[condor]

@Mpower, no problem there. I wonder how it works, though.

[Mpower]

I think it measures the vacuum but not sure exactly how.

But does your Sumo have it and what was it reading before and after you cleaned it??

[condor]

Wonder if either of these can be a stock replacement filter. But no feedback/review about the Napa Pro-Select one.

Napa ProSelect

E-1008 - K&N Replacement Filters, Replacement Air Filter

And not able to find the BMC / Green equivalent of the K&N. Both are 13.125" long. Abosultely no details available for the Napa Proselect filter.

Mpower : I think it measures the vacuum but not sure exactly how.

Cant be measuring vacuum. It's in the path of the filtered air.

Mpower : But does your Sumo have it and what was it reading before and after you cleaned it??

Yes, it does. And I have never seen it go into the red band. And this particular filter that is currently in use is about 30k + old.

[condor]

Alternator serviced/overhauled, after I found the tacho getting stuck occasionally. Resolved.
Cost: Rs 2700 (excl tax)

Found a little foul smell from a/c the last two times I had used it. Also, a/c cooling seemed reduced. Had asked it to be checked, and is resolved.

Servicing ka Side effect: load on engine with a/c engaged seems to have reduced. Will confirm next week.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by condor

Found a little foul smell from a/c the last two times I had used it. ... Had asked it to be checked, and is resolved.

How did they resolve this? I face the same issue on my car. Was there some residue in the ducts which caused the smell, or was it something else?

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

How did they resolve this? I face the same issue on my car. Was there some residue in the ducts which caused the smell, or was it something else?

Most likely a dead skunk.

On a somewhat more serious note, it will be due to fungus build-up over time. Its a common problem with AC systems over time.

[condor]

@Maggie, RCA turned out blank. The skunk never came near, or so it seems

@Benny, the SA said nothing was done. And I did not find any problems during the trip I did in the earlier part of the week.


I had been to Sringeri on Monday & returned on wednesday. 750 km for the full round trip. 67 liters of diesel, working out to only 11.19 kmpl. FE is on the lower side, but the route had a lot of bad roads and fair amount of ghat sections.

On the plus side, and in a slightly mysterious way, the truck feels freer than before when using the A/c. The only change was the alternator servicing that was done last week. The load on moving from stand-still and with a/c engaged has reduced considerably. I asked my SA, but he said nothing was done to the a/c setup.

[condor]

Continuing my quest for a better filter...

I had posted pictures of the OE filter & casing on post 161 here .

My research so far for a better filter set up for the Sumo have revolved around using the stock /OE filter + filter casing from the Safari / Scorp instead of the Sumo's OE filter. This could have been followed up with a replacement performance filter in place of the OE filter.

But the search for something better was always there. And like I had done with the filter for the Ikon, did a search and found similarly sized filters:

1. BMC's 215/13
Lowest two prices: GBP 38.69 and GBP 46.42
Shipping extra.

Web Page with the picture of the actual filter:



2. Green G491613
price quoted here is GBP 53.99.
Shipping extra.

http://www.green-filter.co.uk/produc...ucts_id=203720




Both fit the Merc A-class W-168 (1997-2001) / Vaneo (2002-05). The engine listed for these models is the OM 668 941, with power output at either 66HP / 90 HP (depending on whether it is the CDI160 or the CDI170).


OE Filter Dimensions:
Length: 333mm
Inner Dia: 70mm
Outer Dia of filter: 148mm (approx)
Inner dia of filter casing: 160mm (approx)

Gap between filter & casing: approx 6mm




If I were to use the BMC/ Green:
Length: 333mm
Inner Dia: 64mm or 65mm (depending on the make, but both are quite similar to the OE filter's Inner Dia).

Outer Dia: 104 mm (compare this with the 148mm Outer dia of the OE filter).




Gap between outer surface of the BMC/Green filter & inner surface of the filter casing: 22 mm - an increase of 15-16 mm space all around for air to flow to the filter !

