Replacing The Air Filter

The Journey was due for a replacement of its air filter.  The way a diesel engine sucks in air, you don't want to take any chances of letting dirt into your very expensive engine.  Plus, a dirty air filter can decrease fuel mileage.
This post will be picture heavy, with step by step photos to help the do-it-yourself folks.  The replacement is not hard at all, which I found surprising after reading comments on RV forums.

I started out with some very basic tools, a 7/16" deep socket and ratchet, a screwdriver and safety glasses (very important, there is a lot of dirt under the motor home and it all falls down...on you).

First I removed the the hanging bracket of the mud flap on the driver's side to get easy access to the air filter area.

 

Looking from the back towards the front, the large round air filter canister can be seen.  The rubber elbow is connected to the Journey's intake on the driver's side of the body.

This view shows the duct work extending upwards towards the Journey's air intake, about eight feet off the ground.

The filter canister is held in place by two large clamps with latches.  Do not unlatch the clamps at this point.

Start with loosening the clamps on the rubber elbow on the rear of the filter canister.  Loosen both clamps on the elbow and then pry it loose, it comes apart very easy.

Remove the rubber elbow and set it aside.

Here is the view with the intake elbow removed.

Next, go to the front of the air filter canister.  There are two clamps, only loosen the forward one and slide the rubber connector away.  Leave the back clamp alone.

Now completely unlatch the two latches on the clamps holding the filter canister to the mounting bracket.

Slide the filter canister forward towards the front of the chassis.

Once you've slid the filter canister forward to clear the brackets, it can be lowered to the ground back end first.  There is enough room to easily get it out.

Now you can loosen the clamp on the large nipple in the front of the canister and put it on the new filter, tighten the clamp.

A side by side comparison shows the dirty filter from the new one (it's on the left in case you couldn't figure it out...)

Take the time to clean the rubber connectors from any dirt, then lubricate them liberally with silicone spray.

Reverse the procedure, slide the new canister front end up first.  Then slide the filter canister back through the large clamps.  Don't latch the clamps at this point.  Reattach the front connection and tighten the clamp.

Here is the new filter canister loosely in place

Reattach the intake elbow on the backside of the filter canister and tighten the clamps.

Double check everything and the position of the filter canister.  When you're satisfied everything is lined up properly and tight, latch the two clamps around the filter canister body.

Reattach the mudflap and you are done.

I never did an air filter replacement of this type, but it was not hard at all.  Start to finish, including getting tools out and putting them away took me just about an hour.  I bought the filter at my local Freightliner dealer, it cost about $80.  Here is the part number in case you're interested.  It might be a little cheaper on line.

One thing I want to point out that I found.  The hooks that hold up my mudflap have worn a bit of the frame where the hole is.  Not something to worry about at this point, but something I will be keeping an eye on.

I hope this helps to give an idea of how to replace the air filter on a Freightliner XC chassis and show that RV owners can do some of their maintenance items themselves and save a bit of money.

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.