Air Filters??

   / Air Filters?? #1  

RadarTech

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
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Location
North Carolina
Tractor
2007 Kubota L3400, YANMAR YT359C
Folks,
I am in a quandry..

Coming up on the 300 hour mark and I've run my tractor in alot of dust and dirt. I have blown it out 3 times (100, 200 hours, and 250-- oil changes just did it) The book says to replace once per year or after 6 cleanings... When I went to Messicks website to check on a replacement it mentioned an inner and outer filter... But my book only covers a single element...

What do yall think? replace it for ~$18 or so...

and what about the inner/outer and then the single element? which do yall have?

It is an L3400 MY2008..


J
 
   / Air Filters?? #2  
Dusty is relative, I find I have to blow out my outer air filter every 10 hours or so, and open the evacuator valve on the bottom to let out the big chunks. I've replaced the outer filter twice in 150 hours because after a half dozen or so cleanings it starts looking pretty grungy, never replaced the inner, seems clean as a whistle. I mow in tall grasses with all kinds of seedheads and tufts, that's what I get in the air filter. Sometimes I have to clean the air inlets on the grill and the radiator screen a couple times during a few hours of mowing because of all the blowing vegetation. If you're just in dirt and dust, maybe it doesn't have as much effect.
 
   / Air Filters??
  • Thread Starter
#3  
wow...
I never thought about cleaing it that much...

One thing that made me think about this tonight, is that I was losing some power on my last drive down the road...
I should have had more speed in high-gear....


It's too late to go out and check, but I will in the AM....

J
 
   / Air Filters?? #4  
If you're worried about when to clean the primary intake filter element, install an air filter service indicator; it's manometer of sorts that shows your peak intake vacuum reading.

You probably have a guideline about replacing you secondary element in your service literature; guidelines I've seen say to change it for every certain number of times you service the primary element.

If you have a two element intake filtration system, I'd suggest that while you can get away with cleaning the primary element under some situations(never with compressed air!), play it safe and just replace the secondary element rather than cleaning it.
 
   / Air Filters?? #5  
For air filter changing the conditions worked in should set the interval between changes. This you will have to determine yourself to the best of your ability. The manual can't help.:thumbsup:
 
   / Air Filters??
  • Thread Starter
#6  
For air filter changing the conditions worked in should set the interval between changes. This you will have to determine yourself to the best of your ability. The manual can't help.:thumbsup:

hmm.. Well I think I will go get one today as I will be right by there....

J
 
   / Air Filters?? #7  
I'm on my Third air filter (250 hours), I blow them out a couple of times but mine get almost black so I replace them for the piece of mind. Anyone want to have my old air filters, let me know :laughing::laughing:

I buy filters/oil from a local dealer that gave me a free hat when I asked about buying a hat... :thumbsup: (my original dealer is no longer a dealer)
 
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   / Air Filters?? #8  
I "generally" go by my manual, but filters don't cost that much, so I don't clean mine too many times before replacing.
 
   / Air Filters?? #9  



Please, Please dont blow them out dont blow them out!!!!!


You will risk having pinholes in the air filter and that is not good for your engines.

The secondary filter is what is referred to as thue safety filter which is the last line of defense for the engine.


As they are a paper elemement filterthe paper thickness is what regulates the air pressure and flow entering the engines air intake.


First and foremost please do this for my own sanity:


The inner filter MUST be changed everytime the outer filter is changed thaey are designed to work in tandem with the outer elelement to clean the air in two passes and cut all the dust and dirt from the air stream intering the air intake on you orange beast of burden/toy/tool/pet/critter.


The air filter manufacturers do not recommend blowing them out or washing them as some in the business are doing as it compromises the integrity of the air filter construction and weakens them as well which will create pin holes and separation at the base of the paper folds.

You can add an an oil bath precleaner with a DUST CYCLONE CUP" precleaner-this is accomplished by using a a primary baffle with vanes that slow the intake air down as it enters the precleaner which allows 95 percent of the heavy dust to enter the dust cup to be ejected and dropped into the cup which keeps the heavier dust from entering the oil bath separator to you tractor to totally eliminate the dust and dirt with or with out the paper element. as a final filter.


The single element filter is a very fine filter and should be thrown out and replaced every ten ours if you do not have an oil bath precleaner.


You can order air filters from a lot of places-NAPA being one in particular is one of them where you could buy them by the case and they are made to one set standard that they have to be tested and guaranteed for which is this:

The air filter paper is folded like a bellows as it increases the surface area available to the air filter to allow it to filter the air entering the engine and maintain an unrestricted full flow of air at the full intake Hg. required for the engine to operate properly for the engines operatin g hours and recommended service intervals


Hg. refers to the actual water gauge pressure created by the PRESSURE GRADIENT the engine creates by and with its air intake or the air filtration system with the 4 cycle operation of the diesel engine.


