Air filter change, wow!

[jimmyj]

I must admit with some ebarassment that despite on schedule oil changes, regular greasing and so on I had forgotten about the air filter.

The other day I changed it (at 430 hours:shocked and WOW what a difference. The tractor has more power by a noticeable margin. The old filter was just filthy. What a dumb thing to forget about.

If you haven't done it lately, inspect your filter!

Note: Filter was $53.00

 

[CJONE]

I must admit with some ebarassment that despite on schedule oil changes, regular greasing and so on I had forgotten about the air filter.

The other day I changed it (at 430 hours:shocked and WOW what a difference. The tractor has more power by a noticeable margin. The old filter was just filthy. What a dumb thing to forget about.

If you haven't done it lately, inspect your filter!

Note: Filter was $53.00

430 hours without even being cleaned!! I bet it has a bunch more power. CJ

 

[boomer613]

I must admit with some ebarassment that despite on schedule oil changes, regular greasing and so on I had forgotten about the air filter.

The other day I changed it (at 430 hours:shocked and WOW what a difference. The tractor has more power by a noticeable margin. The old filter was just filthy. What a dumb thing to forget about.

If you haven't done it lately, inspect your filter!

Note: Filter was $53.00

I am surprised it didn't overheat. 2 years ago I rented a 45 HP JD and it would overheat every 15 minutes. I took it back the rental shop and they said the overheating was caused due to a dirty air filter and the screen being clogged with sage grass particles. It made huge difference when all was cleaned and changed.

 

[VictorW]

When I do my 100 hour engine oil change, everything gets checked over. You have to wait a few minutes for the engine oil to drain, so I might as well put the time to good use. If I was in dusty conditions for a while, I always pull out the air filter and clean it if needed. Nice to see your running strong again. If you are mowing or if you are running in tall grassy/weedy situations, don't forget the screens and take a look at the radiator fins. Also, check the loader mount bolts. The vibration can loosen them unless you have used some lok-tite on them.

 

[Highbeam]

This "cleaning" of the air filter, I have had zero luck with this and I wonder if it does more harm than good.

Note that you can buy the napa gold equivalent of the Kioti air filter. It is a common filter but still seems expensive.

My filters end up black with dirt and dust. I was getting a bit more black smoke than usual last weekend so I took my leaf blower (used for cleaning the screens) and tried to blow out the air filter from the inside. No improvement and really no dirt blew out. Fitler still black.

 

[ron45]

All these answers and not a single mention of the ridiculous price for the filter. Reminds me of the printer scam. They practically give you the printer and ink is 2k a gallon at the price of those pathetic cartridges. What am I missing? loyalty? Supply and demand? the biddniss as usual mantra. They had the choice to design the housing for the filter to use a commonly available filter. This is why the dealer gives you the `great deal'. It's jist biddniss!

Please see my post below regarding my comments on the price of the filter. I was not very well informed on the subject. i.e. "The reason they are 30-60 bucks each( or even more) is because they are better quality and meant to be cleaned and reinstalled - even washed and reinstalled." This is a quite from Gary's very informative post. Thanks Gary.
__________________

 

[Smallplot]

Use an air compressor with a blow gun tip. We have one that has a longer tip made from brake line. Works great. Also if you have two air filters, pre cleaner and primary, just blow out the larger onee, the pre-cleaner. Replace the smaller primary air filter.

 

[dennis52]

This "cleaning" of the air filter, I have had zero luck with this and I wonder if it does more harm than good.

Note that you can buy the napa gold equivalent of the Kioti air filter. It is a common filter but still seems expensive.

My filters end up black with dirt and dust. I was getting a bit more black smoke than usual last weekend so I took my leaf blower (used for cleaning the screens) and tried to blow out the air filter from the inside. No improvement and really no dirt blew out. Fitler still black.

Same here. Filter gets darker with dirt and dust but never seem to get much loose stuff out of it. Some manufacturers advise against high pressure air guns.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Man I cant believe what I am reading here. First off, no way a stopped up AIR cleaner would make an engine run hot. If it cant get air, it is going to run rich and rich means cooler. Stopped up radiator from grass seeds, YEP.
When working in dusty conditions like mowing fields or working dirt, the air cleaner should be cleaned daily.
Black filter paper is not a reason to throw away a filter. Check the filter by shining a flash light on it and viewing the opposite side. You can see if it has holes or if it is stopped up. They are made to be cleaned with compressed air, just dont put the tip right against it. The filter is going to be the color of your dirt, if your dust is brown or black, then the filter will be slightly brown or black even when cleaned.
Your owners manual should give you a good work description for cleaning the air cleaner filter with most telling you to tap the filter on a tire to remove the majority of crude in the folds of paper, then use compressed air with the tip 10" or so from the paper. As said, after cleaning check it with a flash light or shop light bulb to make sure it isnt damaged. Unless the external filter is damaged and allows dirt to pass to the inside filter, the internal filter may never need replacing. I have never seen one get dirt or black anything on the internal filter. Most of them can be washed also with soapy water- follow mfg, directions on this though as some may not be washable, but again every one I have ever seen is washable but dont wash it every time it is dusty, there is no need to wash unless they get oily or greasy like from a busted hydraulic hose that sprays oil into the air intake.
I think someone said they blow thru the inside using a leaf blower. I have never tried that so I wont comment on that, but compressed air will clean them and not damage. I have used the same filter on farm tractors for over 5000 hours and never had to replace it. As long as your internal filter is clean each time,you know you exterior one is doing its job. Black smoke from the exhaust when the motor is not lugging is a sign you went too long without cleaning, that and noticeable loss of power.

For those of you that want to replace filters, go ahead and buy new ones every time they look black or dirty. The filter companies love you, but these are not like throw away automotive filters that cost $5 each. The reason they are 30-60 bucks each( or even more) is because they are better quality and meant to be cleaned and reinstalled - even washed and reinstalled.

 

[blueriver]

I've never heard of overheating from the air filter ... air compressor is a filters best friend.

This time of year we run the tractors daily in the hay fields and a part of our routine in the evenings is to grease and service them ... every evening the radiators and the air filters get a good blowing out... we also look things over ... a pre flight inspection so to speak ... the eye can see things out of the ordinary that may need attention.