Not All Oil Filters Are Equal?

[xr6tee]

Hi guys,

had a call from mate of mine who had his Falcon EA S in service recently. ...well, it used to be mine actually before I bought the XR6T. I have always changed oil and filters religiously and the car has always run great (it has close to 250K on the clock)

He took it to garage as he noticed the valves have been making ticking noises and he was told that this could be due to the oil filter being fitted. Apparently he should have been fitting oil filter that has the built-in valve to stop the oil flowing out of it once the engine stops so when you start the engine when cold, the oil does not have to be pumped back into the filter and thus it's kinder on the engine when cold. I suppose that makes sense.

Now, how does that related to XR6T? As most of you probably know, Ford has been using the venerable Z9 filter for yonk years and the same filter is used in the XR6Ts......in fact in any 6cyl Falcon for as long as I can remember.

For those in the know, my question is:

Are there two different types of the Z9 filter? (ie one with the valve fitted and the other without one?). If this is the case, then that could posibly justify the price differences between various brands on the market. One would hope that the highper priced Z9s are fitted with this so called oil retaining valve while the cheaper ones aren't.

I would hate (unwittingly) to hurt my 'pride and joy' by fitting an inferior oil filter but by the same token, I don't want to pay more if all the Z9 filters are exactly the same in this regard.

I hope that someone on the forum can comment on this and clears this up, not just for me but for many XR6T owners who may be concerned just like I am.

[Guest]

Don't know much about it oil filters, but from the begining Ive been fitting K&N oil filters to my donk Im happy with them so far.

[bloosted]

I used to have an xf that rattled real bad when cold and that was the cause as well,changed to fleetguard oil filter and fixed it straight up can only be good

[xr6tee]

Thanks for the replies so far. It looks like the more expensive oil filters are justified from what has been said so far.

[Goobz]

It usually says on the box if it has a check valve fitted. The Ryco one I bought from Repco had one in it...

Chris

[Adam]

I just use the genuine Ford AFL1 filter.

For some reason I think it would be suited to the car.

[JimmyXR6T04]

I was told by a mate with some good knowledge and experience that the ryco Z9 filter is basically identical to the ford one. So I usually buy them from repco. Haven't had any problems, and I change my oil every 3500-5000kms. I've been using the penzoil GT oil, and again had no issues!

[JBomb3000]

I stuck with the ford filter to avoid any potential warranty problems.

[HellionXR6T]

From what I can see and from what some of my mates that are mechanics and Ford enthusiasts as well, it's identical to the Z9 but I did the same, used the "Ford" oil filter.

[Falchoon]

I used to have an xf that rattled real bad when cold and that was the cause as well,changed to fleetguard oil filter and fixed it straight up can only be good

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My XF does that too and I've got some cheap arse generic filter on it too - matches the oil! I'll change the filter to a Ryco and put some better oil in and see if it makes a difference.

Pretty sure the Ford AFL1 oil filter and the Ryco Z9 are both made by Ryco. They have recently changed to manufacturing in Thailand.