# Maintenance items from the Walmart



## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

So, I've been buying my oil, filters, grease, etc from Walmart for years. Valvoline MaxLife synthetic blend oil, and Fram filters. Regular ordinary orange box. I did switch from the general purpose grease to the multi complex, or whatever they call it. The red stuff.

Am I practicing false economy here? Should I be buying AC Delco or Napa filters, and name brand grease? Every time I'm in Napa, I look at that oil filter comparison display and think maybe I should switch.

Any thoughts?


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## Bigfoot Brent (Mar 19, 2008)

I would just keep buying what you have filter and oil wise. Make sure the grease is an EP 2 (extreme pressure #2) that is rated for disc brake wheel bearings, so you know it will handle the heat and pressure. Personally, I don't believe in extended oil change intervals as they don't work from my experience( 9 years fleet maintnance in the trucking industry). The way I see it is grease, oil and filters are cheap compared to a new engine, chassis/steering/suspension parts and the downtime.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

I do pretty well with my oil changes, try for 2,500 miles. Always change the filter, and full grease job. And now I'm actually greasing the ball joints and outer tie rod ends halfway between oil changes. The grease is EP.


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## Bigfoot Brent (Mar 19, 2008)

Your maintenance plan is the same as mine! So I'd say stick with it


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## BigDave12768 (Nov 17, 2006)

I buy my Oil at Wally World. But I am not a fan of Fram oil Filters. So I just go Advanced Auto parts for a Mobil one filter or a K&N they are like $10.


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## B&B (Nov 4, 2006)

Where you purchase isn't as critical as WHAT you purchase. Your eyes aren't deceiving you..avoid the orange.


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

B&B;785015 said:


> Where you purchase isn't as critical as WHAT you purchase.


And since

Wally World is China's Largest customer and you can not trust chinese products to contain what they claim (dog food, toothpaste, etc...)
perhaps it is critical where you DO NOT purchase things. Particularly since I often find I do better at my local Napa then I do in the Big Box Stores.


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## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

I have always bought oil and fuel filters from the dealer. For my trucks I go right to Ford and Toyota and my wife's Pathfinder I go right to Nissan.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

B&B;785015 said:


> Your eyes aren't deceiving you..avoid the orange.


So Napa, AC Delco, or something else?


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## RichG53 (Sep 16, 2008)

So B&B what is wrong with the Fram filters ???? What would you recommend ??? I have been using the high mileage ones .... And Quaker State oil !!!


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## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

RichG53;785029 said:


> So B&B what is wrong with the Fram filters ???? What would you recommend ??? I have been using the high mileage ones .... And Quaker State oil !!!


fram oil filter use cardboard and cheap plastic bypass valve that can't hold oil in valvetrain it end go back to oil pan when you start you hear noise.

I been use walmart's supertech oil it seem they are good. I change at 3,000 miles on old engine but if engine is good then 5,000 or 10,000 miles.

For grease ball joint I use Lucas. It seem that ball joint on F250 last longer than before.


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## Chrisxl64 (Dec 10, 2008)

Purolator still makes a good product, but if you can find them definately go for a WIX, very good product and uses a fiberglass filter media, thats way tougher than paper; and I just had the debate of synthetic vs conventional with someone at the breakfast table this morning. IMO a good quality oil is all you need, whether syn. or conventional. Unless your talking about high horsepower, or truely abusive working conditions. Then I'd go with nothing other than royal purple. Good quality products are worth their weight in gold.

PS-WIX also makes air filters, and their oil filters have anti-drain back valving, that actually works.


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## B&B (Nov 4, 2006)

Fram oil filters are not worth the cheap components that they're made of. Care to read an an email directly from one of their own engineers?....

*"I worked for two years as the oil-filter production line engineer in
an Allied-Signal FRAM facility and I can confirm every bad thing you
have heard about FRAM automotive filters. That's from the horse's
mouth, as it were.

I'm also a quality engineer and can confirm that FRAM applies no
quality control whatsoever to any of the characteristics for which we
buy oil filters. I frequently saw filter designs which were barely
capable of meeting J806. Many of FRAM's designs will block and go to
bypass after trying to filter very little contamination. There were
often leakage paths at the paper end discs when these were not
properly centered on the elements. Some designs had the pleats so
tightly packed against the center tube that they would block off in no
time. I had discovered that the FRAM HP1 that I had been buying for
about $20 Cdn was EXACTLY the same as a PH8 inside - the only
difference being a heavier can - no advantages in flow capacity. The
paper filtration media was of apparently poor quality and the process
of curing the paper resin was very inconsistent - elements would range
from visibly burnt to white. FRAM's marketers admitted that there was
just about no way the public could ever prove that an oil filter
contributed, or did not prevent, engine damage. The only thing FRAM
tested for was can burst strength. Another problem that they have from
time to time is in threading the filter base - often there are strands
of metal left behind on a poorly formed thread.

I have not used a FRAM filter since I started working there. Their
claims are entirely and completely marketing BS."
*

And, don't waste your money on "high mileage" anything...it's nothing more than a marketing ploy and is unnecessary.

BTW, most of NAPA's filters are WIX filters (and so are those with the Carquest name) for those that don't have access to WIX but have a NAPA or Carquest local. Very good filters. In fact many of the commonly known oil filter names that we recognize when walking into a parts store are not even produced by the company name that's on the filter. Many name brand filters are actually manufactured by a common company call Champion Labs. This includes Deutsch, K&N, Mobile, STP. as well as OEM Mopar and many of the genuine AC Delco filters.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Both trucks are ready for service. On the hunt for WIX tomorrow. If I can't get them, we have both a NAPA and Carquest. My father was a mechanic back in the sixties and early seventies. Now that I think about it, I can remember him always buying WIX filters.


