OEM John Deere Filters?

[tamadrummer]

I have been told that the OEM filters that John Deere sells as the "best" filter on the market are little more than Fram [censored]-o-la filters made for JD.

Since I heard this, I use only Wix filters but for my hydro system I cannot because they use a special thread that no other filter will fit on. I spent hundreds in buying filters that were supposed to fit that do not and will not. I hate it because this means that my hydros are running Royal Purple 15w40 with a flipping fram filter and there is nothing I can do about it.

I will be changing out to Amsoil Diesel 15w40 12tbn next but I already had the the RP.

Please let me in on the secret if you can. Not only JD but Kohler and Kawasaki filters as well. Are they even close to as good as the OEM companies claim?

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, I dunno. I'd say that you could use any number of other filters with just as good or better performance in terms of filtration.

What's that odd filter for the hydraulics. The only filter that I found with a lame thread (the only one I've never heard of) is a Chinese Diesel with some odd mm thread.

Is this an integrated filter mount?

 

[CJWink]

The majorities of John Deere brand filters are produced by Champion Labs, and are made to John Deere specifications. The filters that Champion sells under the Luber-finer name for example are often quite different than the John Deere product. This is very apparent when you look at some of the hydraulic filters on newer equipment, say made in the past 20 years. The filters used through the 80s are for the most part just plain old pleated paper filters but the newer hydraulic filters are of vastly different construction and you can tell there is a major difference just picking them up.
I cannot attest to who makes the filters for the smaller equipment such as the filters used on B&S and Kawasaki lawnmower engines. But I know for a fact Champion makes the larger stuff as I have unloaded and sold truck loads of them. John Deere dealers order filters in large numbers, and at times I have seen an entire truck load of filters come to dealerships I have worked at, they are clearly marked Champion laboratories on the fork lift sized crates they come in. The filters for most everything but small engine applications are packed loose not 12 per paper case life you often see.
They are most definitely not Fram!
John Deere also sells Cummins Filtration brand products.

 

[CJWink]

What kind of equipment are you using 15w40 engine oil in for hydraulic?

 

[Eddie]

+1 cjwink and Deere spec filter by Champion Labs. Where did you get the misinformation about Deere filters being Fram?

 

[wavinwayne]

I can't verify it either, but I've also read that JD filters were Frams, so I swapped the one on my lawn tractor for a Wix. That tiny Wix lawn tractor filter cost more than the Wix for my car.

 

[CJWink]

Ive cut open a couple of John Deere branded lawn mower filters and there is no way in *ell they are Fram. Who makes them I'm not sure but I know it isn't fram.

 

[CJWink]

I think the root of the Fram allegations may be from the original John Deere oil filter that was used in virtually all tractors made from the 1930s through about 1972. In the very early years the filter was a reusable wire mesh screen type thing that was of the “cartridge” type that is once again becoming popular today. It started out with the 2 cylinder tractors and continued through the 1972 end of the 4020 and 3020 series tractors.
At some point John Deere came out with an all paper filter to replace the reusable screen and a few parts were required to retrofit the cap or cover for the 1930s era tractors to the new disposable filter. By the 1940s the all paper cartridge filter was standard equipment on the models A, B, G and R for sure, then it was used on the majority of Deere row crop tractors up until the 1972-1973 introduction of the 30 series.
This paper filter has paper end caps much like a Fram, but is of much better construction than any Fram I’ve seen to date.

 

[joedirt]

I have the same problem as you. My three jd ztrs 757,737, and a 717 require hyro changes each year and to my knowledge nothing will cross to the jd filter. With each unit holding 8-10 quarts of 15w40 and these filters running about $45 each this is an expensive service each year, the filter # is am131054. I run napa pro select oil filters as they are about half the price as the jd.

 

[TurboLuver]

This is the $12 John Deere filter from my JD345, sure looks like a fram to me?

 

[LoneRanger]

The filter in the above photos definitely appears to be of Honeywell/Fram origin. Fiber end caps, ten ports in the base plate, same style metal center sleeve, same style bypass valve. If it isn't Fram/Honeywell they better sue whoever made it for patent infringement...

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
If it isn't Fram/Honeywell they better sue whoever made it for patent infringement...

I'm sure that any patent on that style of end cap has long expired. Now the fact that it hasn't been widely adopted speaks volumes

..but I'm sure it did its job

 

[wavinwayne]

So, is it a Fram or not? Something tells me this is NOT a Fram, even though it looks like one. The outside of the black JD filter, including the way the lettering is painted on the end cap, looks like a Champion Labs filter.

 

[CJWink]

Look at the John Deere branded filter for a 4020 farm tractor and it has cardboard endcaps as well and it's sure as *ell not a fram. I've sold thousands of them and they all came out of fork lift sized boxes from champion.

Again, the world of John Deere small engine filters for B&S, Kawasaki etc, isn't quite as clear, but I was pulling filters out of crates marked Champion labs today, so I'm willing to wager the vast majority of JD filters are made by Champ.Labs., but what do I know I'm only John Dere Gold Star Certified, and have worked with them for 21 years now.

 

[bmwtechguy]

That looks like all the frams I have seen opened up, including their motorcycle filters. Looks very light duty to me. At $12, that is one overpriced oem filter!

 

[tamadrummer]

i run a 727a Z Trac

 

[Gary Allan]

If it's a Champ, one of the holes on the end cap should be larger than the rest. They used to be that way, anyway

Not all of them ..but the non=Ecores.

 

[tamadrummer]

So what is the verdict? Is it a Fram or is it a Champion and if it is a Champion, are they a decent filter?

I am a maniac about my fluids/filters as far as keeping them fresh and using the best but I have to use the OEM as far as the filter goes and I am not convinced.

 

[TurboLuver]

Originally Posted By: tamadrummer
So what is the verdict? Is it a Fram or is it a Champion



I'm not 100% sure, does Champion have a manufacturing facility in Canada? Does fram/Honeywell? This JD filter says "Made in Canada"

I am going to guess it is a fram, you know, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. In any case I now use the NAPA Gold equivalent for this application.

 

[Newtonville]

Just a suggestion if haven't done already, might try emailing Baldwin with your specs and see what they come up with. I noticed on website Baldwin can be ordered from Grainger.

I had a hard time finding the filter for my JD lawn mower, even using a generator filter made in Canada that cost about $9. Now I found through online cross referencing that it takes the same filter as my Toyota car with a 1.5 l engine, which is sort of funny. I can even use a supertech from Walmart at $3.