Using a BMC / Green filter can give a double benefit:
1. the filter element, and
2. more space around the filter element & inside the filter casing for air to flow.



So, should I ?

[condor]

Truck's come up with a sychro-gear problem. Gear Shifts esp to 1st are not as smooth as earlier. Feel a certain kat-kat noise/movement when I engage 1st gear & move from stand-still.

Originally Posted by condor

On the plus side, and in a slightly mysterious way, the truck feels freer than before when using the A/c. The only change was the alternator servicing that was done last week.

While checking my service history, found that the alternator had been replaced under warranty about a year back - late 2009. I dont remember the extra load when using the a/c during the early years, and now it has again disappeared. So it was likely that the alternator replacement had something to do with this. May be not fitted correctly ?

[condor]

BMC 215/13 is out. The internal dia of this filter is about 65mm. The minimum required for the filter box my Sumo has is 68-70mm.

Two reasons why this filter wont work:
1. Inner dia of filter must be larger than dia of outlet duct. Fails here. Outlet pipe/duct is 68mm

2. If you notice the last 2 pics in post 173 above, there is a square metal piece at the center of the pic. This square piece is actually the top part of a long folded metal strip. The two ends of this strip are welded to the opp end to the air filter box. This strip helps (at the far end) to hold the filter in place; and, on this top end (which we can see) has a nut which is used to fix the top of the filter box after the filter is put inside.
Due to the dimensions, the BMC filter will not sit correctly but will instead leave a 3mm gap before the bottom end of the filter can.

So now, the next option is to check if I can use the filter + box of the Scorp or the Safari.

[condor]

Truck completed 64000 km in 64 months. Had a routine oil change done, last one being about approximately 6 months ago / 58500km . Continuing with Mobil Delvac MX 15W40.

Other problems resolved:
1. Gear lever had vertical play. Required one new bush. Had initially thought it was a synchro gear problem, but was not so.

2. Coolant leakage from a joint in one of the pipes. Resolved.

3. Replaced Oil & Oil filter.

[AVR]

Originally Posted by condor

On the plus side, and in a slightly mysterious way, the truck feels freer than before when using the A/c. The only change was the alternator servicing that was done last week. The load on moving from stand-still and with a/c engaged has reduced considerably. I asked my SA, but he said nothing was done to the a/c setup.

I have had the same feeling off late since I got the alternator serviced. The load on the engine with/without AC has reduced. It must be something to do with the effort of running the alternator being a lesser drain on the engine post the service. Been thinking about it past few days and after seeing your post it seems like a confirmation.

Adi

[condor]

@AVR, while I did think that there was connection between the load from the a/c compressor and the alternator, it is not so. I checked with my SA again today, and he confirmed that no such relationship should be there.

[AVR]

^^^^
Then why would it happen. No other parameters of my vehicle (and yours) have changed and the only change is a serviced alternator. Surely not a placebo effect either because placebos work when you expect a relationship in the first place. This correlation came as a surprise as such.

[condor]

After recent attempts to work on replacing the OE air filter & can, thought about modifying the stock air filter.

The idea was to at least increase the surface area of the filter element. Reason: look at the filter on the right side in the pic below. That is the design of the OE / stock filter. A full metal sheet with holes drilled in it for air to pass through. This sheet is seen both inside & outside, and vastly reduces the surface area of the filter element. While the inside cannot be modified, I wanted to cut the metal sheet that was on the outside.



Went to the Bosch spares outlet on Siddaiah road to get a new filter (as standby till I tried to implement my idea). But what do I find ? Bosch already has a much better design than the OE filter I was using. (See the new filter in the pic above).


A view of the filter inside:


The paper element also looks different. I dont know if this design change is related to the news about Bosch tying up with Man-Hummell filters.

Have not driven much with the new filter. Should be able to give an update in a couple of weeks.

One thing I did learn: try for parts outside the A.S.S. There may be some good stuff available to you.