Wix 51394 7 years in use

Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
272
Location
USA - WA
Wix 51394 I installed in 2015 on a John deere LX279 with liquid cooled V twin 17HP Kawasaki engine. I remember using Mobil super 5000 10w30. No hour meter but the owner has a LARGE lawn and I'm sure there's at least 200 hours on the oil and filter. If I remember right, he said it takes 2 hours to mow. The guy never checks his oil, and it was still full as well. Doesn't look like that engine is hard on oil or filters. Replaced with a Fram PH4967 and supertech 15w40

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Yup. I was replacing the filters on a kohler two cylinder every 50 hours until I saw how clean the filter was. Planning to keep the currentsFram 7575 filter on it for at least 200 hrs. Oil gets changed twice a year and is always clean. Would change filter more often if the engine was sludged up, but it’s not.
 
I put at least 1 1/2 hours on my JD LX255 a week and change out the filter every two years. oil once in the spring. been doing that since new and the machine is 22 years old now ...no oil related problems at all
 
I put at least 1 1/2 hours on my JD LX255 a week and change out the filter every two years. oil once in the spring. been doing that since new and the machine is 22 years old now ...no oil related problems at all
I have the same LX255 unit 22 years old with the Kohler 15 HP motor with about 1500+ hours since I bought it new.
It does not dirty the oil filter either and still runs strong with no smoke and no oil burning. I let the oil filter go for 2 years but change the oil in the fall and then again mid summer. Oil is cheap and a equivalent mower to replace it would be at least $5000.00 and they don't have the dedicated 42 inch mulching Freedom Deck like mine which I love.
 
I'm pretty sure this is the mowers third oil change in its entire life. He got it off the original owner for some housework he did, and it was nearly new then, it was serviced once in 2008 according to the sticker on the oil filter I took off of it in 2015. The mower has aged a lot since I worked on it last. It's not in very good shape, the deck has a massive rust hole in it, along with the weld repair I had to do on the discharge port, the spindle bearings are worn out, the hood is falling apart and half gone. The front steering has more slop in it going over bumps than I've ever seen on a mower, and I've worked on a lot of bad ones. This is probably it's last major service if I were to guess. I think it's around a 2000 year model. The engine smokes a bit on startup sometimes, but according to the owner it's always done that. Runs like a top otherwise. It's been rode hard, for sure. Then again, everything this guy owns has been rode hard and put away wet, if even put away.
 
Looks good. I think you shown that filters don't disintegrate with age.
That's good to know...My 2017 Mazda 3 Grand Touring with 98.000 miles on it. It has the same Ultra filter in it since the start of the pandemic with about 4 thousand miles on the filter. The oil has been changed three times since that time by vacuuming from dipstick, probably unnecessary, but I kept the Fram Ultra on it.
 
That's good to know...My 2017 Mazda 3 Grand Touring with 98.000 miles on it. It has the same Ultra filter in it since the start of the pandemic with about 4 thousand miles on the filter. The oil has been changed three times since that time by vacuuming from dipstick, probably unnecessary, but I kept the Fram Ultra on it.
I have a Fram Toughguard which has been in service since Oct. 2018.
 
Looks excellent! Can't say I'm surprised though. Linked is a Napa Gold 1348 I ran 7+ years on a Kohler (No)-Courage engine. And, where possible (space permitting), I'll always take the less expensive automotive application over the OPE.

Thanks for c&p.
 
I have the same LX255 unit 22 years old with the Kohler 15 HP motor with about 1500+ hours since I bought it new.
It does not dirty the oil filter either and still runs strong with no smoke and no oil burning. I let the oil filter go for 2 years but change the oil in the fall and then again mid summer. Oil is cheap and a equivalent mower to replace it would be at least $5000.00 and they don't have the dedicated 42 inch mulching Freedom Deck like mine which I love.


Hang on to that Freedom 42. Probably one of the best mowing decks Deere ever produced for residential grade machines.


Yup. I was replacing the filters on a kohler two cylinder every 50 hours until I saw how clean the filter was. Planning to keep the currentsFram 7575 filter on it for at least 200 hrs. Oil gets changed twice a year and is always clean. Would change filter more often if the engine was sludged up, but it’s not.
Most of the manufacturers specify oil changes every 50-100 hours, and filter changes every 100-150 hours. I've personally seen filters go much, much longer, especially on commercially used machines where maintenance is done "when they remember". Each filter I cut open has looked fine. I usually go 100 hours on filters for my personal equipment, but that is usually because it takes a few seasons to accumulate that many hours on one piece of equipment.
 
Hang on to that Freedom 42. Probably one of the best mowing decks Deere ever produced for residential grade machines.



Most of the manufacturers specify oil changes every 50-100 hours, and filter changes every 100-150 hours. I've personally seen filters go much, much longer, especially on commercially used machines where maintenance is done "when they remember". Each filter I cut open has looked fine. I usually go 100 hours on filters for my personal equipment, but that is usually because it takes a few seasons to accumulate that many hours on one piece of equipment.
Oh I will. It is the best cutting deck I've ever seen.. The grass looks like a golf course when I'm done and I don't care if it's wet or not. It's an incredibly tough deck too and no chute on either side makes it easy to mow tight on either side hardly any trimmer work if any at all.
 
Last summer I worked on my brother's riding mower, an Ariens with a V twin Briggs he bought new about 10 years ago. He had never changed the oil until that day, it had probably 300-400 hours on it. We cut the filter apart, and it looked just as clean as this one here. It was the original Briggs&Stratton filter that it left the factory with. I couldn't believe it, as I've cut open other lawnmower filters in the past that looked like it went through an oven with charcoal grease at 500 degrees for about 20 hours. I don't remember posting about that filter but maybe I did, I'll have to check.
 
Would love to have a clear filter housing on these lawn equipment motors. That would be interesting. Maybe I’ll push the filter to 300 hours (maybe). Good quality oil has to have a beneficial impact these days. I remember changing the oil on my dad’s mowers and lawn tractors in my younger days (’70s and 80’s). Looked like someone poured asphalt driveway sealer into the engines. I think the API rating was SD or SE at that time. Pretty sure my dad grabbed whatever cheap oil was on hand (may have come from nearby gas station or from next door in my grandfather’s garage- so it may have been even lower rated oil).
 
Would love to have a clear filter housing on these lawn equipment motors. That would be interesting. Maybe I’ll push the filter to 300 hours (maybe). Good quality oil has to have a beneficial impact these days. I remember changing the oil on my dad’s mowers and lawn tractors in my younger days (’70s and 80’s). Looked like someone poured asphalt driveway sealer into the engines. I think the API rating was SD or SE at that time. Pretty sure my dad grabbed whatever cheap oil was on hand (may have come from nearby gas station or from next door in my grandfather’s garage- so it may have been even lower rated oil).
I've done routine maintenance on my dad's push mower for the past oh I don't know, 15 years. Been using it for 20. He bought the thing new in 1977 and it's had way more than average use for a push mower. Oil always changed twice a year and kept full at all times. I have found over the years that a poor filtering or non-sealing air filter will turn the oil black and nasty much faster than an engine with a good air filter will, so that makes a big difference especially with older small engines. I used to do a lot of small engine repair on the side, and I can count on one hand how many mowers came in with decent looking oil that was at the full mark. That would be 4 total. The rest either had crude oil or nothing at all.
 
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