Air Cleaner

[lighthousealarm]

Just a quick question. I removed the air cleaner housing shortly after buying a 70's model Case 580CK with the diesel engine. What I found was a mess. What appeared to be the element was nothing but a sludge mess. It apparently is a wet bath type element, and had been neglected for a long time. It is so bad I have elected to replace it. My question is this. Is there any reason why I can not just replace the housing with an after market automotive air cleaner housing and dry element? I have found several available in the $25 range that have the correct base size to fit the intake hose. I am currently running it with only the pre-air cap installed, but obviously do not want to do that very long. Thanks

 

[eRay]

Most backhoes with a dry element filter actually have two filters an outer filter and an inner filter. Since backhoes work in far dustier conditions than automobiles, I would be reluctant to try and use an automotive type filter on one.

 

[Phil]

Personally, I would try and get the old breather functional again. The entire filter assembly can be immersed in a degreaser. I suspect an automotive machine shop would put it in the 'tank' overnight for you, should it not clean up well. I remember cleaning these, should they suck up dirt, by lifting them up and down in a pail of diesel fuel. Not sure if the fiber can be taken out of these for cleaning or not.

The cup on the bottom has an oil level 'fill to' line. While not quite as efficient as the dry element on the 580B model, these seem to work well as long as water does not leak in cup and displace the oil or rust out the bottom.

A used unit should still be available at a machine wrecker as it would be a very low demand item. Phil

 

[lighthousealarm]

This backhoe will be used at my homesite so dusty conditions are not a concern. I had assumed the only reason the factory unit was so huge and complicated was as you stated, very dirty and dusty conditions at construction sites. I see no reason to hassle with trying to clean this housing, (probably not possible anyway), or try to find a used unit, when an aftermarket automotive unit is readily available and cheap. It does not sound like using an automotive unit will have any negative effects on the engine.

 

[oldseabee]

If you get an automotive unit make sure that it is large enough, diesels suck more air then a gas engine. The other thing is the inherant vibrations on your machine can cause structural problems for an air cleaner that is made for a car. Inspect it regularily for cracks.