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Eagles Nest · 11-05-2006, 11:59 AM

Good afternoona all.
Well we made it from the east coast to Portland Or. 4 Air cleaners later we are here. I had the Air cleaner mod. done before we left Lake George NY. The coach stopped running in Russell Tenn. The local Ford Dealer said the mod was installed to far to the front of the grille. 100 miles later it stopped again. I removed the water soaked cleaner and replaced with another. We made it to Ca. and same thing. Relaced another Cleaner, on we went. Just got into Or. and same thing. I decided nto go with a K&N, because I can clean it. It was raining just about the whole trip. Has anyone got any idea whats going on with this Ford Air filter system? Besides the Air cleaner problem we had a wonderful trip.

Eagles Nest · 11-05-2006, 11:59 AM

Good afternoona all.
Well we made it from the east coast to Portland Or. 4 Air cleaners later we are here. I had the Air cleaner mod. done before we left Lake George NY. The coach stopped running in Russell Tenn. The local Ford Dealer said the mod was installed to far to the front of the grille. 100 miles later it stopped again. I removed the water soaked cleaner and replaced with another. We made it to Ca. and same thing. Relaced another Cleaner, on we went. Just got into Or. and same thing. I decided nto go with a K&N, because I can clean it. It was raining just about the whole trip. Has anyone got any idea whats going on with this Ford Air filter system? Besides the Air cleaner problem we had a wonderful trip.

Hikerdogs · 11-05-2006, 12:55 PM

Search "water ingestion" in this forum. It' a common problem with the V10 Ford chassis from about 1999 to 2004. Ford has a kit available theat moves the air intake. On the original system the intake was from directly behind the grill and in a perfect place to suck in any water that was splased up by traffic.

The kit moves the intake above the grill and adds a drain to eliminate water before it gets sucked into the filter element. I've seen all sorts of prices for the kit and installation. I paid less than $15.00 for ours (from the local Ford truck garage) 2 years ago, and installed it in less than an hour. Since then We've not had a problem.

Eagles Nest · 11-05-2006, 02:01 PM

Hikerdog;
I had the kit put on before we left Lake George. The Ford dealer, in Russell Tenn, said it was put on wrong, He turned it but I still take on water, thanks for the reply.

Capt. Flipper · 11-05-2006, 04:06 PM

I think you've got to get the air intake at least 3 inches above the top of the grille opening to be effective. The Ford modification is on the right track but apparently doesn't go high enough on all manufacturers motorhomes.

Hikerdogs · 11-05-2006, 04:21 PM

There were several "fixes" along the way. The original fix on our coach was just to remove the intake tube that faced toward the grill. The second "fix" was to install a plastic shield in front of the filter canister. The latest "fix" added a U shaped tube to the canister with the top of the tube extending above the grill. The top of the tube has a piece of hardware screen attached with wire ties to keep the rodents out, and a flexible rubber tube at the bottom of the U that's supposed to drain the water.

If you have the latest kit with the tube on the bottom, slide under the front of the coach and check the bottom of the tube to be sure it's not sealed. When I inspected ours (before I installed it) it was partially sealed on the bottom. I think they formed the tube then cut it off the roll stock with a hot wire or knife. The cutting process partially sealed the end. I just stuck my pocket knife into the cut end and seperated the pieces.

Since I opened the end before I installed it the drain has always worked well. If yours has the same problem it might not be alowing the water that gets in the tube to drain.

Just a thought

NeilV · 11-05-2006, 11:22 PM

Does your hood close 100% or is there a gap that could allow water to drip into the top of the intake? Some have to better adjust the hood and put a weather stip along the top of the hood or take other means to prevent this. If the inlet of the tube is not above the top of your grill then you may have to block that area of the grill off with a little flashing or hard plastic to prevent water from getting into the top of the tube.

Eagles Nest · 11-22-2006, 04:14 AM

Well, I talked to Fleetwood, and they said it was fords problem, and then I talked to ford nand they said it was Fleetwoods problem. What I did was to add some weatherstrip to the top of the hood, thus not letting any water in. So far so good. We are on our way back to the East coast. The last two days it has been raining very very heavy. It seems to be working. As we travel East I will keep you all posted. Thanks for the replys

Eagles Nest · 11-24-2006, 01:43 PM

Yes I had that done in May of the year. I added weather strip around the hood opening, and it seems to be working. Thats for the reply.

whoopie · 12-10-2006, 05:43 PM

I also have had extensive problems with water ingestion since 2000. I was not aware of the latest ford remedy as shown on the photo. I previously had three Ford attempts made to correct my coach. I finally cured the problem by running fords third remedy (vent hose from airbox bottom) up to the area above and behind the headlight cowling on the drivers side and mounting a second aircleaner at the end of their hose.

I had a banks system installed in September 06 which resurrected the old problem. Banks has been of little or no help inspite of my questioning their systems susceptibility to water ingestion when I placed the order.

Banks had developed a horizontal mounting for the airbox in 2002 as a (successful) potential fix but dropped the idea for $$ considerations.

Is the current Ford aircleaner box still mounted vertically in front of the radiator? Do you know what size the opening of the snorkel is where it fastens to the intake of the airbox? I will follow up on this snorkle on my unit although I will probably have to modify it as the Banks Intake is probably larger diameter. Appreciate any additional info.THANKS!

DLBatz · 12-16-2006, 04:23 PM

Below is a post that provides more details about the installation with numerous pictures. This fall I had problems for the 1st time, ordered the part from Ford at a cost of $45.12 plus tax & installed it myself. Have not used it enough to know if it takes care of the problem or not. It looks like it should though.

Water in air intake fix

Ultra RV Products · 12-28-2006, 06:34 AM

We should have our new Ford UltraPower cold air intake system ready by Quartzsite.It will feature a cleanable filter larger housing and less restrictive tubing.It will also have a clear plexiglass lid to view the filter without disassembly.

LVJ58 · 12-28-2006, 01:28 PM

Mike, where will you be set up in Quartzsite?? We're going to be there Jan 24th thru the 30th, would like to stop by and say HI.

Jim

Ultra RV Products · 12-28-2006, 03:00 PM

Jim,

We'll be in the Quartzsite sports & recreation RV show.Our installation area is 40' by 80' and has our name all over it you cant miss it.If you do get lost call me on my cell phone at 541-441-0377