they are good quality. the oil filter i dont like is purolator. i had one of
their oil filters leave the gasket on my engine when i changed the filter
and i started the car and saw my brand new oil all over the pavement. it
wasn't synthetic oil at the time that i was using but it made me have to
walk to a gas station and pay double what walmart or autozone would charge
per quart for more oil just so i could drive my car.

                                         -jeff

It's not recently, it was years ago they got bought out by someone, I
forget who.  But my comments stem from personal experience, their
anti-drainback valves simply don't work, at least on a slant six MoPar
application.  I've also heard of them blowing apart at the seams on
engines who develop higher-than-normal (>100 PSI) oil pressure on a cold
start, like VWs, but that part is anecdotal.

nate

If I remember correctly ? Fram has gone an ownership change recently
according to other NG`s I read and the quality of their oil filters
has improved dramaticaly according to all reports ?

Someone cut a Fram filter in half to inspect the internals and found
it has all the same quality ingredients as the more expensive "name "
brands.

I dont know how true this is but seems where theres smoke theres fire

Somehow I missed the post that you replied to, but I feel compelled to
reply... if you're using Fram filters, you're not doing it right.  Fram
is a triumph of marketing over quality...

nate

I use a 25 year veteran mechanic who has been a Honda guy for that whole
time.  I sit there and watch while he does it, and we shoot the sh.t.  
He's a friend of mine now.  He's the only guy I let touch my Hondas.

I know it's done right, because I watched.  And I get many benefits from
doing it that way, benefits that are more than paid for by that extra
few bucks I pay for labor.

i do it myself and save money. for the price to pay somebody to change your
oil i go to walmart buy a fram oil filter and a 5 quart bottle of castrol
syntec full synthetic oil and change it myself and i know it's done right.
and my oil stays cleaner longer than those shops that plug up the drain plug
before everything is even drained out. read your owners manual and get a
haynes repair manual and go at it.

                                -jeff

The exact thing happened to me several years ago, thanks to the
experienced eye of a long time regular tech.

On Aug 16, 5:03 pm, "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <el...@nastydesigns.com>
wrote:

This is why I prefer to have a small shop do it, because a good tech
can sometimes spot stuff that he's not even looking for, e.g. "there's
some grease on the inside of your LF wheel, I checked it out and your
CV boot has a little tear in it, want me to go ahead and replace it
before it becomes a problem?"

Last time I had the corner guy look at my truck, he identified a
vacuum issue with my HVAC controls (which I knew about) and fixed it
for about $40 which was fine by me because it would have taken me
longer than a half hour to trace it out.

nate

They do in my case.  Most dealers have a newbie doing it, but my
dealership simply has the regular mechanics do it.

I'm happy, because (a) my regular mechanic does it, and (b) he's putting
his practiced eye underneath the car as he does so.  It all works out
very well.

On Aug 15, 5:57 pm, techman41...@yahoo.com wrote:

The biggest variable is the local managers of the shops, as well as
the dealers, as well as other chains, as well as independent
mechanics. The secon biggest variable is the talent of whoever's doing
the work. You don't think the dealer is putting his best men on the
problem of oil changing, I hope. I've had lube chains screw up the
plug and/or the filter so bad that the dealer couldn't deal with it,
and I've had other chains manage to fix the screwed up plug and/or
filter that the dealer couldn't fix.

That said, I've gone back to my original idea, which is that it's bad
practice to let other people do this kind of stuff. I got one of those
valves that go into the plug to make it easier.

I am on the road often enough where I need to get my oil changed at
Jiffy Lube or other convenient type of oil change place. Is there any
quality or performance difference between the bulk oil they use or the
optional bottled oil (penzoil) that they offer for $10-$15 more?
I have heard many horror stories regarding Jiffy Lube, although I
guess I am lucky with 220K on my Honda Accord. Taking my car to the
dealer just for an oil change on the road seems ridiculous. Just
wondeingr what others look for in an oil-change place to insure
quality work (those who fear Jiffy Lube) when they can't do it
themselves.
Thanks