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Finding a Legit Oil Filter

#1

A

AdamE

Hi all.

I bought a new Exmark Radius last fall. I did the 5 hour oil change and I now have 17 hours on it. I want to do another change soon and started looking for oil filters. I bought the the filter for the first change at the place I bought the mower, but later realized that it was an Exmark 126-5234. I don't see that listed anywhere for my Exmark engine.

I then ordered a 136-7848 (which from what I can tell is the correct part) from Amazon. It was supposed to be a genuine Toro filter and it came from Outdoor Power Equipment, but it had no branding or part number on it, and fearing it was a Chinese knockoff, I sent it back.

Then, I started looking online and a lot of the filters I see don't have branding or part numbers (a least from the photos they show). My question is, is it normal for an Exmark or Toro filter to not have the company name or part number? Or, is this a sure sign that it's not original?

Thanks!


#2

cpurvis

cpurvis

When are you going to do the next oil change after this one? You don't need a new filter if you're going to change oil every 12 hours.


#3

M

MParr

If it’s an Exmark branded 708cc 24.5 hp engine, A Fram 4967 series filter works. Also, the STP S4967 works. Some aftermarket filters will not work on the Exmark/Toro branded Loncin engines.


#4

B

bertsmobile1

It is a LAWNMOWER not the space shuttle.
Mower engine filter specifications are so close to each other that the only real consideration is the physical size & shape that will fit in the space .
As it is a new mower either use what ever the dealer sells you & keep the receipts or buy a recognised branded after market filter from Stens, Rotary, or Prime Line
In the bad old days manufacturers could get away with voiding warranty if you used aftermarket parts or had the mower serviced any where else than the branded dealer.
Those days are long gone .
OTOH Never fit any part that does not have a manufacturers name or number on it
Quality parts will always be branded and have a way of tracing them like a serial or batch nuber
Junk parts don't


#5

S

sivicman

Wix filters is all I use.


#6

M

MParr

Wix filters is all I use.
I had a Toro with the 708cc 24.5 HP engine. I tried the NAPA Gold 1394(WIX 51394) and it wouldn’t work. It leaked oil around the gasket. I had the same problem with the Mobil 1 filter. The filter base would bottom out on the mounting flange and the gasket wouldn’t compress enough to seal. The only filters that would work and not leak were the Exmark, the Toro, FRAM 4967 series and the STP S4967.


#7

A

AdamE

When are you going to do the next oil change after this one? You don't need a new filter if you're going to change oil every 12 hours.
I just wanted to change it before 20 hours to get the rest of any wear-in bits out of it. That means the filter too. I'll then do regularly scheduled changes.

I know I'm being overly cautious, but for $20, it can't hurt.


#8

A

AdamE

It is a LAWNMOWER not the space shuttle.
Mower engine filter specifications are so close to each other that the only real consideration is the physical size & shape that will fit in the space .
As it is a new mower either use what ever the dealer sells you & keep the receipts or buy a recognised branded after market filter from Stens, Rotary, or Prime Line
In the bad old days manufacturers could get away with voiding warranty if you used aftermarket parts or had the mower serviced any where else than the branded dealer.
Those days are long gone .
OTOH Never fit any part that does not have a manufacturers name or number on it
Quality parts will always be branded and have a way of tracing them like a serial or batch nuber
Junk parts don't
Not sure where in my post I made it sound like I owned a space shuttle... I just asked a fairly straight forward question about a filter.


#9

JDeere101

JDeere101

I always put Kohler Filters on Kohler engines and etc. etc. , I,ve found when it comes to small air cooled engines it pays to use OEM parts.


#10

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

Motor oil
Hydro oil
Spark plugs
Time for an oil filter thread




Stens for most everything.




Briggs, kohler, Kawasaki, John Deere don't make oil filters.




It begins.


#11

Scrubcadet10

Scrubcadet10

Briggs, kohler, Kawasaki, John Deere don't make oil filters.




It begins.
But my good buddy Billy Bob Brown told me John deere just opened a new oil filter making plant in Indonesia.......


#12

B

bertsmobile1

Not sure where in my post I made it sound like I owned a space shuttle... I just asked a fairly straight forward question about a filter.
And you got a fairly strait forward answer.
Quality parts are always branded
You are stressing over nothing.
It makes no difference which filter you fit.
They are all the same internally .
there is next to no difference internally
the only difference is physical size of the container because of space constraints once fitted to the mower.

However there are a lot of parts like filters that were consigned to the scrap bin then magically get returned to the parts supply usually through amazon or Evilpay because the vendors there have no liability for the rubbish they sell .
A lot of factories are fitting house branded Chinese made engines and these come with a filter with no branding apart from a sticker, which being a sticker can fall off.

Quality things like oil filters will always have a number painted / printed directly onto the body so if a faulty one is found the batch can be identified and recalled.

Buy parts from a mower shop or specalist on line parts vendor that has their own web page and you can sleep at night knowing that the parts you fitted have a warranty and should be of good quality.


#13

cpurvis

cpurvis

I just wanted to change it before 20 hours to get the rest of any wear-in bits out of it. That means the filter too. I'll then do regularly scheduled changes.

I know I'm being overly cautious, but for $20, it can't hurt.
Technically, it can.

