Mower engine oil filter

[JTK]

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.."Most" because there are more Kohlers and Briggs out there. Kaws & Hondas take different filters.

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I'm sure there are some differences. I've only had 3 lawn/garden tractor engines with oil filters. A 17hp Kawi single, a 17hp Briggs single and the Kohler 20 twin. All these engines used an oil filter with 3/4-16 threads and 2.734" gasket dia. Space (for length) was an issue only with the Kawasaki as the filter sat sideways, tucked up against the block.

Joel

 

[MonumentOiler]

Amsoil EaO 57 will fit if the Fram 3614 will. Then you could probably rest easy knowing that you have done your BITOG best.

 

[Bill Kapaun]

Kaw gasket is different-
2.475"OD 2.173"ID 0.233" thick.

 

[pbm]

Is it safe for me to assume that I can replace the B&S # 492932 filter on my new 18 hp Craftsman rider with a good old Purolator PL10241? Walmart cerries a Motorcraft FL910 which cross references to a Fram 3614 so I assume it would also work? What say you guys?

 

[JTK]

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Is it safe for me to assume that I can replace the B&S # 492932 filter on my new 18 hp Craftsman rider with a good old Purolator PL10241? Walmart cerries a Motorcraft FL910 which cross references to a Fram 3614 so I assume it would also work? What say you guys?

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I know you can go 'round & 'round with this, but if the filter threads on, seals and clears anything that can harm it, it's safe to use on your OPE.

Joel

 

[UncleS2]

pbm, my new Craftsman mower now has a Purolator-made Havoline-brand T-29 oil filter- a straight clone of the Purolator Prem Plus L10241 you mentioned. Installed at first oil change at 6.x hrs on the meter, now has about 12.5 hrs. Go ahead & use the Purolator or the Motorcraft mentioned in your post, or any of the other substitutes listed above in various posts, incuding mine. Your mower will run just fine with well-filtered oil- mine sure does!

 

[pbm]

The bypass valve setting on the OE B&S filter is 8 to 11 PSI. If I used an automotive filter with a bypass valve setting of 14 PSI how would this affect oil filtration on my mowers engine? I think it means that it goes into bypass
at a higher PSI which means that oil is being filtered until then. Wouldn't that be a good thing?

 

[JTK]

pbm, that just means the 'automotive' filter can take a higher delta pressure across the media before the bypass lifts. 14psig dP, as opposed to a ~10psig dP. Like you say, in theory, the higher # should bypass less, but there is no way of knowing if the media in those filters would reach those dP's in your application. Really viscous, cold oil maybe, or a super dirty clogged filter.

Joel

 

[pbm]

Joel: Thanks for the explanation. I've been reading a lot in the 'Lawn Mower and Small Engine' section since buying my new lawn tractor. I consider yourself, Bror Jace, Bill Kapaun, Molecule (of course) and a few others as the most knowledgeable of BITOG's on this topic. I found Mola's oil testing in OPE very interesting.(basicly 15w40 is the optimum thickness with 5w30/10w30 synthetics also good and 20w50 too thick) He doesn't test or mention HD30. I find it interesting that B&S mention 5w30 synthetic as the best choice for all temperatures. They don't take into account the wide differences in 5w30 synthetics (Gr.3 vs. PAO etc..)
I wonder if my mower would be better off with 5w30 ST syn. or HD30? Anyway I have decided that I'm going to use PAO synthetic 10w30 which I still have several qts. of (in both SH and SJ varieties) and Puro 10241 when breakin is complete. Your thoughts?

PS: Sorry to jump off topic but I didn't want to start another "which oil is best" thread. Thanks again

 

[Propflux01]

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It really irks me that B&S, Tecumseh, John Deere, etc ... will package up a filter they bought for $0.50 and then package it with a MSRP of $10-12.

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You have to consider thier point of view as well as a business.. They may charge 10 bucks for a filter, but how many do you buy during the winter season as opposed to your car? Usually 1 filter per year vs 3 on average for your car... they gotta make some kinda offset for that during the winter months when average joe is not thinking anything about parts for his mower...

 

[Bror Jace]

Thanks pbm, I appreciate the praise ... and the company you put me in.

