torn air filter

[sdan27]

We run a heavy-duty Ford L8000 truck that has a Ford 7.8L diesel engine in it. It is used in very harsh operating environment that sees a lot of loose debris through the air that get picked up by the air filter. We put a wire mesh screen over the filter intake to prevent some of the larger pieces from plugging the filter. The mesh will often get covered to the point where the engine doesn't perform as it should so we open the hood and wipe the mesh off and it' good to go again. Now I took the filter out ( a Fleetguard AF886 ) for inspection and noticed there was a spot, right where the intake is on the filter housing, where the pleats were darkened and torn. Needless to say, I replaced the filter but was wondering what might have caused this. Could the high restriction of the wire mesh covered with debris cause the filter to tear in on itself?

 

[Herz]

What exactly is this truck used for.

 

[sdan27]

We use it as a silage truck on our farm. It seems to get obstructed more when we're doing corn silage especially when the corn is getting dried out more. If you're not familiar with it, the corn crop is pulled into the harvester and the entire stalk is chopped up and shot down into the box on the truck driving next to it so it can be used as food for cows. The leaves on the stalk get dried up and often get floating around loose in the air and sucked in by the intake on the truck. We have two other trucks we used in the same manner but they have slightly different intake set-ups and don't seem to have the same problem.

 

[Herz]

Hmm, could it be possible that a small enough particle bypassed your screen and punched a hole through the filter?

How coarse is this screen? I doubt it would be the culprit.

 

[sdan27]

The tear in the pleats is larger than the holes in the mesh. Before we started using the wire mesh, the debris would simply get could up in the filter pleats but then you would have to take take the filter out, blow the filter out with compressed air, reinstall. Basically was much more time consuming than simply wiping the mesh by hand. I should also add that this is the second time this has happened to this truck. I took the filter out maybe two months back, saw it was ripped so I replaced it then too.

 

[Herz]

Honestly I cant think of whats causing this. I dont think its the screen. Try using a different brand air filter if that is possible.

 

[sdan27]

Thanks for the help. I can't really think of anything on this one either. I've heard of air filters ripping like this if they get restricted too much but being on a farm, air filters can get packed fairly quickly but I've never seen one rip like this. I'm going to take it back to the Cummins dealership I get my filters at and see if they have any ideas. It should be protected under Fleetguard's warranty policy. I have another Fleetguard in the truck now but if this one does the same thing I'll try a Wix/Napa filter. I'm going to change the oil next week and probably do an oil analysis to make sure the filter didn't let in too many contaminants.

 

[doitmyself]

This is rather far fetched, but I wonder if that screen is causing some kind of disturbance of the air flow pattern in such a way that the intake air is being directed to the filter in a concentrated, tiny pattern that wears the media.

Did the other filter fail at the same location? Did this start happening when you installed the screen?

Could you put a non-collapsible tube on the intake and run it to a place (screened box) less prone to picking up the corn chafe?

Somehow, I think you need to make the screen much larger than the intake opening.

Hope you are enjoying the nice November weather here. We needed it after our lousy, rain drenched October.

Take care.

 

[sdan27]

Everyone is saying how warm it is for November but seem to forget how cold it was in October. It all evens out I guess. We've been using these screens for awhile and haven't had this problem before. The previous filter I had out and didn't really notice the tear until I'd moved it around quite a bit. It looked almost identical though so I wouldn't be surprised if it had been in the same spot. There is an opening on the side of the hood for the air intake and then it is directed toward the filter intake and I put some mesh on that, on the outside of the hood, to see if that makes a difference, of course it'll be about a year to see if it actually makes a difference. I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[disturban]

For your purpose I would run some kind of short cold air kit with a cone filter to keep everything under the hood and avoid sucking outside cold air. I know this is not ideal for horse power but it would cut down on sucking in unwanted debris.