sooted air filter bx2200

chocolatehauler · Jun 27, 2004

anyone else having trouble with soot in the air filter. I did about fifty hours of snow blowing this winter. and checked the filter this spring and it was black. Blew some of it off and put it back in service and then noticed that I was throwing more black then usual. replaced it and back to normal. Thanks for your comments in advance

chrisjbell · Jun 29, 2004

You shouldn't get soot in the air filter. Any chance it was just black dust? If it is soot then you are getting some kind of blowback from the intake manifold, which is not a good thing. But if a filter change has fixed the problem then you probably don't have anything to worry about.

om21braz · Jun 29, 2004

Of the many things my dealer noted to me after purchasing a Kubota diesel lawn tractor was to never blow off the air filter and reinstall it - always replace it. No service item was he as concerned about as the air filter. As for the possible sooting, I'd check out the air box and tube to intake for soot, clean well and install new air filter and run it for a while and see what goes. Maybe others here can offer more info on your issue.

Junkman · Jun 29, 2004

The reason not to blow off the air filter element is that the dust that has accumulated on the element will cause microscopic tears in the paper when you blow it off. These holes will allow dirt to get into the engine. I is alright to tap it gently to dislodge the dirt as a temporary cleaning. Tapping it gently on a hard surface is a way to tell if it needs to be replaced. If you get an accumulation of dirt when you tap it on the hard surface, that is a visual indication that it needs to be replaced. Considering the cost of a new air filter vs. a new engine, I would just replace the air cleaner element once a year whether it needs it or not. Consider it cheap insurance for a clean engine.
If the element is dirty, it will change the air/fuel ratio and the engine will run rich and emit more carbon particles.