The next time you change or clean engine air filters in ag machinery, take time to examine the inside of the air filter housing on the “clean” side of the filter.
Look for streaks of discoloration inside the housing. Each streak indicates microscopic particles of debris, usually silica (aka, “sand”) have weaseled their way through or past the air filter system.
It’s obvious that unfiltered grit and debris are lethal for engines. But the particles that insidiously damage engines are so small they barely qualify as particles. Contamination by teensy bits of silicon—sand—are the major cause of long-term wear in agricultural engines. Good air filters catch particles down to 0.3 of a micron, which is 1/240th of the thickness of a human hair.
“They’re just small leaks, no big deal,” you may think. But the next time that engine is running at full rpm, pass your hand over the exhaust discharge. The same amount of air that’s being discharged is also being sucked in. Over time, those small air leaks can feed a lot of contamination into an engine.
It’s not possible to filter 100 percent of the contamination in air going into an engine. That’s why engine oil analysis test reports have an “acceptable” level of silicon/silica. If there are notable streaks on the clean side of engine air filters, or “high” silicon/silica levels in engine oil analysis results, the air filter itself may not be to blame. It may be leaks, cracks or poor seals around or related to the filter housing.
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