Here I am

Big Honking Air Filter Installed (long)

Attention: TDR Forum Junkies
To the point: Click this link and check out the Front Page News story(ies) where we are tracking the introduction of the 2025 Ram HD trucks.

Thanks, TDR Staff

Which Amsoil??

Which battery and where to get it?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Big Honking Air Filter Installed

First the disclaimer; This worked for me, no claims it'll work for anyone else.



Now that that's out of the way, I'm mildly bombed, and untill last week had tried to make the stock air box work with a stock Fleetguard filter. I just wasn't comfortable with the prospects of pulling oil out of a oiled filter or finding I had one of the rare bad foam filters.



However, with the stock box/filter that had a 2X4"slot cut on the bottom back of the filter housing, and that was connected to a 4. 5 " hole in the cowl duct using dryer vent hose, I was seeing EGT's in the 1300-1400plus range when the truck was working. Boost at these times would be in the high 30's. On a truck only, WOT run, 37lbs. and 1300 plus was the norm.



It should be noted that the Fleetguard filter had been in for 12000 miles, about 9 months. So it wasn't new, but even when new I could pull the filter minder down to almost the bottom with a hard run around the block.



Now for the new filter. Went into the local NAPA store and with the max size filter dimensions in hand, searched the filter catalog and found a filter that works. Here's the filter info;



P/N 2790

style A-159

O. D. 10. 5" X 11. 88" long

Filter medium, pleated paper

$39. 00



This is just a big tractor/truck filter, couldn't determine the recommended applications.



Inlet I. D. is 4" with a app. 1. 5" long lip that accepts the stock turbo connector hose (I fashoned a stiffner insert out of sch. 40 pvc to use in the filter to prevent deforming when the hose clamp is tightened). It has a hard, tough looking black plastic closed end.



I installed as you would the K&N filter used with the Psychotty system.



This filter has dropped my EGT's 300deg. Hard to believe, hense the discaimer above. My first test was a WOT run for about a mile on level road at about 300' elevation. It was 97 deg. with humidity in the 50's. Boost stablized at 20lbs. after spiking up to 38lbs. EGT's spiked at 1200 then dropped to 900 and held for the mile or so I ran the test. With my old system, I would have backed out of the fuel at the 1300deg mark, so who knows what the max EGT would have been. In the past when the gov. had defueled a bit at 2750 rpm and boost and temp stablized I'd have been about 1200degs. on a substained WOT run, (with a empty truck on level ground).



Black smoke has reduced somewhat, and spool up is a little faster.



Again, these results are at about 300' elevation and the filter I'm comparing to was not new. On a stock truck, it would have gone many thousand more miles before a change would have been necessary.



Hopefully if anyone else tries this they will report results.



Also, I don't have the ability to post photo's. But this thing looks great, it's big and fills up the available space. It looks like a truck filter, not some woosy car filter.
 
Last edited:
Bill, that's right, underhood air. It should be noted the cowl duct opening is still open, about 3" from the filter.



I'm toying with building a doghouse type cover that'll seal to the fender on the bottom and the firewall on the back. May try fiberglass, or as a first effort, foil covered insulated duct board like the hvac guys use. While it would be difficult to build a trully sealed box for the filter, you could reduce the hot underhood air used and prehaps gain some postive air from the fender and cowl duct openings.



Gotta get in the hay field. Only gonna be heat index of 105/110 today.



Ronnie
 
Here is a picture of moparguy's filter.

#ad


It is Fleetguard #AH19037. The Fleetguard site doesn't list a particular application. It looks like you could drill and tap it for a remote mount filter minder, or there might be enough room to mount the original.



#ad




I have been running this one for quite a while. I flipped through at least 200 part numbers on the FG website to find it. It is a Deere tractor primary filter. Which one, I do not know. It has a 7. 5" O. D. vs. the 10. 5" diameter for the above, but it is about 3/4" longer. You have to build a base plate for it though. A couple of other members have them or have tried them.



Brian
 
Last edited:
That's the same thing I did 3 yrs ago. I saw the same improvements. I think the under hood heat is offset by the additional air - no egt problems. Besides that, while checking DP's with a magnahelic I found that under hood pressure is relatively high - instant ram-air. I picked the af942m(98% initial efficiency and well over 99% at the endpoint) because it's a 'long life' filter and has more media and even less pressure drop than a standard element. I had to weld up a round collar for mine and caulk it on - easily transferred to a new filter. Stock paper element was 17" WC DP, k&n was 11" WC DP(in stock box and BTW it let dirt thru) and mine is 2" WC DP. Craig
 
Great!

I've been thinking about doing something like this for awhile now. My egt's while pulling suck. Like you, I wasn't at all comfortable with an oiled filter and chunked my K&N (seal the edge with grease?! you gotta be kiddin') If ya'll are curious about application, I'll look it up. Even had the NAPA number, man, can't be any easier than that! Great post!
 
C Schomer, I think a photo you posted of your set-up during a discussion of a machined piece to replace the stock turbo silencer is where I got the idea. Thanks. Also, did the super silencer work out as well as you had hoped?