The PRESSURE GRADIENT is created by combustion air required by the engine, the size of the air intake, and the filters TOTAL SURFACE AREA which is the unfolded square feet of suface area the treated paper element for the single element filter in the small engines, or the case of the dual element filters for the larger engines with the inner safety element and its primary element which create the 2 layers of filtration safety for the engine.


==========================================================
The paper air filter is an out growth of the of the oil bath filter as all early engines had oil bath air cleaners which were and still are the best type because they have the largest filtration area square feet for dust and dirt separation.




==========================================================

The paper filters rubber sealing gasket is the final line of defense for the engine, it is pressed against the end of the housing to seal the outer elelement with a gasketed wing nut which also seals the safety element which is held in place by the sendary filters gasketed wing nut.



About the restriction indicators on todays air filters:


a. they fail.
b. they fail.
c. they fail.
d. the design is simply prone to failure.
e. they were designed to fill a need at the lowest cost per filter unit.



The springs and release buttons in the indicators become weak and they will eventually become useless if they are not replaced, The tattle tales also collect dirt which affect their ability to work- they were an out growth of the filter not be changed when it shoud be anyway due to dusty environments.



The smaller tractors design affects the air filter performance where the filter is entirely enclosed by the engine hood and skid plates which create additional restrictions to air flow AND also aid in creating pathways for much more dust to enter the filter.

a lot of tractors and farm machiery have filters mounted above the cabs on some tractors or have oil bath precleaners installed ahead of the paper filters. Many stationary engines and rotary lobe blowers or regenerative blowers have very large oil bath air filters to clean intake air and allow full flow at all times.


==================================================================================================



An air filter is cheap insurance for any engine, the car and truck engines have mutli pass folded felt elements that aid in filtration and allow full flow of combustion air to enter the air intake.




If you have a single element air filter simply change it every ten hours if you have dusty conditions-dont wash blow it out or bang it to clean it as it will damage the paper folds which become brittle with age due to the paper coating applied to them to aid in filtration.



Adding an oil bath precleaner will only aid your tractor to live longer and breathe better with no restrictions

You can also buy an oil bath and paper elelement air filter unit for your size engine if desired and also the tubing required to install it as well as the mounting brackets.


The smaller kubota tractors are an item that fills a niche market or itch market if you like several of them :^)





Kubota would gain much and hafewer problems buying three and four cylinder air cooled engines from Duetz Farr/ or AVCO_dont even know if they exist anymore- the american builder for these tractors as they require less space and will have no issues with cooling due to the simplicity of design and maintenance



leon














 
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   / Air Filters?? #10  
The secondary filter is what is referred to as the safety filter which is the last line of defense for the engine.
Yup ........ that's true ......

As they are a paper element filter the paper thickness is what regulates the air pressure and flow entering the engines air intake.
I would suspect that the porosity of the filter paper is probably what actually does it ......

First and foremost please do this for my own sanity:

The inner filter MUST be changed everytime the outer filter is changed they are designed to work in tandem with the outer elelement to clean the air in two passes and cut all the dust and dirt from the air stream intering the air intake on you orange beast of burden/toy/tool/pet/critter.
Ahhhhh .... I don't think so ..... at least not on my B2910 .....

The inner filter (which is a screen) is designed to keep boulders and other large objects, such as your bathtub, lawnchairs, and kid's tricycle, out of the engine .... it just ain't gonna do a whole lot as far as dust (dirt mebbe .... if they are large clods .....)

And Kubota DOES NOT necessarily recommend changing the secondary every time you change the primary ....

The air filter manufacturers do not recommend blowing them out or washing them as some in the business are doing .....
Well, that might depend on which manufacturer you are talking about ......

But at any rate, they are in the business of selling air filters now aren't they ?

as it compromises the integrity of the air filter construction and weakens them as well which will create pin holes and separation at the base of the paper folds.
Might depend on how much air pressure you are using ... ;)

The single element filter is a very fine filter and should be thrown out and replaced every ten ours if you do not have an oil bath precleaner.
Jeez .... what's your day job ..... parts manager for dealership ? .... or sales rep for a filter manufacturer ? :p

Internal combustion engine air filters can often go far, far longer than what is commonly believed (as a consequence of air filter manufacturer propaganda) - although in the case of tractors, which often operate in much dirtier environments - that's much less the case than with other over-the-road vehicles - as an example:

I have an '06 Dodge Sprinter (Mercedes) that gets driven over the road .... it's a diesel engine and has a filter minder .....

I've changed the air filter exactly twice since we bought it new ..... first time was at 123,000 miles ...... and the second time was at 271,000 miles .... neither time was the filter minder indicating a restriction and the vehicle was running fine (no loss of performance) .... the vehicle now 282,000+ miles on it.

Having said that, I do agree that equipment that operates in a "severe service" environment does need more care and maintenance than others do ....
 
 
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