I purchased two stens 120-738 oil filters to replace the hydrogear 52114 filters on my zero turn mower. I was surprised when i took the filters out of the package that they rattled. I thought that was weird as i have never had a filter rattle before. Upon closer inspection the filtering media inside just slides all around depending how you tilt the filter. Both filters do the same thing. You can also shake it up and down and it does the same thing. I was dissapointed as these filters are made in the USA and Stens is supposed to be a decent aftermarket solution. They are e-core filters btw.
Defective Stens 120-738 oil filters.
- Thread starter joegreen
- Start date
Alright so I contacted Stens and they told me to get replacements through amazon or if its been more than 30 days they would ship me replacements so that is alright. I contacted amazon and they sent me two replacements. I was curious and wanted to see what the problem with these filters were. I do not have an oil filter cutter but have always wanted one so I figured now would be a great time to buy one. Anyway the new filters from amazon did not rattle so thats good but i was curious and decided i would rather eat the cost of the filters and cut open one of the good ones and one of the bad ones and see what the issue was. It turns out the curved leaf spring on the bottom was bent and compressed against the bottom of the metal plate on the filter media causing the filter to be loose in the housing. Overall i was not super impressed with the filter. The metal of the can seemed pretty thin and the leaf spring was very easy to bend. Also the filter has a pressure relief valve which supposedly the filters for these hydro gear transmissions are not supposed to have a pressure relief valve. The first pictures are of the good filter and the second set are of the Defective filter. The only difference between the two is the leaf spring on the bottom.
Do you still have the cut open filter to show pictures. I would love to see the construction of the oem filter.
Yes I do sitting on my bench gonna be raining later I could get some pics later. What hydro unit were you changing out??
