Thread: Inline air filter with snorkel?

Originally Posted by Tank

Have a look here in the Disco 1 section http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...onversion.html
Regards Frank.

Thanks Tank, I had considered those but wasnt keen on having the inlet on the side. As your mention in the post you refernced, having the inlet come in from the side wold result in one small area of the filter being continually filled with muck.

Yes, I can do as you have done (nice job BW), but my preference would be to find a housing that already flows from one end to the other. Just seems to make a lot more sense and ensures the filetr element is working as it was intended to do.

Originally Posted by shamat

Thanks Tank, I had considered those but wasnt keen on having the inlet on the side. As your mention in the post you refernced, having the inlet come in from the side wold result in one small area of the filter being continually filled with muck.

Yes, I can do as you have done (nice job BW), but my preference would be to find a housing that already flows from one end to the other. Just seems to make a lot more sense and ensures the filetr element is working as it was intended to do.

Shamat, the whole point of my previous posts on this subject was to show that it was easy to plumb the snorkel air into the end as Land Rover intended, if you read my posts you will see that I have already said that feeding into the side of the LR canister was useless as it would clog up that small area, BTW the LR canister filter flows from one end to the other, have I read your post wrong, Regards Frank.

I have already said that feeding into the side of the LR canister was useless as it would clog up that small area, BTW the LR canister filter flows from one end to the other, have I read your post wrong, Regards Frank.

Theoretically yes practically NO.
I have had a side entry for 5 years and when I change filters I can assure you that there is not just one area blocked up. One thing that does happen is that any water down the snorkel tends to warp the paper around the entry.
I run a Unifilter pre filter in the snorkel head when in very dusty conditions and did the Plenty, Tanami, GRR, Kalumburu, Mitchell falls , one the same filter and only changed it when I returned home, and it was clean then.
There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Regards Philip A

PhillipA, I think we have had this discussion before, the canister on my 94 300TDi was transferred from my 93 4.0L V8, the LR canister which was on the 94 had the Safari snorkel plumbed into the side. When I removed the filter from this side entry canister it was totally clogged a full 360 degrees around the filter. I could not even blow compressed air through it. The filter looked to have been rotated 90 degrees 4 times and was absolutey rooted, each end was still OK. I swapped this side entry onto the V8 (new Filter) and it was down on power to what it was, pulled the filter and it ran well, as before. The same but opposite result on the 300TDi, the motor was sluggish and the noise from the snorkle top was loud, when the canister and filter from the V8 was installed, totally different noise from the snorkel top and off the mark performance was much, much better.
Practically YES, the LR round canister and filter (which is a snug fit inside the canister) is designed to flow air in one end and out the other, it does this very efficiently with the air being drawn along the length of the flutes and into the centre of the filter then into the inlet manifold. Whenever I clean the filter by blowing compressed air from the inside of the filter element to the outside there is always a good dispersion of the dust and crap, it is not concentrated on one small spot like the side entry canister. As I have said previously and now, this filter and canister are designed to have the airflow from the end and along the entire length of the filter element.
The only reason I can see for whacking a hole in the side of the canister is to make it easy for Safari to manufacture the fitting kit. my original snorkel (V8) was not a Safari and it had a kit to fit on the end of the canister, after removing the trumpet, so at least someone else agrees with me, Regards Frank.

PhillipA, I think we have had this discussion before, the canister on my 94 300TDi was transferred from my 93 4.0L V8, the LR canister which was on the 94 had the Safari snorkel plumbed into the side. When I removed the filter from this side entry canister it was totally clogged a full 360 degrees around the filter. I could not even blow compressed air through it. The filter looked to have been rotated 90 degrees 4 times and was absolutey rooted, each end was still OK. I swapped this side entry onto the V8 (new Filter) and it was down on power to what it was, pulled the filter and it ran well, as before. The same but opposite result on the 300TDi, the motor was sluggish and the noise from the snorkle top was loud, when the canister and filter from the V8 was installed, totally different noise from the snorkel top and off the mark performance was much, much better.

All this says to me is that you had an old clogged filter or a poor quality one.

I have done a flow restriction test on the snorkel by using a Minihelic vacuum/air pressure tester and the total restriction before the MAF is 11 inches of water using a Cooper filter in new condition . This is VERY low.

In terms of data IMHO the argument you present is anecdotal whereas I have done some research with a piece of scientific equipment, but there you go , that is a forum for you.
In terms of the filter barrel, of course you are correct, it is designed for an end entry, but the "close fitting" argument goes both ways. I have always found the end closer to the MAF to be cleaner than the end near the inlet. If you inspect the filter regularly and don't let it get completely blocked, then I think the PRACTICAL differences are minimal.
Regards Philip A

Well Phillip i guess the air filter manufacturer and Land Rover may have used a scientific instrument as well when designing their air filters as would have Toyota and all the other manufacturers. If you use a filter in a way that it is not designed for, and I ask can you show me any filter in service today that operates like yours, then that system is not optimal. Commonsense dictates that if you concentrate air flow onto one small part of a filter, that was designed to have air flowing along it's fluted sides, then that filter will not work as well. Did you try your scientific instrument on my setup? Regards Frank.

Tank, I wasn't going to keep this going but your assertions prompted me to do a little research.
If you go to this site
Donaldson Filtration Solutions

Download the Pdf catalogue for engine intake systems . Go to page 15 and you will see numerous examples of side inlet barrel air cleaners.

Of course Donaldson may not know anything about air filtration.
Regards Philip A

Without getting an argument going (damn I'm good at that)

I think what your saying Tank is that the filter side wall is very close to the housing?

If that is what your saying then I agree it seems very crammed in there, which I can based on all filter changes have had one dirty spot in the side where the snorkle enters and bugger all on the rest of the filter.

My thoughts are that this may be causing the equivilent a blockage coming in from the side instead of the front where the air was able to run up the edges of the filter right around it?

I hope all that made sense