How to tell for sure if you need to clean your air filter

[uh60ce]

And here I thought the filter on my buggy was dirty after yesterdays little off road jaunt ....I guess I should have left it for another year that turbo filter looks like it was ready to have potatoes planted in it...

[ntsqd]

FYI the filter element used in the UMP's is a Donaldson element. I believe that the Donaldson selection criteria is heavily biased towards off highway construction equipment and results in more filter than an off road car needs. Because of the should-be shorter maintenance interval, recreational vehicles can very likely use a smaller filter than their recommendation.

An alternative is the FJ62/FJ80 Toyota filter assembly. This filter is sized for use similar to off highway construction vehicles with an engine that is 4 liters in size and has a ~4.5k redline. The trick is to get the OE filter element as it is washable & reusable, but you do NOT oil it! I'm using one of these on my still IP 5.7L TPI swap into an FJ60. Shipped from American Toyota with the 'Mud discount the OE element was about $35.

[winifredevw]

I just went and bought a filter from a local equipment/junk yard today. It came from a John Deere 410 backhoe. I think I paid a premium price, $160. It came with both elements, neither one looks dirty, plus a pre-filter that works off of centrifigal force. It also came with both straps to mount it and the really heavy-duty rubber hose that goes from 3 1/2" to 3".

It measures about 6" diameter by 14" in length. Looks like 3" inlet and 3 1/2" outlet.

[Leatherneck]

Nice score on the air cleaner.


Added How to tell for sure if you need to clean your air filter to the stickies. See if we can't keep the BS to a minimum.

[Turbo_Manx_Maniac]

I just went and bought a filter from a local equipment/junk yard today. It came from a John Deere 410 backhoe. I think I paid a premium price, $160. It came with both elements, neither one looks dirty, plus a pre-filter that works off of centrifigal force. It also came with both straps to mount it and the really heavy-duty rubber hose that goes from 3 1/2" to 3".

It measures about 6" diameter by 14" in length. Looks like 3" inlet and 3 1/2" outlet.

Can you post a few pics?

These things take some serious real estate, where are you mounting it?

[Turbo_Manx_Maniac]

Looking at this one: http://www.advancedaircleanersystems.com/superflow.htm

It's relatively small sized and flows 470 CFM. Element should last for several years even in silt. $250


Alternatively, this looks interesting too: Donaldson Duralite ECC C105017. ~$50 and flows ~400 CFM. Doesn't look as "off-road" as the UMP-like filters, but it's cheap and should flow well.

[winifredevw]

Can you post a few pics?
These things take some serious real estate, where are you mounting it?

Here's the "exploded view" of what I bought. When I first got it, everything was painted heavily with that gawd-awfull yellow. I stripped the housing and gave it a rattle can coat of paint.


I trimmed a little fat from the intake side of the air box.



I don't know where I'll mount it just yet, but maybe here...

[bajaherbie]

touchdown!



nice score....

[Turbo_Manx_Maniac]

Looks cool, though I think it will be restrictive for a larger motor.

[Punchdrunk Monkey]

Looking at this one: http://www.advancedaircleanersystems.com/superflow.htm

It's relatively small sized and flows 470 CFM. Element should last for several years even in silt. $250

This is the filter I have. I have checked it twice over the last 1400 miles and it looks good as new.

[Turbo_Manx_Maniac]

I ordered a Donaldson Duralite ECC105104 and it showed up today. I picked this one because it flows 400 CFM, it's 10" X 10". $45
Curious how it will hold up to the desert silt and dust vs one of the alum canister types


OK, it's frickin huge. And yes I hear that alot.

Think it may take up too much real estate. Gonna let PDM borrow it and see how loud it is.

IMG_2678 [800x600].jpg

4" outlet

IMG_2680 [800x600].jpg

That's a quarter in the picture, not an atom.

IMG_2681 [800x600].jpg

[fusername]

With centrifigul ones at least it is good to make sure it flows the same cfm as your engine . Too little and it will be restrictive, too much and the centrifugal side of it wont work

[Leatherneck]

Looks cool, though I think it will be restrictive for a larger motor.

TMM what is the largest engine do you think that filter would be able to feed?

[ntsqd]

Engine size will depend on realistic redline of the engine. RPM times displacement (converted to cubic feet) times 0.8 (or so for us normally aspirated folks) = CFM.

The thing that make it hard to compare is that filters (& some carbs) are rated for flow at a particular pressure drop. Unfortunately, they don't all use the same pressure drop, and that affects the results tremendously.

[Turbo_Manx_Maniac]

Looks cool, though I think it will be restrictive for a larger motor.

TMM what is the largest engine do you think that filter would be able to feed?

Engine size is only one of the variables, on a turbo motor you need to add in how much boost you are going to make to get more realistic CFM requirements. At 14.7 psi of boost you are putting 2 times the air through the motor. They rate the filters on pressure drop in inches of water at the rated CFM flow through the filter. Every filter will present some resistance to air flowing through it, a manometer can measure the resistance via a reading of inches of water. If you flow a 300 cfm filter at 300 cfm, then adjust to flow 400 cfm the resistance at the inlet of the filter will increase. They rate the filters so you know how much resistance you will have at a specific air flow. This also helps you determine how the filter will perform when it starts getting dirty.

I used this formula - 2.3 liters (engine size in liters) * 6000 rpm * 85 (Volumetric efficiency) * 1.82 (Pressure ratio = ((14.7+ boost psi(12))/14.7) all divided by 5660.

My engine with no boost needs ~200 cfm.
At 12 psi I need 375 cfm (This is the boost level I intend to run).
At 20 psi I would need almost 500 cfm.

A 1915 running 10 psi would need ~275 cfm, this filter would probably be overkill.

This filter is good for ~400 cfm, so it will feed my engine at 12-14 psi.

The formula is a little conservative, you won't actually draw as many CFM as calculated, but it's a good guide line to allow for the filter to plug up a little.