Before My Eyes... FL784 Fails!

[PwrSmoke]

Just today. A Motorcraft FL784 on my 6.9L diesel. I had an old one (dated 2008) and used it for break in on my fresh overhaul (normally use the FL1995). I have about 150 miles on the engine and was taking the truck out for a run today, when I noticed a slight fuel leak (injector return hose). I had the engine running tracking it down, was under the truck wiping up the dribble for the valley pan drain, when all of a sudden the oil filter started dribbling. Outta the blue! The leak was not the gasket but at the crimp where the can is attached to the base. Given the money and time I have in this engine, this is the kinda failure I want to happen. Going down the road... not so much.

 

[icanfixall]

Wow... Time to purchase a lottery ticket before the luck runs out of state... Its 1995 or nothing for me. And at one time many years ago I felt the Fram filter was the best there was available. Kinda hard when you "listen" to the commercial hype being spread all over like... Pay me now... Or pay me later....

 

[reklund]

I'd be checking the oil pump internals for stuck parts too. Someone else recently had some oil filters blow out due to that if I remember right...

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

WOW!! That was a lucky break Jim.

Glad ya didn't smoke that fresh engine.

 

[PwrSmoke]

Oil pressure is normal, so no worries on that account. I will autopsy the filter after it drains for a few days to see if I can see anything. Be interesting to see how much swarf the filter picked up too.

Yeah, I've used the FL1995 size filters since it first appeared, better filtration and a extra quart of oil... what's not to like.

I ran into a couple of the smaller filters on the close out rack at WalMart for $.50. Guess they were worth what I paid. I gave one to a buddy so I hope he hasn't had any trouble too... they both had similar date codes.Wonder if MC had some sort of a recall and had WM pull the filters off the rack and somehow they landed on the close-out rack (they never really closed out those numbers either).

 

[artfd]

I ran into a couple of the smaller filters on the close out rack at WalMart for $.50. Guess they were worth what I paid. I gave one to a buddy so I hope he hasn't had any trouble too... they both had similar date codes.Wonder if MC had some sort of a recall and had WM pull the filters off the rack and somehow they landed on the close-out rack (they never really closed out those numbers either).

WM got rid of all their FL784 filters years ago at similar sales. There is no reason to think a filter would go bad in storage. I suppose if the filter had been dropped onto a hard surface, it might be damaged internally & later fail in the way you observed.
I never heard of a MC recall on their filters.
Maybe you just got lucky.

 

[Ironman03R]

Ford uses whoever will build there parts cheapest. Motorcraft sparkplugs are made in the Autolite factory only differene between the two is the printing on the insulator. I'm not sure who makes the Motorcraft filters currently but production can change from year to year depending on who bid the lowest.
Probibly just got a friday production one .

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Hey Jim that could be a good show and tell item.