Yanmar vs Fram & Napa

[Victor Robert]

OK, so I'm probably disturbing the muck on the bottom of the fuel tank, but I really want to know.What is the difference between the Yanmar fuel and oil filters and their Fram or Napa equivalents ? Marketing hype and warranty threats aside, what is the technical difference ? A filter passes oil and catches all particles above a certain size. You remove the filter, throw away the particles, and start fresh. Should the filter become clogged, I understand that all the above manufacturers build in an automatic bypass valve to avoid starving the engine of oil.Is there some added protection in the Yanmar product that is not present in the others ? Is there some feature unique to the marine environment ?Cost is a factor to all, and I can understand why a relatively low volume Yanmar part would cost more than a high volume, discount distibution channel Napa or Fram part, but what features are we getting in the $17 item that are missing in the $8 equivalent ? Thanks for your (civil) comments.

 

[nick]

yanmar

I was told by the dealer mechanic that the yanmar filter is the only one made to handle the high pressure of the yanmar engine and could blow other brand filters.

 

[David]

Oil filter

Not sure of the difference of the Yamnar filter, but I will only use them. Yanmar rep told me the same thing Nick mentioned. I do know that the NAPA filter is superior to the Fram. NAPA filters are manufactured by Wicks Filters makers of heavy duty filters.

 

[Steve Dion]

Bypass pressure relief.

Victor:What you are hearing from these other sailors is basically what I have heard. It is suppose to have to do with the pressure relief built into the filter. There is only a couple of dollars difference for a Fram vs. the Yanmar oil filter. If there was a $10 difference, would it be worth risking the destruction of a $6000 engine to save $10 once a year? I have heard of others with motorcycles complain about Fram filters exploding internally too.I have not heard of any Yanmar fuel filters except for the small one on the engine but have never found any of these parts to be EXPENSIVE or worth shopping for either. You are not the first one to bring up this point but it is worth discussing.

 

[Bob Shultz]

yanmar oil filters

I just complted MackBoring's two day course on the Yanmar engines. The professor "Larry Berlin" showed us the difference between Yanmar and several competitors. The other filters are different on the inside. Use only Yanmar!