Air Filter Housing - How Did you Do Yours?

[Ed Poore]

On a 300Tdi the inlet pipe from the wing needs to go under all the brake servo and the clutch malarky so it drops down from the wing (also to act as a water trap) and then comes in to the bottom of the housing. The output from the filter then goes alongside the bulkhead and around the back of the engine to the turbo.

The housing also has lug(s) in the housing which slot into the two wrap around brackets to correctly orient it. I guess if you want to rotate it that's up to you but you'll have to remove those lugs otherwise the clamps won't close.

With regards to your setup that looks correct - note that the bracket utilises two of the cylinder head bolts.

[ThreePointFive]

Ed, thanks.

 

So I had a look at this to get it sorted once and for all, I don't want to have to re-do this once I get the thing running.

I had three criteria -

1. Keep it simple for maintence

2. Keep it looking at least reasonably factory

3. Don't create anything that is going to put increased strain on other components

 

The V8 air filter is at the back of the engine in this space, so I wanted to use it. I noted that the four 3/8" bolts for the engine lifting brackets aren't doing a lot. These will be my mounting points (there are of course 6 but ignore that...).

 

 

Using these points, I didn't need the standard mount plate that everything bolts to on a 300TDi. Annoying as it was expensive, but it is easily the heaviest single component. Anyone need an unused 300TDi filter bracket mounting plate? I'll knock a third off..

I created a bottom strap out of ali that spans the valley and joins the lower-inner two 3/8s bolts. To use this, the whole filter assembly (as per my last post) has to be rotated 90 degrees so the "feet" now point towards the radiator. This is for a number of reasons, not least because having the intake pointing down would put it too close to the top of the bellhousing and give no option to fit a pipe to the wing and I don't think that location would aid longevity if left as-is.

Using the two filter brackets, the bottom bolt holes are drilled in the middle of this strap, so the whole thing sits roughly central to the car.

To secure the top of the brackets, another strap  links them together and a strap each side secures this to the upper-inner 3/8s mounting holes. This keeps the bottom and top of the brackets in line and stops forward-backwards motion. This all looks something like this:

 

 

Upside down, but you get what I'm doing:

Perhaps looking a bit too homemade, but I am not a fabricator and don't have access to welding equipment. This was given some enable matt black paint just so it didn't stand out in the engine by, not that the finish lasted very long on assembly.

Next, fitting...

 

 

 

This raised the next problem - it sits at a funny angle because the location pin doesn't like being pushed to the side... predictable but I wanted to avoid messing with it. A hole was drilled to where it now wanted to emerge, but this required the M6 nut through the bracket to be cut down to prevent conflict...

 

That does make it very sturdy though, it doesn't want to move in any axis.

The end result looks quite good in my opinion:

I hate the blue pipe. It will be going.

The downside to all this is that there isn't enough room below the mount for the drain valve to clear the bellhousing. It is sat on top of it and not vertical. However, it is the lowest part of the filter housing by a long way so should still function.

So I haven't really posted this as a "how to". I have put it up mostly so that anyone more inclined for fabrication and engineering can tell me how bad an idea this is and what could be done to make it better. The drain being the obvious thing (how happy will rubber be sitting on a hot bellhousing?), but could it also put a lot of strain on the rear of the head having this weight hanging on it, is it going to vibrate to buggery now there's not one piece of rubber to dampen vibrations or do something else I haven't thought of?

Another downside is that the whole lot has to be removed to take out the filter housing, but the filter can actually be changed in-situ.

The benefit to this location is that it does clear the HT leads and everything else I can see, it also gives me the option to mount the inlet pipe either side. My car is going to have the wings from both 200 and 300TDis so I have vents on both sides, and the inner vent moulding is ambidextrous so it can be swapped between whichever I want. I am still thinking driver's side as I have a snorkel for this side already as I prefer the look on that side... I hate myself for that being a deciding factor.

So, feedback - good or less than good - welcome.

Edited July 13, 2019 by ThreePointFive

[landroversforever]

Nice job on that! 

Looks nice and factory  

[Ed Poore]

8 hours ago, ThreePointFive said:

So, feedback - good or less than good - welcome

It does look good. I've have personally welded up the bracket (or cut it out of one piece of sheet on a plasma) but that's because I've got access to all those tools in the shed ...

My only thought - and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing yet but something to consider. By not having the rubber feet in your are going to be shaking the filter housing around more and perhaps this might cause problems with the dust continually being mixed around around rather than settling at the lowest point?

I don't think it's an issue in the slightest but the only thing I can think of from an "engineering" perspective. Perhaps @discomikey can provide some more insight?

[landroversforever]

4 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

By not having the rubber feet in your are going to be shaking the filter housing around more and perhaps this might cause problems with the dust continually being mixed around around rather than settling at the lowest point?

I don't think it's an issue in the slightest but the only thing I can think of from an "engineering" perspective. Perhaps @discomikey can provide some more insight?

Would the vibrations mean the filter stays cleaner as the dust would drop off?  

[discomikey]

10 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

It does look good. I've have personally welded up the bracket (or cut it out of one piece of sheet on a plasma) but that's because I've got access to all those tools in the shed ...

