cleaning air filter

[SDT]

Ok guys, I searched and didn't find anything, quickly. How does everyone clean the air filter on their tractor. I know blowing air into it will sometimes pack the dirt in tighter. Is there an air filter cleaning solution that works? Just soap and water? Spray with degreaser and wash out then let it dry? If they weren't $70+ I wouldn't try cleaning it. I've seen a lot of cheep air filters on line, but don't really want to take a chance on letting dirt destroy my engine because the filter didn't do it's job.

I blow air filter elements out from the inside anually.

Shop vac on the outside also helps.

 

[MOOTS]

How this is still runs, amazes me.

 

[nbryan]

YUk! What was the tractor doing, grinding corn for a living or something?

 

[BruceP]

Perhaps the BEST way to extend air-filter life while also maintaning engine-proteciton is to use
Filter-Minder.

Filter Minder® - Highest Quality Indicators, Gauges, Switches and Sensors

Filter Minder® offers the highest quality air and fluid filter monitoring indicators, gauges, switches and sensors available.

filterminder.com

In that way, you are MEASURING how much 'pluggage' is in the filter and replacing it once it is used up.
You get the best of both worlds.... no guessing on filter-life and NEW filter for engine each time it is changed.

 

[MOOTS]

YUk! What was the tractor doing, grinding corn for a living or something?

That is on a John Deere 1200A bunker rake. We use them to prep our ballfields.

 

[mcmxi]

In that way, you are MEASURING how much 'pluggage' is in the filter.

Pluggage ... that's a great word!

 

[mcmxi]

That is on a John Deere 1200A bunker rake. We use them to prep our ballfields.

Is that sand then, or wood dust? What the heck is that stuff?

 

[MOOTS]

Is that sand then, or wood dust? What the heck is that stuff?

Infield dirt, from dragging ball fields. It’s the consistency of baby powder.

 

[mcmxi]

Infield dirt, from dragging ball fields. It’s the consistency of baby powder.

I have to wonder what the engine oil is like with that stuff being sucked into the engine.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Perhaps the BEST way to extend air-filter life while also maintaning engine-proteciton is to use
Filter-Minder.

Filter Minder® - Highest Quality Indicators, Gauges, Switches and Sensors

Filter Minder® offers the highest quality air and fluid filter monitoring indicators, gauges, switches and sensors available.

filterminder.com

In that way, you are MEASURING how much 'pluggage' is in the filter and replacing it once it is used up.
You get the best of both worlds.... no guessing on filter-life and NEW filter for engine each time it is changed.

Those are helpful but not perfect. You have to know the maximum allowable restriction defined by the engine manufacturer. Also, NA diesels can only be measured accurately at max RPM under no load. A rule of thumb is 15" and would be a safe bet.

 

[lynnmor]

That is on a John Deere 1200A bunker rake. We use them to prep our ballfields.

Almost nothing should pass thru the filter, you have a serious problem with the filter assembly. Either the filter media is compromised or the housing has a problem. I would bet that considerable engine life has been lost.

 

[MOOTS]

I have to wonder what the engine oil is like with that stuff being sucked into the engine.

Oil actually wasn’t terrible. I did hose down the intake stem while carb was in the ultrasonic. It was covered in dirt also. Spark screen in muffler was clear, which I found a bit odd.

 

[MOOTS]

Almost nothing should pass thru the filter, you have a serious problem with the filter assembly. Either the filter media is compromised or the housing has a problem. I would bet that considerable engine life has been lost.

You are probably correct. I’d bet the last guy to knock/blow the filter out, didn’t put it back on correctly, clamp the lid right or something. Everything looked ok when I was disassembling, so who knows.

 

[DustyRusty]

You will know in a few hundred hours when the engine starts to burn oil. From the look of the carburetor, there is no way that the engine didn't digest a lot of that dust, which will act like sandpaper on the cylinder walls.

 

[MOOTS]

You will know in a few hundred hours when the engine starts to burn oil. From the look of the carburetor, there is no way that the engine didn't digest a lot of that dust, which will act like sandpaper on the cylinder walls.

I agree. I'm just the messenger/part swapper.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

looks like the 'poster child' for a machine that NEEDS the 'secondary' air filter sleevy thingamabob.......

 

[CGMKCM]

Another 90* blow gun option. AMZ

 

[mcmxi]

Oil actually wasn’t terrible. I did hose down the intake stem while carb was in the ultrasonic. It was covered in dirt also. Spark screen in muffler was clear, which I found a bit odd.

I've run a K&N oiled cotton filter on my Jeep TJ for many, many years and sometimes wonder if that was a good decision. I check the oil regularly when I'm using it and it barely consumes a drop between oil changes. I ended up buying a K&N "sock" to slip over the conical air filter in the summer months due to the road below me generating a lot of dust (until it's treated with MgCl) and the dusty conditions on some of the trails I go on. Perhaps more money down the drain for a couple of extra hp based on a good marketing campaign.

 

[lynnmor]

K&N "filters" are absolute junk, they have no place on any engine, especially a tractor.

 

[CGMKCM]