A 10W-30 synthetic should be a super choice ... especially this far north. If it was what I had on hand, I wouldn't hesitate to use this year 'round.

Tim H., that was my quote from the previous page? I still stand by it. If they merely made 200% on their filters I guess I wouldn't be so "irked" by these manyufacturers. It's when they take a filter of indifferent quality and mark it up 600-800% or more to soak their most loyal customers that gets me really riled up.

I assume they feel most people will only buy their filters once in a while? So why not make as much money as possible from those folks ("suckers") when those rare opportunities occur?

Gee, I wonder why people will go to great lengths to find alternatives?

My favored business models include providing good value for the dollar and treating the customer with a certain amount of respect. If these OPE manufacturers did this with regard to parts sales, I'd respect them more ... as well as buy more factory branded parts myself.

 

[Propflux01]

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Tim H., that was my quote from the previous page? I still stand by it. If they merely made 200% on their filters I guess I wouldn't be so "irked" by these manyufacturers. It's when they take a filter of indifferent quality and mark it up 600-800% or more to soak their most loyal customers that gets me really riled up.

I assume they feel most people will only buy their filters once in a while? So why not make as much money as possible from those folks ("suckers") when those rare opportunities occur?

Gee, I wonder why people will go to great lengths to find alternatives?

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Again, when you only buy one filter per year, as average Joe does, it becomes the simple economics of marketing, and supply and demand. It takes money to print that XXXX-brand on that filter, and when you order less from the manufacturer, you pay more for the same amount of filters than say, Ford or ??. Add into account ALL manufacturers, OPE, Auto, etc, all make loads of $$ off of parts. That is one reason why it is so expensive to get your car serviced at the dealer. But with filters, yes, the quality is same as other filters, no 'Golden super flow special from alpha centauri' media, but small engine places have almost NO business during the winter months, and too much to do it all in the summer, so they make it up by expensing the parts to help cover that 'off season time'. Simple economics, even though it sucks for the consumer. But... That is why we have BITOG to help find alternatives to people like yourself and I who don't want to help pay for someone else's (parts and service supplier) financial problems.

 

[Bill Kapaun]

"Again, when you only buy one filter per year, as average Joe does, it becomes the simple economics of marketing, and supply and demand."

Then why don't they put filters on ALL their engines. They would up their demand from the filter manf. for the original filter AND from millions? of B&S (etc.) owners seeking replacement filters.

 

[Bror Jace]

Bill, I assume you know the answer to that: The added filter plumbing (inc. pump), mount and the filter itself would add enough cost to make the unit uncompetitive in the segment ... and some people would see it as increasing the cost of maintenance (ownership) (although I believe they probably never change the oil and filter anyway).

Tim, I think you over-estimate the cost of these filters at the wholesale level. Let's take a Champion Lab filter that retails at Walmart for $2-3. Knowing that when I sold auto parts, each time an auto-part changes hands, it often doubles in price. But this was an archaic distribution system with a lot of middle men that were being cut out of the loop and were dying. I'm guessing there's a lot less mark-up between manufacturer and end user these days.

Also, adding your own color to the filter, print on the side, custom printed box, etc ... is cheaper than you think when buying tens of thousands of units. Sure, it will cut into that margin ... but I bet Walmart still grosses $1 each their Supertech filters ... or very close to it.

So, for a manufacturer such as B&S, JD, Kohler, Tecumseh, etc ... to order 10,000+ filters in just a handful of sizes, and get the same custom treatment it would be very cheap.

I'm guessing they'd end up paying $1.00-$1.50 for each filter maximum. Doubling that price as they sell to a distributor ... then doubling it again as the retail jobber buys it and doubling it again as the poor brand-loyal sucker plunks it down on the checkout counter. We're at $8-$12 per filter.

If the jobbers can order directly from the manufacturer and/or some people in the distribution chain could settle for something less than doubling their money on items they may not even take posession of, it would cut the retail price in half ... easily.

How else can Ford sell a full-size automotive filter made by Purolator but stuffed in a custom Motorcraft box, painted white with Motorcraft markings and put it in Walmart for $3.50 ... with everyone along the way making a profit?