Oil filter cover plates?

[jjeff]

Last few years noticed some oil filter cover plates have rectangular openings vs circular, for both engines and hydrostatic drives. The filters are the same size. I believe the relief spring, bypass valve, threads, similar media etc are the same. To put my mind at ease, if original filters used circular inlets on the cover plates and new aftermarket ones are using rectangular inlets Im I losing sleep over nothing? Several times now I've returned the latter and opted for sometimes hard to find OEM ones only because the cover plate ere different. Most of my stuff is pmd pretty regularly and I definitely like the convenience of getting filters at different locations.

 

[Dman1981]

Smoke a little smoke drink a little drink

 

[5030]

Means nothing. broached holes in a filter boss can be any shape so long as the fluid can pass through unimpeded. Candidly, I've never gave that a thought and never looked either. I have more important things to be concerned with.

 

[jjeff]

Yep probably losing sleep over nothing . However with the price of commercial hydros and even somewhat commercial 4 strokes it's reassuring to get other input from more knowledgeable folks.

 

[rScotty]

I'd lean toward the ones with the round holes just because it looks smoother and more finished. But I'm a bit of a craftsman and tend to favor things where I can see that the manufacturer put a little more effort into the product.
Does a little more pride in what they build make it work better? I couldn't say that for any one thing, but a lifetime of experience has taught me that good appearances are more likely to be indicate good function than the other way around.

One thing I never have been able to figure out is why would anyone use something other than OEM filters - although I do believe that adding a bypass filter has advantages.
rScotty

 

[jjeff]

I'd lean toward the ones with the round holes just because it looks smoother and more finished. But I'm a bit of a craftsman and tend to favor things where I can see that the manufacturer put a little more effort into the product.
Does a little more pride in what they build make it work better? I couldn't say that for any one thing, but a lifetime of experience has taught me that good appearances are more likely to be indicate good function than the other way around.

One thing I never have been able to figure out is why would anyone use something other than OEM filters - although I do believe that adding a bypass filter has advantages.
rScotty

Guilty in some cases, OEM tuff torque hydrostatic drive filters at a dealership are a rip off when there asking 40 bucks a filter. Online or elsewhere are 10-20. When most of your stuff is old but I still try to maintain it Id rather spend the money on other things. Especially if a off brand filters going to work, on older equipment and probably not going to shorten the life of already high hour equipment. Not to mention I've grown to appreciate oil filters with a nut on the end of the housing most k&n filters do that especially handy with hard to reach places an oil filter wrench or piercing it with a screwdriver just doesn't work very good.

 

[rScotty]

Guilty in some cases, OEM tuff torque hydrostatic drive filters at a dealership are a rip off when there asking 40 bucks a filter. Online or elsewhere are 10-20. When most of your stuff is old but I still try to maintain it Id rather spend the money on other things. Especially if a off brand filters going to work, on older equipment and probably not going to shorten the life of already high hour equipment. Not to mention I've grown to appreciate oil filters with a nut on the end of the housing most k&n filters do that especially handy with hard to reach places an oil filter wrench or piercing it with a screwdriver just doesn't work very good.

My problem with the OEM vs aftermarket is that I just do not know why the one is more expensive than the other. If they are the same, why not close to the same price?

I didn't know that any oil filters came with a nut on the end of the housing. I wish they all did. The Kubota filters on the M59 are almost inaccessible to anything with enough torque to turn them.
That's nice to keep them protected, but last time I did them it took way too much innovation coupled with a 4 foot cheater just to get the old one off. And what happens if you crush it?

If any manufacturer wanted to get people to buy their overpriced OEM oil filters, the surest way to do so would be to put a something to grap onto the top. A big old nut would be great. The flats that they are now stamping into the end of the cannister just don't offer enough grab.

Of course the real solution is to move the filters somewhere convenient.

Mr Manufacturer: That hydraulic is a pressurized system. It doesn't care where the filters are. They could anywhere. How about putting them somewhere accessible? I bet you'd sell more.

rScotty

 

[big bubba]

more accessible is convenient, but being more accessible could make it more vulnerable to damage in field conditions, esp since it seems most forum members have lower profile sub compacts, regards

 

[rScotty]

more accessible is convenient, but being more accessible could make it more vulnerable to damage in field conditions, esp since it seems most forum members have lower profile sub compacts, regards

Hydraulic filters work the same no matter where they are. They could be in the motor compartment, or on a rack behind the seat. I see no reason to put them under the tractor where they are both vulnerable and hard to service.

 

[jjeff]

Slightly added cost and more failure points? I wish all engineers and architects were required to fix cars and build homes as part of there career training .