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I bought a new Cub last year with the Kohler engine and the filter was a little over $11, and I noted that it looked exactly like the one I use on my 03 Camry, a Fram DG-3614.

I even put the Fram on the Kohler and it fit perfectly, but I didn't leave it on, I put the "OEM" filter back on.

I know you only buy the filter once a year, and the difference between $4 and $11 isn't all that much, and I wouldn't worry about it if I thought that I would damage the engine, but I hate to be "had" by the parts people . . .

Does anyone have any knowledge/thoughts on this issue ? ?

winwun
Welcome to the forum...
You have came across a problem in distribution...
There are many times more automotive filters made and sold than small engine filters.. with quantity comes economy.
If you look up the specs on those two filters you will find all the relevant issues to be the same... NOT similar but exactly the same.
The same: Full Flow Media: Paper Height: 3.404 Outer Diameter Top: 2.921 Outer Diameter Bottom: Closed Thread Size: 3/4-16 By-Pass Valve Setting-PSI: 8-11 Anti-Drain Back Valve: Max Flow Rate: 7-9 GPM Nominal Micron Rating: 21
The SAME gasket... O.D. I.D. and Thickness...
The automotive filter is the correct one for applications that range from the Yugo to the Lexus PLUS Various Lawn&Garden, Farm & HD Equipment ...

So... guess what one is the best for your application... Remember... the important components are identical... :smile:KennyV

welcome to the forum winwun i have the same filter on my toyota 4 runner that fits my jd mower the thing i can add is in my 20 plus years working on autos i have seen several fram filters colasp and cause major damage i never use them i know they advertize them alot but that don't make them good. we have used wix filters and never had any problm with them.

jd335 said:

...we have used wix filters and never had any problm with them.

Click to expand...

I'm with you on WIX...
only problem ever seen on any Wix was for a short time they didn't have completed threads...
Aside from that short lived problem, I think they are toward the TOP of filters... My FIRST choice... :smile:KennyV

I had a similar euraka moment the first time I had to put a new filter on my old tractor's Kohler Command. Looked awfully familiar, so I compared it to the Purolator PureONE filters I'd been using on my Toyota 4Runner and it was a bingo. Been using them since.

Always best to avoid Fram like the plague. If you Google around you'll find some comparisons where guys have cut apart different brand filters, and the Frams always look bad. They use cardboard endcaps glued on to the filter elements and other shortcuts, which lead to internal leaking.

Edit: I may have been too hasty condemning Fram. Seems there have been key improvements since the old data made the rounds. This thread features a fairly convincing response to them from a Fram representative.

I think Fram got so bad... AND it became very common information as to how bad they had became... that they HAD to make things better...
I still stick with Wix ...
Fram has got to be better than they were...
But in fairness to all filters, any filter is better than no filter and air cooled small engines were around for decades with no filter at all, same with car engines, prior to the fifties automobile engines did not normally come with filters... :smile:KennyV

I've a Kohler Command engine on my Dixon, now 17 years old. I think the first 4-5 years I used the Kohler filter, then found a cross reference to Wix, Purolator (and Pure one) and Mobil 1 filters. Several of these are cosidered premium filters...and in my opinion, much better than Fram, and probably better than the Kohler. So, in the 12 years or so since I got the cross reference, I've used the others. I just replaced that mower with a larger one, another Kohler engine....and I intend to do the same. Now if I could just cross the Dixon hydraulic filter to a common brand, I'd be set.

i crossed both filters on my cadet to napa filtersit has a kohler motor was using original filters until i crossed them now use napa filters they are the same as wix filters.

Jetblast said:

Always best to avoid Fram like the plague. If you Google around you'll find some comparisons where guys have cut apart different brand filters, and the Frams always look bad. They use cardboard endcaps glued on to the filter elements and other shortcuts, which lead to internal leaking.

Edit: I may have been too hasty condemning Fram. Seems there have been key improvements since the old data made the rounds. This thread features a fairly convincing response to them from a Fram representative.

Click to expand...

How long ago was this last data released? I have a buddy that works in the paper industry, his factory produces paper for oil filters. I'm not going to give any names or locations for obvious reasons, but he and the factory are not located in Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri or Western Tennessee.

As part of their quality control process, they routinely purchase filters for which they produce the filter paper. They just go to the parts stores in their area and buy them off the shelf. Amongst other tests, they check for intial pass efficiency and multiple pass efficiency. He told me in 2004 or 2005 that the Frams do very well on the initial pass, but fail miserably on multiple passes. The paper Fram used, at least at that time, was the cheapest this factory made. An off brand filter sold at a huge box store retailer tested far better. I don't use Fram anymore.