My only thought - and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing yet but something to consider. By not having the rubber feet in your are going to be shaking the filter housing around more and perhaps this might cause problems with the dust continually being mixed around around rather than settling at the lowest point?

I don't think it's an issue in the slightest but the only thing I can think of from an "engineering" perspective. Perhaps @discomikey can provide some more insight?

I don't know a great deal about the details of air filtration. Only that OEM's make the best filters for their own engines. 

I would however suspect that the rubber mountings especially these days are more to do with NVH than with keeping the filter clearer of dust. 

It'd be interesting to make an experiment that would compare rubber VS solid mounted, but I wonder if there are too many factors to account for? 

One thing to note is also the weight of the filter and housing. Solid mounting that weight off an engine would probably require rubber mounts in order to reduce the effect of fatigue due to vibration. Mounted to the bodywork I personally would see this as less important 

[Ed Poore]

I suspect in the grand schemes of Land Rover engine performance it's all moot!

The point about the beefier supports is a valid one actually. The standard method of mounting it is ridiculously strong (3mm ish steel bracket bolted to the head with two head bolts and also a stay to the vacuum pump mounting point), with rubber mounts. So perhaps worth keeping an eye on the brackets as they may bend depending on usage? 

[ThreePointFive]

Valid observations, thanks.

If I had a welder, I would definitely be welding a V-shaped bracket to the underside of the filter housing to support it from underneath, with some sort of rubber foot onto the bellhousing, or a two-piece ali strap around it to secure everything properly. As I say, at the moment the drain is in contact with this, so not ideal. But then, I don't have a welder.

This has given me idea for Mk. II so I will see what I can do on the vibration front. Last thing I want to do is invite stress fractures or something hideous, though I suspect the brackets would just bend as you say. The original setup is made for a tank by the looks of things and we all know that Land Rover don't fit anything expensive unless it serves a purpose...

Edited July 15, 2019 by ThreePointFive

[Ed Poore]

Well if you happen to be near Wales then I can cut up and weld some stuff for you. Alternatively if you can sketch what you want I don't mind knocking something up for you and posting it for cost. Got plenty of scrap useful stuff lying around here and a MIG, TIG and plasma.

[ThreePointFive]

Ed,

 

that's incredibly generous of you, I'll have another weld-free bash and see if I can do much to resolve it myself but I may well take that up - I will supply the bits though, can't have you using your supply of scra... stuff.

Edited July 15, 2019 by ThreePointFive

[discomikey]

16 hours ago, ThreePointFive said:

Valid observations, thanks.

If I had a welder, I would definitely be welding a V-shaped bracket to the underside of the filter housing to support it from underneath, with some sort of rubber foot onto the bellhousing, or a two-piece ali strap around it to secure everything properly. As I say, at the moment the drain is in contact with this, so not ideal. But then, I don't have a welder.

This has given me idea for Mk. II so I will see what I can do on the vibration front. Last thing I want to do is invite stress fractures or something hideous, though I suspect the brackets would just bend as you say. The original setup is made for a tank by the looks of things and we all know that Land Rover don't fit anything expensive unless it serves a purpose...

perhaps could you rivet together a bracket, instead of welding? 

 

[ThreePointFive]

Had a bash at addressing some of the points raised. It's still not perfect, but until the car is running I can't judge the success of damping the vibrations.

 

This is a complete bodge, I've clearly got Project Binky aspirations with Roadkill levels of reality, but it is made of parts I have lying around and any way you look at it, is better than what I started with. Let's just remind ourselves what that looked like...

https://s411.photobucket.com/user/WoodyV8/media/DSC_0695_zpsuuuez5ut.jpg.html

I had some exhaust bushes lying around so I cut the smaller ends off...

(Yes, this is the bodge....)

Rather than put these on the engine side, I wanted to keep that bolted more securely though I doubt it makes too much difference where the flexibility goes.

So The benefits of this are that it pushes the filter out from the HT leads and gives more clearance for the inlet pipe (when fitted). An unexpected benefit is that by moving the filter more towards the bulkhead, there is more space on top of the bellhousing which means the drain no longer fouls on it and can be more vertical. I am surprised by how rigid the assembly remains despite losing this additional contact point, so I don't think it requires additional support from underneath.

 

I predict a great deal of sucking of teeth/bemusement by those that understand these things far better than I, but I've enjoyed thinking through the problem and coming up with something that meets most of my criteria.

Edited July 19, 2019 by ThreePointFive

[Ed Poore]

I suspect those bushes won't be much use / offer any benefit. They're in effect just acting as spacers, the bolt goes all the way through so any vibrations will also go through the bolt.

If you think about all other bushes the rubber seperates the two metal contact points. You've introduced some flex there but I'd wager all that'll happen is the bole hole or bolt will eventually work lose / damage itself. If it were me I'd stick with them bolted directly together in the more rigid setup.

[Bowie69]

Replace the bolts with these, and you'll be golden:

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F361467945567

[elbekko]

On 7/19/2019 at 5:08 PM, ThreePointFive said:

I've clearly got Project Binky aspirations with Roadkill levels of reality,

That rings close to home.