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## Chrisxl64 (Dec 10, 2008)

There you go,good choice, happy hunting.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Duh, google wix filters.

http://www.wixfilters.com/companyinformation/index.asp
They have a cross reference page, and dealer locator page. Nothing in my town, by several nearby where we go quite a bit.


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## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

That reason Ford put recall on V8 5.4L on aftermarket oil filter because Stupid Fram. 


Wix is good but it at Napa dealer. We don't have Napa nearby they are 15 miles away.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Milwaukee;785123 said:


> We don't have Napa nearby they are 15 miles away.


15 miles is next door for these parts.


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## mayhem (Aug 25, 2006)

FWIW I've been using the Fram Tough Guard filters. Need to dig around, but some independant reviews I read said the design was quite good and they didn't cheap out on the materials or bypass valve.


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## B&B (Nov 4, 2006)

mayhem;785216 said:


> FWIW I've been using the Fram Tough Guard filters. Need to dig around, but some independant reviews I read said the design was quite good and they didn't cheap out on the materials or bypass valve.


As long as you don't consider cardboard end caps as "cheap" materials...which all the Fram filters use, regardless of the color or name on the exterior.


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## Chrisxl64 (Dec 10, 2008)

I'm simply going on the guy who built my mustang's race engine, he recommended WIX, on an engine that is running nearly 11:1 compression and tuned very hot, I trust him, and I turst WIX.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

My whole fleet of 5 vehicles runs on Walmart fluids and filters.
I have not used Fram in like 5 years. Ever since I walked into Advance to get a filter and the counter guy showed me the differance in filters. I buy OEM filters when I can or Purolater. Walmart has it's place in price. You just have to know what your buying.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Well, I bought the NAPA filter and put it on the truck. Needless to say, couldn't see or feel (weight) and differences from the Fram. The NAPA counter guy confirmed they are made by WIX. The product breakdown on the package is identical to the WIX website. I will continue to use the Valvoline MaxLife for now. Greasing the pitman arm and idler arm is a royal PIA!

I am going to keep the last Fram Filter, and when I take the NAPA off I will cut them both open and take pics. In aviation, they have have a rig to cut the filter open without making steel shards or filings. Kinda like a can opener. It's common in that field to open every filter and check for metal. I need one of those, but I think they're like a hundred bucks.


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## B&B (Nov 4, 2006)

It's rather obvious when you cut them open, as I often do in order to check on the health of an engine. You'll get to see first hand the difference between various filters.

I use a large pipe cutter to open them up but you can buy dedicated filter cutters now in the aftermarket for less than $50. Pretty sure Summit now has their own branded ones for under $40. A good investment if you do enough oil changes and want to keep a good eye on things that you wouldn't normally see.


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## polarvend (Aug 3, 2009)

Go with a good oil filter for sure and depending on what kind of truck I am putting it in depends what kind of oil I use, I have three plow trucks now two of which are 1993's which I don't plan on keeping them around for many more years so I usually just use a non synthetic oil in them, however my new truck which I plan to plow with for many more years I would only use royal purple motor oil in it, it is the finest synthetic oil out there, and you do pay a little extra for it.
I used the two stroke oil from royal purple in my 1996 skidoo snowmachine and it completely changed the way it runs, so much smoother, and it does not stink like a two stroke.


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## towpro570 (Jul 23, 2009)

good filers are Wix but buying oil @ Walmart or Advance don't make any difference the price is the same for filters @advance as Walmart


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

The prices at Walmart are pretty much the same at Advance or Autozone. We have 2 that are open 24 hrs so it's nice to be able to get fluids etc at midnight. I go with the family and the wife and daughter go off to look at their stuff. I can go off and get the odds and ends for vehicles I need.They have limited hardware selection but they do have good tools and spray paint. Don't buy the interior or exterior house paint, it's not easy to work with. It's too cheap of a product.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

MickiRig1;795188 said:


> The prices at Walmart are pretty much the same at Advance or Autozone. We have 2 that are open 24 hrs so it's nice to be able to get fluids etc at midnight. I go with the family and the wife and daughter go off to look at their stuff. I can go off and get the odds and ends for vehicles I need.


Sounds like my trips to the Walmart with the wife&daughter. My 16 year old son is too cool to go shopping with us.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

OH MY GOD me too!
My 18 y/old and 14 y/old son have the same attitude!
Texting and the Internet are better then going with the family somewhere that does not involve food served to them on a plate.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Actually, he's a pretty good kid. He spends his spare time learning programming languages. He knows at least four different ones very well. He knows more about computers than his computer class teachers in high school. When he was a Freshman the IT dept. asked him to give a presentation about something. He's very introverted and declined.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

My oldest has a full ride to Akron U for Nursing ( R.N.) because of his grades in high school. It's still scary how much books and fee's cost! It's $2,500 in just books and parking, out of our pocket! It's no wonder people can't get a collage education with the cost's involved!


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Good for him, and you. Alden needs to get his grades up. Last year was better than his freshman year, but he really needs to kick it up this year (Junior). Unfortunately, he takes after his dad and finds school quite boring. Math and Science are OK, not much use for English and History.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

My youngest son ( 14 ) will no doubt get a full ride at a great collage. He's 2 times my MickiRig skill and brains! He's an A student that spends no time after school getting his grades. He's been in classes at Akron U for the last year. He's going to be the mad scientist of the family.


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