Oil Filters

Will it harm an engine to use a larger oil filter than it calls for?

On our farm we have four different engines that call for slightly different oil filters. Kubota RTV 900, RTV 1140, Kubota B2920, and tractor with small Mitsubishi Diesel engine. All with the same filter thread and gasket size but with slightly different O.D. and length.

Is there any harm in using one size fits all oil filters, or should I stock 4 different filters for all the rigs. The largest of the filters will fit on all of them. One of the engines does not call for a Back flow preventer. Will it hurt to use a filter with one?

Even though the larger filter costs a buck more, it would be easier to buy those in bulk than run out of a specific one. Thanks for any replies.

The filters could have different flow rates,just because a filter will screw on OK and seal does not mean it will do the same job as the filter that is intended for it. Some filters have slots,others holes for the oil to drain back out of,a variation in these could reduce the flow...could they work,maybe,with reduced filtering or greater flow with less, filtering, either way I would always get the correct fliter for the application.

Larger filter should not hurt anything all you are doing is upping the filtering capacity of filter.

The question to ask is are you ready to overhaul or replace an engine to save a couple of bucks on a filter? A filter is made for an engine for a reason and just using one cause it will fit to save money is a bad idea. Remember oil and filters are the life blood of an engine plain and simple. Bandit

(quoted from post at 10:41:10 03/23/14) Will it harm an engine to use a larger oil filter than it calls for?

. Thanks for any replies.

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I'd use the biggest filter and never look back.

As long as the bypass valve pressure is close or the same. The sealing surface dia is identical. Anti-drain back valves or not? Same threads?
For my vehicles I searched through the catalogs and found larger/longer filters. Oil pressure in the engine oil galleries which is measured down stream on the clean side of the filter is now higher.
I posted this info on here a while ago and was told by several people that extra pressure indicated a fault and she was going to burn out.

Chev LQ4 6.0L takes a larger Wix 51045 instead of a 51042.
The 4.3 Chev takes a larger 51036 instead of the 51040.

If you want to go to a larger filter all you have to do is your home work. Match up threads holes, gasket, if same filtering material and then match pressure releif valve pressure if any. Most good auto supplies can cross it to a large filter. There are some applications it can't be done.

D I am am about like you have 7 different Kubotas and I use the long bigger longer filter on all of them..Just my thinking.So for no problems

You will have no problems, I have been doing the same thing since back in the 1990s with my dodge. I was having tons of problem with dry starts and lifter noise. Put a different filter on it one day and problem went away. Starting researching it and found a bigger filter to fit thinking bigger was better (as a general rule it is) but the problem came back. Turned out to be a classic Fram filter problem that I read about from the minimopar web site, again switched filter and problem went away for good.

Moral of the story is, dispite begger being better, there are differences in filter construction. Read up a little, bobistheoilguy.com is a good site. In my case, the drain back valve on a factory filter was a problem as was on the Fram, because Fram made the factory filter. Any filter other than a Fram would actually seal and not drain back the oil.

Most filters that you would want to stock up on would have specs that you can reference; flow rate, pressure release valve opening rating, even particle filtering rate. Compair that to your factory filter requirements and you are GTG. A larger filter will usually be better in every respect, with the exception of pressure relief setting, those vary at times without ryme or reason.

Bottom line, I will bet a jelly donut that you wont have a problem finding a single large filter that will work well on all 4 of your machines.

Fram was the only one that I could use on my Dodge and
NOT have a dry start issue.

One thing to be aware of is that some filters have anti-drainback valves while others do not. If you have a choice, use the one with a valve. For example, the AC PF35 and PF1218 are interchangeable, but only the latter has the valve.

My question is will it go in there? Have run into several applications where they cross reference, but they wouldn't fit in the space provided. Outside dimensions can be critical.

I am glade that your not having problems with Fram. Myself I don't have a Fram in the shop and won't have. I had a car that I changed oil and tried Fram. The next night I came home my wife said oil light came on when engine idled. I had a new Wix on shelf and put it on and no light at idle. I also worked for a freight line and they tried Fram . They went back to Fleetgaurd after three diesel engines went down oil filter related. I will pay extra for a Wix,NAPA Gold and Fleetguard where I can use them.

Oil filter alert,Napa has them on sale till the end of March. 1.99 for Silver.

As long as it meets the specs of the original. Stay away from Fram.

NAPA Silver filters are comparable to Fram filters.

As long as the one filter meets the drainback and bypass specs of all the other filters, the size of the media will not matter so long as it's more than adequate.
I use one 2 qt filter on 4 different Ford BSD engines for the very reason you want to... it saves me keeping 4 different filters around... and I can buy in bulk and get the larger one cheaper than the smaller ones.

Rod