NAPA filters are made by Wix....so I have been told

Hi there
I too ditched the OEM filter as the Australian cost is $30.00
and a Ryco Z145 or Valvoline V04 fits perfectly, offers a
lot more filter media, slightly more oil reserve, slightly more
surface area cooling, easier removal, anti drain back valve,
and cheaper cost, at about $6-9 each. Never going back.
I also machined up a sandwich plate and milled a custom
oil cooler out of a billet of aluminium to put a lid on the
extreme oil temps my 20hp kohler v twin hits. It's amazing
how much quieter it runs and doesn't run on anymore.
Cheers.

poncho62 said:

NAPA filters are made by Wix....so I have been told

Click to expand...

You are correct. I use to work in the industrial supply field and called upon three different Wix plants here in North Carolina. The main plant had a glass display case in the lobby that had samples of their filters and private branded products including NAPA. Wix makes an excellent product.

I currently represent a small independent filter maker that makes a good quality product and they do a lot of private label filters. I supply a local manufacturing plant with their replacement Kohler oil filters among other things. Interestingly, this same company I represent makes small runs of special sizes for Wix and other brands.

I would recommend using the manufacturers oil filter for one very good reason. The engine is designed with that filter to be used. it's not like we are talking about $50 here. You made a significent investment in your mower so why are you skimping on taking care of it? It's like you going into surgery and the doctors are talking about the cheapest way to conduct your operation! I know that's overkill but the point is - protect your investment! Change the oil - use a quality oil, use a recommended oil and air filter. Change the plugs with the correct plug. If you take care of your machine properly, it will serve you for a long time!

When looking for filters, I have never looked for the cheapest, they are around and sell well...

I have always looked for the best for the cost. That almost always was Wix... I know I can find a less expensive filter, but I won't find a better filter.

The filters that come from the engine manufacturer are Not on that engine because it is the best... it's likely going to be an adequate filter...and the after sales replacement is not necessarily going to be made by the same filter company, nor is it apt to be of the same quality as the original, even within the same brand...
With Wix replacements it is easy to determine what you are going to get... The most expensive is not an assurance that it is the best, likewise the cheapest is no assurance that you will save money in the long run.
:smile:KennyV

I've had great luck with Wix filters and Amsoil, when I couldn't find an Amsoil filter for the application.:smile:

For what it is worth, I am a full time lawn mower mechanic working for a Toro dealer in Virginia. I know that when I service a Toro product with a Briggs, Kohler or Kawasaki motor on it, we stock the very same oil filters that come on the machine when it is new. Same product numbers, same manufacturers. I have nothing negative to see about other manufacturers products or claims, I'm merely saying that the design specs of the engines are in part based on some known commodities, of which oil and air filters are an important part. To buy a lawnmower these days and make the kind of investment (price) required, I would think that one would want to be careful about using other products than what are recommended. As long as the specs are the same, use whatever you feel comfortable with - as lon as the specs are the same.

One of the reasons for going to after market items is to find BETTER, not the same specs... OEM Air and oil filters are not always made by the same manufactures although they do carry the same part numbers and will look similar, OEM expendables are made to meet minimum spec...

Most folks looking at other filters are usually looking for a more conveniently located equivalent ...
OR a superior product... NOT an equivalent... Those that care to find a better product have a tremendous amount of information resources available, and if they are motivated to find better or 'best' they also tend to be knowledgeable enough to separate the information from the infomercials...

Without a doubt the OEM filter will work... look a few years back, engines had no oil filter at all... go back farther and there were no real air filters ... The filtration is not the MOST critical component on an engine and the manufactures know this... that is one reason manufactures do not spec the absolute best filter... but if an owner wants he can find many better after market expendables... :smile:KennyV

Very interesting discussion. You all may want to read what this website has to say about oil filters...(I know it is mainly focusing on motorcycles, but when cross referenced, it is an interesting opinion.

Motorcycle Oil Filter Cross Reference

I have a 2014 cub cadet model LTX 1040 with a Kohler engine and was wondering if another oil filter besides one from Kohler could be used ?

I use aftermarket filters except where a customer requests a particular filter. Stens or Gripskie, both guaranteed to be eequivalent or better than the original.
When comparing one to another just be careful to check what the flow rate is at specific delivery pressures. And that the bypass pressure is no more than 75% of the mowers oil pump pressure at 3600 rpm
Car filters usuall run at substantially higher pressures than mower engines and a lot of car filters are way too restrictive for mowers.
A lot of mower pumpps will never get to a high enough pressure to activate the bypass valve.
This was a massive problem with putting oil filters on old British motorcycles as they are generally plugged into the high volume low pressure oil return line after the head feed take off and a lot of very expensive machinery became scrap metal because of this.
A lot of bikes got multiple head jobs before the idiot mechanics realised the oil filter was too restrictive so way too much oil ended up being fed into the head then back down nnto the sump, never seeing the oil tank to cool, settle & defoam.
And again it was cheapskate owners too poor to afford a $ 15.00 filter to go on a $ 20,000 motorcycle.