Fleetguard Filters
How Cummins Filtration applies to your engine.

Using a Fleetguard filters to protect your Cummins engine.

Who makes Fleetguard filters?
Fleetguard is a brand name of Cummins Filtration, the filter company of Cummins, Inc that builds all filters for Cummins OEM applications. Cummins Filtration is the leading designer and manufacturer of filtration products and exhaust systems for diesel engines. Their broad product lines cover a wide variety of applications, but are mostly focused on the heavy duty industry. Although the primary supplier of Cummins, Inc, Cummins Filtration also builds excellent filters for competitive engines.
Started in 1958 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, Cummins Filtration supplies filters around the world.

Filter Definition
First of all, what is a filter? A filter, as defined by Dictionary.com, is as follows:

fil·ter- Any substance, as cloth, paper, porous porcelain, or a layer of charcoal or sand, through which liquid or gas is passed to remove suspended impurities or to recover solids.

Styles of Filters

In most heavy duty applications, filters are generally of two different designs: either spin-on or cartridge style.

Spin-on Filters- Filters that have a threaded center, designed to thread onto the male nipple of the filter head until sealing against the filter gasket.

Cartridge Style- Cartridge style filters fit in a filter housing with a removable lid. To replace the filter, the lid is removed and then the filter replaced. Most cartridge style filters come with a new sealing o-ring to be replaced on the lid before the lid is reinstalled.

Measuring Performance

The unit of measure used in filter ratings is called a micron. A micron is a thousandth of a millimeter, a millionth of a meter, or .000039 of an inch. These microns describes the size of particles that are being removed from the fluid by the filter. All fluid filters have a micron rating, although not all Fleetguard filters have this rating posted. All Cummins filters meet or exceed OEM specifications, which means that your micron rating has already been approved when using a filter from Cummins Filtration.

Stumbling Blocks

Three of the main reasons that Cummins engine owners do not purchase OEM Fleetguard filters for their engines are:

Reason #1: Engine owners do not know the advantage of Cummins filters. Many people assume that a filter is a filter, without knowing the damage that can be caused without the proper filter media and micron rating.

Reason #2: They may be difficult to find. Although you know you should be using Cummins filters on your engine, where can you purchase them? It sometimes can be hard to find a Fleetguard dealer, and not everyone lives or works close to a Cummins dealer. However, with the ever increasing presence of the internet, Fleetguard filters can now be shipped directly to your door.

Reason #3: People assume that because they are better, they must be more expensive. In some cases this is true, but you would be suprised at how reasonable a Cummins filter is. You may find that you are spending more on your "low cost" filter than for the genuine thing! Before you sacrifice quality for cost, check out the following link: Test Results.

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For more details on specific types of filters, see the following:

Fleetguard Oil Filter
Fleetguard Air Filter
Fleetguard Fuel Filter

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