Do you realize that the biggest contaminant particles that will not be stopped by the filter occur when the filter is new?


#14

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

And to think that for over 100 years they made internal combustion engines with no oil filter. Many aircraft engines don't have oil filters. Even the Volkswagen beetle doesn't have an oil filter. Now we all know that if you don't use the finest oil and filter your lawnmower engine it will self destruct.


#15

A

AdamE

And you got a fairly strait forward answer.
Quality parts are always branded
You are stressing over nothing.
It makes no difference which filter you fit.
They are all the same internally .
there is next to no difference internally
the only difference is physical size of the container because of space constraints once fitted to the mower.

However there are a lot of parts like filters that were consigned to the scrap bin then magically get returned to the parts supply usually through amazon or Evilpay because the vendors there have no liability for the rubbish they sell .
A lot of factories are fitting house branded Chinese made engines and these come with a filter with no branding apart from a sticker, which being a sticker can fall off.

Quality things like oil filters will always have a number painted / printed directly onto the body so if a faulty one is found the batch can be identified and recalled.

Buy parts from a mower shop or specalist on line parts vendor that has their own web page and you can sleep at night knowing that the parts you fitted have a warranty and should be of good qua

And you got a fairly strait forward answer.
Quality parts are always branded
You are stressing over nothing.
It makes no difference which filter you fit.
They are all the same internally .
there is next to no difference internally
the only difference is physical size of the container because of space constraints once fitted to the mower.

However there are a lot of parts like filters that were consigned to the scrap bin then magically get returned to the parts supply usually through amazon or Evilpay because the vendors there have no liability for the rubbish they sell .
A lot of factories are fitting house branded Chinese made engines and these come with a filter with no branding apart from a sticker, which being a sticker can fall off.

Quality things like oil filters will always have a number painted / printed directly onto the body so if a faulty one is found the batch can be identified and recalled.

Buy parts from a mower shop or specalist on line parts vendor that has their own web page and you can sleep at night knowing that the parts you fitted have a warranty and should be of good quality.
Dude, I'm not stressed. You're the one that shouted "It is a LAWNMOWER not the space shuttle."

And, if you think all oil filters are the same internally, you should do some more reading...


#16

B

bertsmobile1

The specifications of lawn mower oil filters are close enough to be the same I think is what I said.
Filter media is not a calculator so the numbers are not absolute thus a commercial 27 µ paper is 27µ +/- 15% or 23 µ to 31 µ and yes the numbers are rounded because it is not that accurate.
Ceramic , woven or sintered filters are far more specific size wise .
Analytical grade filter paper is +/- 5 % and that costs a fortune so a standard mower filter would be near $ 100 just for the paper alone .
They are all around 30µ paper with a bypass valve of around 10 psi & an anti drain valve .
If you look at the actual specifications you will also note the bypass valves can range up to 5 psi
Now if the filter was going onto a temperature controlled 6, 8, 10, 12 or more cylinder engine spinning at 10,000 rpm with an oil system carefully metered by fitting jets to the oil galleries lubricating parts machined to 0.00001" tollerances then the difference between 25µ & 30µ might possibly be significant but that would be a very big might .
In most cases he difference in the micron rating is down to the grading system used by the paper maker, and there are a lot of different ones .
Max through size, minimum through size average through size, metric , imperial & USA

When you do replace the filter you will notice that the machined face for the filter to seal on is 2 to 3 times wider than it needs to be.
This is done so the exact same engine can be fitted with a dozen different sized filters that are required so they can be changed with the engine installed.
And yes I have come across the odd piece of equipment where the wrong filter was fitted to the engine so I had to move the engine in order to replace the filter .

The only significant internal difference between mower filters is the amount of filter paper installed
Cheap ( usually imported ) ones use the minimum allowed and more expensive ones use substantially more.

And again I was being specific to lawnmower filters which are all full metal construction apart from the paper.
People with little to no understanding cut Fram filters apart and get horrified when they see cardboard but the filter paper actually glues better to cardboard than it does to steel and the expansion rates of the cardboard & the paper are the same .

And FWIW I started my graduate working life in an assay lab in a foundry so I have pulled apart a plethoria of filters and done full chemical analysis of the contents .
We also made diamond dust grinding pastes and I would have polished thousands of microscope samples so I am very conversant with just how small 1 µ is .

People see what some ignorant shaved gorillas do on you tube with a can opener & an oil filter then think they are learning something .
I have no idea why you got 2 different part numbers but it could have been as simple as they were sourced from 2 different suppliers or were 2 different sizes


#17

P

psaur1954

Wix filters is all I use.
Which Wix filter ? Have usrd in the past and had severe leaking from around seal.I have the 708cc engine.


#18

M

MParr

Which Wix filter ? Have usrd in the past and had severe leaking from around seal.I have the 708cc engine.
Ah, the Toro/Exmark branded Loncin engine. The WIX 51394 or NAPA 1394 filter that you have been buying will not work. The filter’s base bottoms out before the gasket is completely depressed. Save yourself some headaches. For the 708cc Loncin engine, use a FRAM 4967 series filter or a STP S4967.
Here is the correct WIX filter: https://m.wixfilters.com/Search/PartDetail?PartID=2162117 &Source=ASR


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