum. If he says 1000, he's probably not lying.