replace or clean air filter unit?

[8n1948]

Doing maintenance. Owner's manual sez that if the air cleaner is proving difficult to get clean that consider replacing whole unit. It's easy to take out. Any tips for cleaning technique that seems to work good vs buying replacement. Thank you.

 

[8n1948]

forgot to say something important...mine is a through the hood air cleaner

 

[8n1948]

or...and, if it's suggested to replace...would it be helpful to convert to one of those cyclone glass jar types?

 

[Dell (WA)]

Usually thru the hood air cleaner with dome screen is used in dusty service for the 3-speed 9N/2N. The 8N has a lift open hood door with screen.

The whole concept of the N-AirCleaner is a self-cleaning filter mesh. Engine vacuum sucks oil up into filter media, dirt is trapped; and when engine is turned OFF, there is NO VACUUM and the oil flushes all the trapped dirt into the coil cup and you change cup-oil (and gunk in bottom) every 100hrs engine oil change, or annually.

But iff'n you insist, New filter media, $10 (cheap). N-Owners manual seems clear enuff for most shade tree mechanics. ......Dell

 

[Bruce (VA)]

The bottom has a press fit into the sides. Get a good light & if your eyes are like mine, your reading glasses. You will find where the tabs are to pry it open. But, before you do that, just order new mesh. It comes in a roll. The filter takes 2 rolls. There comes a time when you just have to admit stuff is worn out! Steel wool won't work. Once you get it apart, plan on a good soak in your favorite degreaser for a few days. It will clean up! BTDT w/ three of them!

Hint: Wrap the mesh around the breather tube (it is the same diameter as the tube inside of the air cleaner) Or, use a tube of caulk. Place the breather tube (or caulk tube) against the tube in the air cleaner & slide the mesh off, into the air cleaner. Otherwise, getting that mesh rolled tight & back into the air filter is like getting used toothpaste back in the tube.

you ask "or...and, if it's suggested to replace...would it be helpful to convert to one of those cyclone glass jar types? "

That's not a conversion. It's an addition to the existing oil bath unit you have on the tractor.
50 Tips

 

[Tom N MS]

No problem to clean..drop oil cup off the bottom, emty dirty oil and clean cup with a solvent. Some will tell you there is no need to clean the mesh stuff that is rolled up and stuffed up in the filter unit up above the oil cup BUT that is pure nonsense.. Remove the coiled metal mesh and clean it in a solvent as well...Removal of the mesh should not be a regular/frequent thing but it does need cleaning once in a blue moon unless it is used in real dusty conditions or in tall sage type cutting where bloom can somehow get by and create a matt over the mesh...I know, just did it on my Dad's 2N..had enough sage bloom stuff on the mesh down near the oil cup that it was running bad..Cleaned it as I described above and now it runs fine..

 

[GB in MT.]

(quoted from post at 09:43:54 04/12/09) forgot to say something important...mine is a through the hood air cleaner

b:2a97067957][i:2a97067957]

Through the hood!!??? Prob. the same air cleaner I have on the 2N, yours being an 48 8N.
Take the cap off the stand pipe that goes though the hood, and remove the whole air cleaner, from the "N". Take the oil cup off the bottom first, so you won't spill the oil all over the place. :lol:
Then dismantle the whole cleaner body. Taking the filter packing out and clean it real good in a bucket of the hottest water you can stand, with any grease cleaner solvent you have. I use plain ole' DAWN dish washing soap, from under the kitchen sink. It has grease desolving properties in it.
Air dry the whole thing, with the air compressor, when clean and re-install!!!!!
NO BIGGIE!!! 8)

Gary
[/i:2a97067957][/b:2a97067957]

 

[Brian Jasper co. Ia]

I wish I knew how to post pics. Last night I took apart the oil bath on my A-C D17 diesel. I can't believe it had any power. It was nothing but sludge. There are 3 rolls of wire like in Dell's pic. The sludge was so thick it made it's way half way through the top roll, all the way through the bottom 2 rolls. I disagree with Dell in not needing to clean the wire mesh in an oil bath. In 50+ years, there's going to be some crud in there, especially if a p.o. was not on top of maintnence.

 

[Hobo,NC]

I have seen the mesh restricted so bad the engine would not run,,, the only way to clean it was to disassemble , unwrap and clean the mesh,,, I had a MF135 that I could not get apart so i set it afire to clean the mesh,,, it burned for well over a hour

 

[Jerry/MT]

I cleaned my TO-30 air cleaner without dismantling it. I put it in a 5 gallon bucket and added diesel til it covered the air cleaner. I let it soak over night and then sloshed the diesel around in it. I decanted off the clean fuel and drained off the crud from the bottom. I repeated the process until the there was no crud left on the bottom. Took about three rounds as I recall. Most of the crud came off in the first round.

 

[Tom N MS]

Oh, no, no, no, no, didn't you know you never ever have to clean them..they clean themself......

 

[Tom N MS]

You are absolutely right..one of those no brainer, common sense things..

 

[Joe T (CO)]

I took mine apart and cleaned the mesh, and kept going until it was spotless.

It is going to have some other crap inside the air tube part of the air cleaner, you might as well give it a good cleaning while you have the mesh out .

Joe

 

[8n1948]

thank you for your reply and especially for adding the 50 tips link. I can see several that immediately apply!

 

[8n1948]

thank you for your reply and especially for adding the 50 tips link. I can see several that immediately apply!

 

[8n1948]

nice job on your takedown. thank you for your reply!

 

[8n1948]

this idea sounds pretty practical. thank you for your reply!

 

[8n1948]

that sounds about as crudded up as I suspect mine is...especially if the amount of hard sludge at the bottom of the unit is an indicator. thanks for your reply!

 

[8n1948]

not that i know what i'm talking about, but i'm inclined to think that the air filter on mine has never been serviced ...and it couldn't hurt to do that

 

[8n1948]

if your getting good results with dish washing soap that's encouraging. i'm a little skittish about an open 5 gal pail of diesel or whatever...don't want to end up in an inferno or anything. thanks for your reply!

 

[Hobo,NC]

I spec if grit and grim were the only problem soap would do the job,,, BUT these thangs have sucked up alot of chit other than grit and grim in 60 years,,, grass wheat straw and sticks come to mind,,, manual labor is all I know that will remove it,,, I have had put'n some kind of prefilter other than a jar on mine for some time,,, foam are what ever

Any one that will tell ya different has never unrolled the element on theirs yet