</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It does have a handle but hits on the air cleaner snorkel when I try to lift it up)</font>
You should be able to loosen the clamps that hold the air filter cannister to its support frame and rotate/slide the filter slightly to clear the radiator screen as Greg mentioned. I could always remove my screen by just pulling on the handle, but it was a close fit.
I didn't like the airfilter placement up in front of the radiator as it made access to the screen difficult and it disrupts airflow into the radiator. One of the first modifications I did to my 284 was to relocate my airfilter back over the injector pump. It now connects to the intake manifold with a 4" long straight piece of hose. The mounting bracket I made that connects to where the fuel filter is mounted also made a handy mounting point for the coolant overflow/recovery tank I added. The whole affair is removed with a single bolt and a single hoseclamp if I need to work around the top of the engine or the injectors. I then removed the support bracket from in front of the radiator so there is nothing but hood and grill in front of it now.
I took the stock screen which as mentioned has holes that are too large to stop the small stuff, and wraped a layer of aluminum window screen around it. This screen is available at most any hardware store. This screen catches a LOT of debris and still allows the whole assembly to slide down in the grooves in front of the radiator. I opted to do this and keep the stock screen/filter plate as it is pretty heavy and will protect the radiator somewhat if I should somehow push a stick in through the grill or up under the hood when brush busting.
I also made a air gun extension pipe for cleaning the radiator. For this I used a piece of aluminum arrow shaft. The nock end is tapered/rounded where the nock glues on. You can get one of these at wallmart or anyplace that sells archery equipment. Soften the nock with a lighter or small flame and pull it off with a pair of pliars and shave off the fletching/feathers with a razor blade. Cut the front end off with a tube cutter or a hacksaw. Right near the tapered nock end I drilled a 1/8" hole perpendicular to the shaft. and I slid the whole thing over an old straight blowgun tip I had and epoxied it in place. I can slide this tube down behind the radiator through 2 small gaps in the rear shroud located at the top rear corners of the radiator. Because of the smooth rounded tapered end, it won't hang up on and damage the rear radiator cooling fins. This pipe allows me to reach the entire rear surface of the radiator to blow dust and debris out from the back side(instead of packing an already jammed piece in tighter while blowing from the front
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No mater what you put on for a filter, if it flows enough air to keep the engine cool, it will still pass fine dust. You will always have a buildup of fine dust in the radiator passages that must be removed occasionaly to maintain heat exchanger efficiency.