Thanks, Ronnie
 
Ronnie, it helped the lag but I'm getting some funny sneezing noise out of it when pulling hard at around 2k. I'm going to try a steeper angle next time. It's 30 now and have to measure and see how much I can go without getting too long. It didn't help top end power but is better shifting around town! I don't think it's worth worrying about too much. I have access to the machine shop at work so I play a lot! Craig
 
I guess it helped top end a little. On one of my good 5th gear test hills(Monument)power hung in there better before I got down to about the normal speed - maybe . 5 mph faster at the top. The very very low end is definately better - it will lug it's guts out! Down to 1300 rpm if I want. I have to watch it now so I don't wreck another 5th gear. I'm a firm believer that the little things add up! I'm getting closer to the broad smooth power band of the 24valves. Craig
 
Installed....WOW

This is EXACTLY the type of set up I've been looking for since chunking my K&N! This filter is a monster. Unlike with an oiled cotton gauze type filter that basically gives you more airflow because it has larger holes in the filter medium, this filter gives you more airflow because you are DRAMATICALLY increasing the area of filter media. I didn't measure but I would bet there's at least twice as much filter area on this filter than the stock flat filter. Install was easy. Here's some install notes of my own... .

I was a little concerned about the studs from the stock air box sticking up and rubbing a hole in the new big filter and didn't want to take the fender apart to get them out so I screwed the nuts back on them. I then stuck a medium sized plastic tie around each one toward the bottom to use as a spacer. I then took the rubber grommets out of the bottom of the stock airbox and turned them upside down and stuck them over the nuts on the studs. This gave a nice three position rubber padded surface for the filter to ride on. I skipped the PVC pipe because 1: the piece of pvc I had was the wrong size and 2: the neck on the filter is super strong and I don't think there's any way it's going to collapse.

Observations: My turbo whistle like I had when I had my K&N is back! Egt's while cruising at steady speed are about the same. Egt's when you punch it are down. Before, when I punched it, they would shoot to between 1,000 and 1,100* post turbo and then come back down. Now, they spike to about 900* and come right back down. Also, since getting my DTT stuff in, turbo lag from a stand still was pretty bad. She'd smoke pretty good before the boost came up. I'd say smoke from a stand still average stop is down 50% and the turbo lag is down at least that much.

So, as a memeber in good standing with over 1,000 posts :D I hereby dub this the "Moparguy" filter system :p

Good Job!
 
Last edited:
danandme, "Moparguy" system, what a hoot :) . But seriously, glad the filter worked for you.



Great idea on the spacers and nuts on the studs. I had planned to give them some attention for the reasons you listed, just hadn't made it back to that page.



I'll have a chance to see how the additional airflow helps with a loaded truck later today, gotta move the backhoe (GVCW about 27,500). Then tomorrow deliver a load of hay (GVCW about 23,000). With the temps here running in high 90's low 100's and humidity in the 50-60% range I need to see a improvement.



Also, keep a eye on the new filter connection to make sure it doesn't deform where you can't see and pull unfiltered air in. I agree, it looks like the filter neck is plenty strong and a stiffner isn't needed, just thought it was cheap insurance.



Ronnie
 
Hauled hay with it today. Egt's while pulling were definitly improved :cool: and I just love that turbo whistle, of course the missing silencer ring helps that, too ;)
 
I found the number at the Fleetguard website. This filter may be washable with great success, too.

I'll post the image source from Fleetguard's website. They change these periodically so it may turn into a blank.

<img src=http://www.fleetguard.com/catalogImages/AH19037. JPG>



I did a quick spin with the calculator and this filter has outer area of approximately 390 in&sup2; versus the 100 in&sup2; for the stock box





John

<font size=1>I am not an employee of nor affiliated with Cummins, Fleetguard, or Nelson</font>
 
Last edited:
Rob,



I don't know where they went. I had them saved on my isp's site. I guess they must have had to use the back up from before I saved them. See if they work now. Sorry. Brian
 
Well I went to NAPA today to see about one of these and they had them..... but wanted $60 for them. How much are you guys paying out there in the real world??
 
I asked the closest NAPA to me just yesterday and they were $49 and they would have to order one. (Trackbars are $215, instock. )
 
First big pull with new filter

First to answer a couple of questions; when using the stock box/Fleetguard filter the snorkel between the fender opening and filter housing was out. The stock housing was also tied into the freshair duct. Cost for the Napa filter was $39. 00 pre tax.



The Napa p/n is 2790, the Fleetguard is AH19037. Don't know what the Fleetguard filter would cost.



Yesterday I pulled my backhoe, hoe and trailer come in around 20,000 lbs. , truck about 7,200lbs. .



Ambiant air temp was 98deg per the overhead truck display, level road. Once rolling in fourth at about 1800rpm, I went to WOT, boost went instantly to 38lbs. and EGT climbed quickly to a hair over 1300 and held. In the past I'd have started backing out at that point, a time or two in the past I've let it run up to the 1500 range before backing out, didn't have nerve enough to see how high it would go.



Once I hit 55mph in fourth, I backed off and ran fourth (I try to not work it hard in 5th. ) for the 15 or so miles back home. EGT's stayed between 900 and 1100 degrees. This a huge improvement on my truck.



This air filter has made the #5 plate a towing plate, at least with my setup. Need to remember that I've got the 175hp pump, and even with the 215hp injectors (based on what I've learned here) it's not fueling to the level a 215 pump would with the #5 plate.



If you remember in my original post, my disclaimer said that I don't know if this would work for everyone, but it sure does for me. I really don't see a downside. The increased filter surface area flows so much additional air, it runs cooler even with the underhood air it's using. I may be getting some benefit from the 4. 5 inch cowl duct opening that's only a few inches from the new filter, don't know how much of a factor that is.



Good Luck,



Ronnie
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top