Re: Air cleaner gasket
Reply #26 –
To add to Michelle's post, our partially crushed filter was just from driving in the rain and all the filters I have seen have the wire mesh on the inside as well as the outside. We were just lucky it did not fail completely and dust the engine.
As the filter ages, it collects dirt on the outside surface of the element and actually becomes more efficient. Any water ingested turns the dirt into mud and creates a large pressure differential between the inside and outside of the filter. This is even worse on a Detroit 2 cycle as they use more than twice the amount of air that a Cummins does. The construction of the Wix would be fine normally but with a wet or damp filter, it can't resist the pressure differential.
On some Foretravel models, this may not be too much of an issue but for GVs up until late 1993, the air intake was positioned at the worse possible location, right behind the rear wheels on the curb side where it sucks up anything and everything that the rear wheels throw up. Foretravel finally fixed this in the later models running a large tube on the lower outside of the side radiator and then making a 90 degree turn to the new intake location about three feet above the ground. If you have an early model, the intake can be modified so you don't have this problem. Hate to say it but this is the difference between a limited production RV and a commercial bus chassis.
Pierce
Topic: Air cleaner gasket