infidel

August 2002 Cummins Technical Bulletin®
It has been brought to our attention that a few DaimlerChrysler service
technicians are recommending that the FRAM PH3976 filter not be used on
Daimler Chrysler vehicles withthe Cummins 5.9L Turbo Diesel engine and
that use of these filters can cause damage to the engine. Daimler Chrysler
has informed us that they released a Technical Service Bulletin to their
dealerships communicating a potential contamination issue and recommending
the use of Fleetguard manufactured filters.
FRAM has been selling PH3976 filter for this engine application since the
engine platform launch and it has maintained an extremely reliable service
record. Late in 2000, Cummins and Daimler Chrysler brought to our
attention a low incidence failure mode in their Cummins 5.9L Turbo Diesel
engine of the piston cooling nozzle plugging, resulting in engine failure.
The plugging was caused by contaminates lodging in the nozzle. The
contaminants included metal chips, calcium carbonate, polyethylene, and
styrene butadiene that are not associated with filter manufacture, and a
neoprene compound, which is used as a sealant on the tapping plate of the
filter. There were also several other engine warranty issues determined
unrelated to the piston cooling nozzle plugging that were part of the
engine failure sample. A small amount of neoprene rubber was used in the
FRAM filter as a sealant.
Throughout our investigation with Cummins & DaimlerChrysler on various
engine failures, no conclusive evidence was found to assign cause to
filters or other contamination sources. However, driven to satisfy our
customers, the FRAM engineering team made modifications to the design
eliminating the neoprene and expedited development and manufacturing to
release a revised filter model number to PH3976A. With the design change
on the PH3976A completely removing the use of neoprene, there is
absolutely no validity in comments that the Fram filter should not be used
for this application or that it may cause engine failures associated with
plugged nozzles.

They're still cheap, I wouldn't use one

wannadiesel

I'm with you, Bill. You can get better filters for less money, so why buy Fram? My local truck parts store sells Donaldsons for $4.87, and those things are built like a tank.

Rare1

That August 2000 Cummins Technical Bulletin talks about the possibility of Fram oil filters causing engine damage by releasing filter components into the oil stream. It does not address FILTRATION. Fram oil filters are known to have poor filtration. Whether or not they grenade in our engine is debatable and I would not believe either DC or Fram's statement of reliability because they have been known to disintegrate in other engines. Fram is the bottom of the line and I don't believe they have the expertise or desire to build a good filter for us when every other filter they make is junk. DC would put them on dealer shelves if they passed one criteria: profit.

Mcmopar

7 to 8 bucks depending on your Cummins parts place.