Help with changing the Air Filter...

[leedowney]

Hey guys. I plan on changing my air filter on my 2000 Winnebago Journey 36G on the Freightliner chassis next weekend. I have looked at my maintenance manual and it really doesn't give directions on how to change it, just when to change it.

Does anyone have any diagrams or simple instruction on changing the air filter? Mine is easy to access. Rear, drivers side mounted to the inside of the frame rail. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

[chasfm11]

I suspect that you and I have the same air filter, though it isn't clear whether your W is a XCS chassis like mine and that might make a difference.

If it is like mine, it is more difficult that it appears. On mine, there are straps which hold the filter to a cradle. I ended up having to remove the bolts and the entire cradle with the old filter. I had to separate them to get them out.

Sequence wise, I disconnected the rubber 90 fitting first, then the cradle and lastly the turbo end. I took the filter then the cradle out and put the new filter back in the reverse. order. I was paranoid about getting any kind of junk into the turbo end of the filter. It would be very easy to do. While I was at it I provided some strain relief to the metal pipe that separates the roof top hose from the 90 degree rubber fitting. It was hanging on that rubber fitting too much to suit me.

I had thought that job would take 1/2 an hour. It took over two.

I hope yours goes well.

Charlie

[FleetMan]

Lee,
Do a search on this site and the Good Sam site. I do not remember which one it was on but someone had posted the entire procedure to include some excellent pictures. Really though, it should be a pretty straight forward operation on the Journey. Everything is pretty well in the open - at least it is on mine.

[ernieh]

It's not too difficult to change. Once you see the new filter, it will be obvious how to change it.

The hardest part is getting all the pieces properly aligned. Make sure that you wear safety glasses because a lot of road crud may come loose.

[Martind4]

I did mine a few years ago and it took a lot longer than I initially thought it would. Since then I've had the back bumper off for repair and found it provided great access to the air cleaner. My bumper is held on with 4 1/2 in bolts for main support and 3 sheet metal screws on each side. I can literally take it off in about 15 minutes. Our air cleaner is due to be replaced this spring and I think I'll try the bumper removal route to speed things along. Having the bumper removed also makes it easy to seal the basement AC output plenum air leaks.

[wagonmaster2]

Changed mine last year with the help of my front end alignment shop man. With both of us under the back end working together it probably took an hour to do the job. The hardest part was getting the metal inlet and outlet of the filter back into the rubber connections. The rubber is very stiff. Wouldn't be so bad if you had it all out from under the coach and on the ground but working on your back reaching up over your head while holding the filter in place is no picnic even with four hands.

Good luck. I sure don't look forward to my next change.

Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G FL XC chassis

[Chuck 1935]

Make sure you completely un hook the two straps that hold the filter in place. The end of the strap should separate from the cam latch.
After I removed the air cleaner I observed that there was a fair amount of dust on the outside of the filter medium even though my air flow indicator did not show that it was not time to change the filter. I used my air hose to blow out the filter. I then re installed the air filter and the air flow guage was significantly lower.