New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service???

[Silvo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Silvo]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

honestly $57 sounds expensive.. i think i paid about $40 when i replaced mine on a 2 day old car after .. .. . .some water.. made it filthy.. :mrgreen:

however, i would have been glad if they had replaced it if it needed it. i'm about to put a new one in mine before my trip.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

Tassie Tiger wrote
Paper filter air cleaners are not serviceable. You throw them away when they have lost efficiency.

If this were the case we would be changing filters on a daily basis at work. I have been cleaning paper filters with compressed air for over 20 years with no problems. No doubt that at some point a filter will get to the end of its servicable life but regular cleaning should extend that in most cases to at least the recommended service intervals. IMO anyway. most of the trucks and machinery that i clean filters on are worth considerably more than a new Prado.

I cant recall the companies name, but there is a crew that specializes in liquid cleaning of paper filters and claim that as long as they are not damaged that filters can be cleaned to "as new" condition.

Cheers Andrew

[Wrocko Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Wrocko]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

Paper air filters are certainly serviceable and are done by the thousands across Australia every day mainly for the mining, trucking and earthmoving industries. Although there are a number of ways of cleaning air filters, the most common way used by professionals is by using low pressure water jets, low pressure to damage to paper as least as possible. You can to a degree duplicate this method simply by using a garden hose with a nozzle and washing the filter firstly 'against the grain' ( washing from clean side to dirty side pushing the dust and grit back out the side it came, you don't want to push dirt through the filter if you can help it ) and then washing down the pleats on both sides. You should always test the filter for leaks before re-entering a filter for service, the easiest way to do this is a low pressure air test under water. To do this, have a reasonable size tub of water ( bath tub is handy ) with the Prado's flat panel filter, lay it flat on the water ( intake side down ) to trap air on the underside of the filter and evenly press down on the filter to submerge it paying attention not to tip it to any side and let the air escape. Observe the top side of the filter under water for any constant stream of bubbles as this will indicate a leak. If no leaks, whilst holding under water, tip the filter to one side to ensure there was air trapped under the filter for the test. Turn over the filter and repeat the process to test the other side. If there are no visible leaks, the filter would be considered serviceable, obviously making sure that the frame work was not damaged and the seal was in good condition. Once that is all considered ok, place the filter in a place to dry out where it will not get contaminated by foreign particles before reusing, professionals use an oven at low temperature to speed up the process and then place the filter in a bag. Disadvantage to this cleaning method is that you require a second filter whilst the one you have serviced is drying out. Other cleaning methods include ultrasonic cleaning although this may be a little harder to replicate at home. Although I have used compressed air in the past to clean filters and recognise that it is still widely in use today, I have learnt that this is a method to be avoided and always test a filter before reuse. Accepted practise is for a filter to have a service life of six washes. Having said all that, if you can find a good quality, cheaper alternative ( don't be lead to believe that Toyota manufacture their own filters ) it may be easier to replace than to service.
Hope this helps someone in some way
Cheers

[two+four Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close two+four]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

were you actually charged the $57 or did it get included in the fixed price service ? I was under the impression that extra during services in the fixed price got charged against the warrenty. That is what my dealer has done.

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

Obviously there are a few diesel mechanics on the forum. Heres my view and happy to debate.

Compressed air. As I mentioned earlier any time the air stream comes too close to the paper it deforms the weave and you have effectively changed the filtering abilities of the filter. Seeing as filtering is its only job this cant be a good thing. You also have the OHS issue of pumping dust and contaminants into the air that you are breathing. Unless of course you are wearing a mask but I have never seen that done in the field.

Water. Better than air but even as wrocko says, "low pressure to damage the paper as least as possible". Do you really want to change the dust to mud and damage the filtering ability at the same time?. Once again if you damage the fibres then the filter becomes a strainer.

I left the diesel repair game in the 90's and the at that time we would tap filters so the excess dust would fall off but were told not to use compressed air on them, even the big filters with stainless inner liners.

If dust is such a problem then a better system is required to filter the majority away. Be that a donaldson style cyclonic or for extreme use an oil bath system.

Sticking with the prado, if it needs servicing daily I would be looking at fitting a donaldson style pre cleaner to a snorkel and running a finer filter oiled style in the air cleaner. Best of both worlds and no deterioration in filtering ability.

Some good stuff here - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5258

[Ryzz Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryzz]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

were you actually charged the $57 or did it get included in the fixed price service ? I was under the impression that extra during services in the fixed price got charged against the warrenty. That is what my dealer has done.

Got charged the full $57!!!

[Silvo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Silvo]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

were you actually charged the $57 or did it get included in the fixed price service ? I was under the impression that extra during services in the fixed price got charged against the warrenty. That is what my dealer has done.

oh that would be nice.. i paid $45 yesterday for a air filter, in preparation for my trip.

dan

[Bazza Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bazza]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

If you are running a snorkle, why not fit a washable/oilable snorkle sock. It will increase the life of the standard paper filter.
Bazza.

[Silvo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Silvo]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

does anyone know the diametre of the safari snorkel to buy the sock?

dan

[Prado BB Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prado BB]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service??? WTF!?

Dan, on my GQ it's 3". Probably best if you measure it to be sure.

[strombleki Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close strombleki]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service???

Excuse My ignorance (I haven't done first service yet)
But doesn't fixed price servicing meant just that "fixed price servicing" for the first 6 service's ?..
Being $210.00 ??..
I'am Confused hear !!! Why are you being charged extra for consumable parts ??..
Furthermore do any of the forum members use Northpoint Toyota in Port Augusta for there servicing and are they happy with there service ??..

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: New air filter needed @ 10,000km Service???

Strombleki wrote
Excuse My ignorance (I haven't done first service yet)
But doesn't fixed price servicing meant just that "fixed price servicing" for the first 6 service's ?..
Being $210.00 ??..

Fixed price only for a SCHEDULED SERVICE, anything that needs doing other than those items listed in the service book (such as an air filter at 10k) would incur an extra cost.

Cheers Andrew