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Air Filters

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:07 am
by achandler
Recently I bought a Rover 75, 2.5 Club SE Auto, which I am now trying to discover whether I really like or not, after owning a late model 825. However that is not why I am placing this query.
I rang around our local suppliers of service parts,and quickly discovered that there seems to be two different sized air filters. I gave the dimensions of mine and was quoted a price that looks like it might solve the balance of payments deficit of New Zealand. Not too sure why I have to pay around the equivalent of £7 for an oil filter, but closer to £50 for the air filter.
Can anyone tell me when they changed the sizes, and possibly the difference between them?
p.s. You really dont want to know how much a set of spark plugs for the 75 cost in NZ, I think they must be made of solid gold, thank goodness you dont have to change them too often!

Re: Air Filters

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:04 pm
by Paul Gregory
Hi Adrian,
Sorry for the delayed response, had a busy weekend. I have just checked in the MG Rover parts book which I have got (effective from Aug 2004) which only lists two air filters, PHE100460 for all petrol models and PHE100500 for the diesel. Going by that it would suggest that there is only one for the petrol 75's until at least 2004. A quick search on ebay has only turned up one size of air filter as well, with prices ranging from about £6 to £14. There are companies who will ship worldwide, and one seems to quote £7 for shipment to NZ - their filter is priced at £13.25. Needless to say I have no experience or relationship with that organisation.

The spark plugs aren't exactly cheap over here either...I got quite a shock when I bought a set for one of my 75's. I haven't even fitted them yet - thought I would get a few more miles of value out of the first ones!

I hope you grow to like the 75. It is quite different to the 800 so probably will be taking a bit of getting used to. I don't have any experience of the very late 800's but the 75 is much firmer / tighter than my old 827 Sterling ever was. I assume as you have a Club SE it will have 16" wheels which give a bit of a firmer ride than the 15" wheels which are on many of the 75's and some of the 800's.

Regards
Paul

Re: Air Filters

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 3:24 am
by achandler
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your response. I do find that I little puzzling as I have seen filters advertised on ebay as 254x238x50mm, and 249x228x50mm, and have been told by our local parts suppliers that only the larger ones are listed here in New Zealand. My present filter is a FRAM CA9102 which is the smaller of the two. All very odd!
I am sure the 75 and I will learn to love each other, but just at the moment I am finding it a little stressful just trying to get together the right bits to give it a good service! Heaven only knows how I will get on with the servicing ityself, those back plugs look a real nightmare to get at!

Re: Air Filters

Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:13 pm
by achandler
I have just discovered that there does seem to be two different part numbers for the petrol engine 75 Air filters. As you say, Paul, the PHE100460 is quoted as the part number for the petrol engined filter, but Rimmer quotes PHE100461 for ALL Petrol engined 75's, and both numbers seem to be on offer from the various suppliers on ebay.
I am totally bamboozled!

Re: Air Filters

Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:44 am
by achandler
Well for anyone who mights still be following this rather tenuous thread, I have received and fitted a MG/Rover Air Filter Part Number PHE100461, and it fits perfectly. It replaced the FRAM equivalent of the PHE 100460 which appears to be the correct air filter listed in the Parts Catalogue. I wonder what the difference is between them?
For anyone who was as baffled as I was, it would appear that either number/or equivalent should do, just fine!

Re: Air Filters

Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 8:21 am
by 47p2
Fram parts numbers are a bit mysterious.

I have a screw on/off filter fitted to my P2 and when I bought the car at first I went to my supplier armed with the Fram filter number from the side of the canister. New filter purchased and tried in vane to screw it on, no matter how I tried it just wouldn't go. After speaking with various experts (by this time the threaded filter base was going round the suppliers with me) I stumbled on an American car repair shop and went in to have a chat with the owner. I explained the predicament and he took one look at the old filter went to his store and handed me an AC oil filter which screwed straight on, he then handed me a Fram filter with the same number as my Fram and it also screwed on.

So why would this happen when the Fram filter I bought from my supplied wouldn't screw on. The filter I bought although the same part number was a British filter, made to fit British threads, be it AF,mm or whatever. The filter from the American repair shop was an American thread, apparently a slight variation in the thread pitch but everything else on the filter was the same. Both filters had the same part number but both filters were different threads. The owner of the repair shop said it happened a lot with American part suppliers, he told me that when the parts were designed there was very few American cars in the UK and often the same part number for the American market was used for a different part for the British market.

Caveat emptor as the saying goes

Re: Air Filters

Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 2:19 pm
by ralphg
achandler wrote:Well for anyone who mights still be following this rather tenuous thread, I have received and fitted a MG/Rover Air Filter Part Number PHE100461, and it fits perfectly. It replaced the FRAM equivalent of the PHE 100460 which appears to be the correct air filter listed in the Parts Catalogue. I wonder what the difference is between them?
For anyone who was as baffled as I was, it would appear that either number/or equivalent should do, just fine!
The difference between the original parts PHE100460 and PHE100461 is the manufacturer. XPart (the supplier of parts for modern MG Rovers) sometimes changes the supplier's of their parts and, so that they can identify the source, increment the part number.