OM617a owners, how long are you going between air filter changes?
 

The reason I ask is, the service manuals specify to change the air filter out every 15-30K miles. I had a brand new air filter put in in January 2006, that was about 9K miles ago. I inspected it yesterday, and I was like, woah! That thing is filthy! Filthier than usual, jet black. I was not expecting it to get that dirty that quick. I guess it's because of Houston's daisy fresh air quality.:D How long are you other OM617a owners going between air filter changes?

Filter longevity varies greatly with environmental conditions. Replacement intervals based on mileage are meaningless.

I don't pay much attention to mileage on air filters, I just change it when it's dirty. I usually take a look at it when I need to order parts to see if it's due. I changed mine a few weeks ago, I think it had between 10 and 20K on it.

BTW, sealing the "cover" of the oil separator inside the filter housing with silicone made a huge difference. I used to get quite a bit of oil on the filter, now I don't see a spec of oil on the filter element. Also, did you know the dealer is now getting $49 for the 617 filter. :eek:

I check mine periodically and change when it looks dirty. I changed the one on my turbo and blue euro the other day. The turbo's was dirty and blue's was filled with crusty junk. Pretty gross, probably wasn't changed in 30-40k miles.

Pretty Black
 

Mine is very black inside after 9000 or so miles. However preformance is very good and so I am going to leave it on for another year

Almost a year and 8000miles so far on mine.

Highway robbery. I can find 617 filters for under $20 all day long.

I buy mine from Phil for under $20, but I asked when I was at the dealer a few weeks ago.

I paid $8 for an STP Fed filter for a 617 in a W126. Don't know if the W123 uses the same filter.

I just change mine once a year with the wiper blades each January.

H-town,

I agree with TangoFox, mileage has nothing to do with how long an air filter lasts and same goes for fuel filters. The life depends on how much dirt gets into the filters.

So I test my air filter periodically. I have an on-road test track, its about a 2 mile run mostly up hill at about 50 to 60 MPH.

I check speed and elapsed time at the end of the test run with and without the filter element in the fulter housing. So far I have not seen any significant difference so the old filter goes back in. It has about 50,000 miles on the air filter now.

If the filter appears dirty, I'll give it the air gun treatment and back in the car it goes. If it ain't broke, don't replace it.

P E H

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

If it ain't broke, break it. :huepfenic

that happens to me



i usually check my filters every weekend.. clean out the air filter housing if any bugs get in or w/e.. check the oil and tranny fluid.. wipe down the valve cover.. etc

It's usually not a great idea to open the air filter housing much more than necessary to check the filter, you really don't want any debris in the air intake on a diesel. I don't even want to think about driving one without a filter.

When it appears heavily soiled. :D

the filters in my diesels seem to last longer than gasser car filters,,,,n0rt

Yeah I cringe every time I have to open mine because I can see things floating down the hole and its hard to get it really clean. BTW, I change mine every other oil change, or about every six months.

What's STP's part number for this filter?

SA3725

Its a cheap filter though, if it was a car I planned on keeping I'd cough up the extra $6 for a nice Hengst from Phil.

Just changed it after one winter's worth of use, about 5k miles. It was black and pretty dirty.

I'll probably order one the next time I buy parts, but my current one has been in there probably about 1.5ish years or so...so about 17-18k :D Its fairly dirty.....but air still seems to be going through it. ;) (I use the nice Hengst ones)

Now here is a queston, why does the air filter get so much oil vapor in it? I have noticed it tends to turn black with these cars, I have never seen such a thing with the 603's.

The crankcase vent hose seems to feed into the center of the air filter?

I actually fixed that on mine. The oil separator has a "cover" piece that is held in place with a couple of little steel tabs. It's not a very tight fit. If you remove the air filter housing and clean it very well, you can seal the cracks in the separator (as well as the little tube that feeds into the air intake) with silicone glue. I did that a couple of years ago and I still do not get a drop of oil on the filter element.

SA3725,

U drive your car in CT in the winter and U worry aboutthe air cleaner. How about all the rust on the body from the salt?

I'd rather drive with no air cleaner than drive in salt. My good MBs stay in the garage all winter. NO salt, no rust.

U can't tell the condition of a filter by looking at it. U need to test it as I do.


P E H

The point of the SD is to rust in the winter, its already to far gone to be worth bringing back, but it drives nice enough.

The old one looked dirty so I stuck in a new one, I don't want deal with it.

Can anyone be more specific on what the oil seperator is or have pics of it? My air filter gets really oil soaked in particlular spot on the filter. Sorry, don't mena to be a hi-jacker here, just seems on topic.

The oil separator is the "container" inside the air filter housing that the vent hose connects to. If you take the cover off the air filter, you will see it, it has a connection on the top and a little tube that sends the oil vapors into the "throat" of the air intake. If you look closely, the separator has a "cover" that is held in place with a couple of metal tabs that are bent over. There is a seam around the edge of this cover that can leak. Also, the little tube has a seam that can leak. I just took the entire thing apart and cleaned it, then sealed all the seams with silicone glue. No more oil spot on the filter. :D

I don't have my 300D here at the moment, but I can post a photo later if that will help.

I'll check it out this evening, I bet I can figure it out. Once again, the folks on this forum are ever so helpful. Thank you all.

Stp??? Ick!!
 

really, the stp filters are very poor quality. they are also about 1cm shorter thus they don't seal properly. for the same price at "another" store, you can get the purolator filters, they are almost the same quality filter as hengst, but it doesn't have the steel mesh around it. and they fit.

John