I got this car over a year ago and have been periodically working on it. I put a new Mann air filter in it in Aug 2017 (it is now Halloween 2018)- and I'm trying to remove the air filter- and I cannot!

It is acting like it is glued! I hate to resort to destroying it- it has zero miles on it! Anybody seen this before??

That's the problem. If you had actually used it, the filter would be well lubricated and would come right off.

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When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Yes, it happens all the time on my '81 300SD. I just have to manhandle it off. I think the new filters are just a bit smaller in dimension than the original. Have to force the new one on over the ring every time. Purolator, no less. Not an off brand.

Yeah. I have to really get my claws into it on my SD too. It’ll come off. Put your back in to it.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

I find that they're generally impropelry installed, the rubber lip gets flipped up and sticks .

Try twisting the old element with both hands, that usually gets them loose for me .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I finally got it out. I have an air gun that has a siphon tube so you can spray things. Harbor Freight calls it an engine cleaning wand.
I used this with kerosene and sprayed everywhere I could around the air filter and it eventually worked loose.
I guess I'll coat the perforated inner ring of the air cleaner housing with anti-seize compound or grease when I put it back.

This happened in mine: