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Air filters

#1

S

slomo

Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........


#2

logert gogert

logert gogert

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good idea. Only flaw I see is when you go to replace the filter. Depending on what you use to make the seal will get stuck


#3

Tiger Small Engine

Tiger Small Engine

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
Dusting down an engine is what you are talking about. I don’t think it happens that much. If air filter seal were that critical, manufacturers would have been doing it for years now. A good air filter and checking/changing the oil are very important to a small engine’s longevity as well as making sure the cooling fins under shroud are free of debris.


#4

StarTech

StarTech

Well since 2009 when I started doing repairs for others on lawn equipment I rarely seen a problem with filter; unless, the operators fail to change the filter when needed. Nearly all filters seal tightly. Now low quality filter are being sold via places like eBay, Amazon, and local flea markets. Any engine that are being dusted does have a filter side problem that needs resolving.

Now several years ago some handheld trimmer OEM tried going to just a screen on the air intake side claiming the engine could handle what ever got pass the screen. Didn't last too as the equipment didn't last too long either.

If I see dust in the air intake side I look for the filter sealing problems and usually find the filter is bad.


#5

S

slomo

logert gogert said:
Sounds like a good idea. Only flaw I see is when you go to replace the filter. Depending on what you use to make the seal will get stuck
Click to expand...
Clear GE 100% silicone in the caulking tube is super tough when removing. Course once the filter is causing starting/running issues, time to change it anyway. Why I was asking about a medium strength goo. Something that sticks tight but, could be, removed with effort.

Might try some GE silly-cone and see what happens. Thin bead is all it would take. Seal out all the grit and dirt possible. Start with a new filter and silly-cone it in place. Can't hurt anything once it has cured for a day.

Just thought about the filter cover closing if you use too much. Again a thin bead should be okay on most filter units. Just gluing the filter to the housing.


#6

R

Rivets

Did it ever occur to you if you glue the filter to the housing, you will probably ruin the housing when trying to remove it? Notice how easily they warp with nothing applying added pressure to them. These housings warp easily aand it won’t take much pressure to change a flat surface into a curved one. Best and cheaper to do your due diligence and check the filter more often than recommended. Trying to build a better system could easily back fire.


#7

StarTech

StarTech

Or you could use one side tape like they use for PU camper shells. AND apply the sticky side to the base of the filter and not the housing.


#8

R

Rivets

I pity the poor tech that has to work on a filter where someone has tried doing this. Try explaining to the customer why they have to pay for a new filter housing.


#9

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

Some chainsaws are bad for not sealing like the MS361. The "lumberjack" fix is to put some grease around the egde of the filter to help sealing.


#10

S

slomo

Rivets said:
Did it ever occur to you if you glue the filter to the housing, you will probably ruin the housing when trying to remove it? Notice how easily they warp with nothing applying added pressure to them. These housings warp easily aand it won’t take much pressure to change a flat surface into a curved one. Best and cheaper to do your due diligence and check the filter more often than recommended. Trying to build a better system could easily back fire.
Click to expand...
I mentioned a medium strength goo of some variety. Flimsy housings were thought about. Something to seal and be somewhat removable. Not talking about JB Weld type goo.

See my thought on checking more often is when you are checking slash disturbing the seal or lack there of, you could allow grit into the engine. I install a new filter. Leave it alone until it takes a couple more pulls for example to start or starts running low on power. Then pull her out and install a fresh one. Just trying to stop all this dirt from getting inside these engines. Even with grease, I pull a push mower Briggs filter and see nothing but dirt all inside the housing. Like why buy a filter if these are passing all this grit.


#11

R

Rivets

If you want to do it on your own equipment go ahead, but if you are in business NEVER on a customers unit, unless you have great liability insurance.


#12

S

slomo

Rivets said:
If you want to do it on your own equipment go ahead, but if you are in business NEVER on a customers unit, unless you have great liability insurance.
Click to expand...
Just a home owner.


#13

shurguywutt

shurguywutt

Anything more than heavy grease sounds like a waste of time. Even under heavy home use, it takes my oil so long to turn brown that I wonder if changing it every year is throwing money away. It probably is but whatever it gives me the feels, rock on bruhs.


#14

G

GearHead36

What kind of filter are we talking about here? Paper or foam? If foam, are you oiling it. A dry foam filter will let dirt by.


#15

S

slomo

GearHead36 said:
What kind of filter are we talking about here? Paper or foam? If foam, are you oiling it. A dry foam filter will let dirt by.
Click to expand...
Most pushers use a paper filter.

On one of my old Snapper pushers, has a round paper filter with a foam pre filter. I oiled (saturated) the pre filter and still had dirt past the filterS. Scalping is a filthy dirty job.

Only thing I can do is try gluing the filter down. Grease doesn't seem to be a 100% fix action either.


#16

StarTech

StarTech

Just which Brigg are we discussing here so know what filter setup the OP have?


#17

G

GearHead36

slomo said:
Most pushers use a paper filter.
Click to expand...
I have two push mowers. One has a paper filter, one has foam. The new small Briggs engines without chokes... have foam filters.


#18

S

slomo

Most


#19

O

oldebondo

I have been using a thin bead on silicone grease on my car air filters and some of my riders. Seems to pick up a lot of dust and cleans off with a rag. I recommend this to you gents.


#20

V

V-Tran

Good idea. I do something similar by cutting a piece of air conditioner foam, oversized to the filter and air filter cover and spray it with K&N air filter oil. I do this on my Little Wonder blower, push mower and tractor.


#21

C

chcub2024

Worked on this type of equipment for 42 years. Usualy when dirt gets past a filter it is due a poor filter or the housing is dented, twisted etc. Rather than tape or glue I have used 30wt oil on the sealing surfaces. Works every time and no damage is done in removing or replacing filters.

Good luck


#22

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

I can't get the air filter on my snowblower to seal.


#23

E

eagle86801

slomo said:
If I had to seal it I'd try rubber cement it will stick , easy to remove it and some debris will stick to it
Click to expand...



slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...


#24

W

wb3czi

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
Use "Seal 'N Peel" made by DAP and carried by all hardware stores and even Amazon.
I seal the gaps around my air conditioners and it peels right off when you want it to. Only problem is it comes in a caulking tube - but you CAN preserve the unused portion of you seal up the nozzle carefully.


#25

H

Honest Abe

since you already stated you've tried using "grease", how about using some "Lucus Red & Tacky"' or, good old fashion "Cosmoline".....

Attachments





#26

O

Old Gweilo

No expert I. That said, I somewhat suspect that these engines suffer the same fate as firearms do in that more damage is done through clumsy cleaning / maintenance efforts than anything else. Never mind the goo. Blow the filter housing / area clean "before" removing the dirty filter and then just replace the darn thing, (they're cheap). If the filter is clean there wouldn't be enough negative psi acting at the connections to allow ingress of debris. If your system is sucking air in through connection points, I dare say you're filter is way over due for replacement. Just sayin.


#27

G

gregboggess

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
Alien tape!


#28

G

Gord Baker

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
Some of the debris you find beneath the filter can come from the Crankcase breather depending on how it is routed.


#29

G

Gebo

I have a Honda riding mower from 1994. Every engine problem (I’ve had 2) I have had has been due to a clogged air filter. The filter looked perfectly clean as it had that foam filter covering it. when my engine started skipping or running funny I finally figured out. All I had to do was change my air filter. My regular schedule is every two years. I only use Honda OEM air filters.


#30

StarTech

StarTech

Hammermechanicman said:
I can't get the air filter on my snowblower to seal.
Click to expand...
Trying to pull someone leg here? As far as I know snowblowers don't have air filters or at that what I have read. I would be in some trouble if I start seeing snowblower here in the South.


#31

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

StarTech said:
Trying to pull someone leg here? As far as I know snowblowers don't have air filters or at that what I have read. I would be in some trouble if I start seeing snowblower here in the South.
Click to expand...
🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭


#32

O

Old Gweilo

Honest Abe said:
since you already stated you've tried using "grease", how about using some "Lucus Red & Tacky"' or, good old fashion "Cosmoline".....
Click to expand...
Unlikely, perhaps, but If trace amounts of something like this were aspirated when hot, I can't imagine it doing a carburetor much good once it cooled. Again, no expert I, but this would be just my luck if history were any indicator. :rolleyes:


#33

O

Old Gweilo

StarTech said:
Trying to pull someone leg here? As far as I know snowblowers don't have air filters or at that what I have read. I would be in some trouble if I start seeing snowblower here in the South.
Click to expand...

https://external-content.duckduckgo...ff6f4b1c25955798bfb435e501340c5e2e&ipo=images


#34

VRR.DYNDNS>BIZ

VRR.DYNDNS>BIZ

StarTech said:
Well since 2009 when I started doing repairs for others on lawn equipment I rarely seen a problem with filter; unless, the operators fail to change the filter when needed. Nearly all filters seal tightly. Now low quality filter are being sold via places like eBay, Amazon, and local flea markets. Any engine that are being dusted does have a filter side problem that needs resolving.

Now several years ago some handheld trimmer OEM tried going to just a screen on the air intake side claiming the engine could handle what ever got pass the screen. Didn't last too as the equipment didn't last too long either.

If I see dust in the air intake side I look for the filter sealing problems and usually find the filter is bad.
Click to expand...
I agree. I have been doing small engines for over 50 years. If installed properly, no issues found. What engine model are we taking about. There are a few that can be confusing where the filter can be put in upside down and the dirty side is facing the wrong way and filtering does not then work correctly.


#35

D

davis2

slomo said:
Clear GE 100% silicone in the caulking tube is super tough when removing. Course once the filter is causing starting/running issues, time to change it anyway. Why I was asking about a medium strength goo. Something that sticks tight but, could be, removed with effort.

Might try some GE silly-cone and see what happens. Thin bead is all it would take. Seal out all the grit and dirt possible. Start with a new filter and silly-cone it in place. Can't hurt anything once it has cured for a day.

Just thought about the filter cover closing if you use too much. Again a thin bead should be okay on most filter units. Just gluing the filter to the housing.
Click to expand...
Why not use a gasket? They are easily made, and can be reusable!


#36

R

RevB

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
Sounds obsessive.....


#37

R

RevB

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
What you want is Fugitive Glue, sometimes called Tack Snot or Booger Glue. It's the same stuff they use to place credit cards on the paper. It dries tacky, not sticky. Pulls right off.


#38

H

Honest Abe

RevB said:
What you want is Fugitive Glue, sometimes called Tack Snot or Booger Glue. It's the same stuff they use to place credit cards on the paper. It dries tacky, not sticky. Pulls right off.
Click to expand...
isn't that what we use to call Horse Snot....


#39

R

Rivets

Star, in my years of dealing with engines in our cold weather, if I’ve seen it once I’ve seen it a dozen times. The DIY guy takes a tiller engine and mounts it on a snow blower. Can’t understand why it won’t run in cold weather with a frosted up filter. Also, has carb problems even with no filter, due to the fact that the jet is too small. It ran fine when I swapped engines last summer?


#40

K

Kozzy

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
You could use a thin gasket made of silicone like what they use between your truck shell and the box or one sided tape that has a ⅛" felt check in crafts shop for supply...


#41

W

WACATTACK

Maybe panty hose material over filter housing then the cover.


#42

H

Honest Abe

WACATTACK said:
Maybe panty hose material over filter housing then the cover.
Click to expand...
you still wearing panty hose...lol


#43

S

slomo

WACATTACK said:
Maybe panty hose material over filter housing then the cover.
Click to expand...
Don't think so. Just looking to improve the filter seal is all. Trying to stop grit passing the filter.

What I am talking about mainly is that Briggs 491588S blue rectangle paper job. Common on Toro pushers and many more.

1730138136078.jpeg


#44

StarTech

StarTech

In that case I would recommend the Honda 17211-ZL8-023 filter or its aftermarket as it has a slight thick foam seal. I have switch all my customers over to it.


#45

The Maintenance Guy

The Maintenance Guy

slomo said:
Guessing most of these oil burner type engines are from poor air filters. Or not checking the oil prior to mowing. Talking about the first one.

You pull an air filter, looks pretty clean. There is always grit and lawn debris PAST the air filter. Don't care if you buy OEM Briggs filters or what. Sandy lawns and baggers are tough on mower engines.

My deal is I think I'm looking for some medium strength RTV. Something to gently glue the air filter to the housing, hoping nothing gets passed the air filter. I've done grease which is better than nothing. Feel a solid adhesive would be better. Run that filter till she has starting issues then replace as normal. Does this sound super wack or what? The more I think about it the more I wonder why we all are not doing this. Comments please........
Click to expand...
I remember on my 6 HP push mower I neglected the air filter for years. Well, I finally took a look and I’ve seen mouse nests less dense than the crud in it. Must have been 10 years anyway. I changed it and no problems after that. I bought a dozen aftermarket filters on Amazon and change it annually now. Good maintenance certainly helps, but a lot of equipment is tough enough to tolerate some neglect.


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