Missing air filter mystery - why?

Nick Burnham

Nick Burnham

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I've been talking to someone recently about a small late nineties boat that's for sale. This chap is buying it for a fairly good price because it's been a bit unloved of late and wants bringing back up (usual story, owner hasn't had the time to use it and it has sat unused for quite a while, a year or more possibly).

It appears the boat has been serviced regularly up until the time it stopped being used. It is now well overdue a service (budgeted for), however the oil still looks very clean, everything is up to the marks, so it appears it has hardly been used (if at all) since the last service.

But here is the strange thing. The air filter is missing (not sure if he means the element, or the whole thing). Which strikes me as odd. The boat has been serviced (albeit not recently), hasn't been used, and its hardly the sort of thing you accidentally lose, its bolted to the engine. You'd have to deliberately remove it.

So my question is - why? Is there a reason, or a problem, that would result in someone deciding to remove and discard an engine air filter? The engine is a small Volvo turbo diesel. I don't know the engine hours but wouldn't imagine its high given the history of the boat.

It just seems a really odd thing to 'go missing' on its own.

Any thoughts?
 
When you think about it there really is not much need for an air filter in most cases on a boat anyway, it's not that you are in a dusty/unclean atmosphere.

Fit one by all means but it will do fine without it, may even go better.
 
Firefly625 said:
probably someone took it home to put it in a tray of paraffin to clean it out....it just never got bought back to the boat ?
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Here is a thought........ 3 years ago I bought a Sea Ray 515 with Volvo TAMD 74 engines from a Broker in Porta Banus. It had been in his stock for 4 years. I paid him hugely less than he wanted for it, and carried out an oil and filter change before doing the 420 miles back to Sant Carles.

The boat ran fine, but WOT speed and RPM was well down on Spec. I have carried out other repairs replacements which I knew would need doing after 4 years of no use (battery replacements, fuel bug and filters, bilge pump float switches etc) and have this Spring tackled the WOT issues.

Simple answer, air filters looked fine, but a build up of moisture, fungis or whatever meant they were robbing the boat of 700 rpm.

Maybe the boat you are looking at suffered the same, and it was cheper / easier to remove than replace. I know my new filters cost me 388 Euros.

Graham
 
LittleSister said:
As a variation on Firefly's suggestion - I remember reading that as part of winterising an engine, remove air filter and plug intake with a cloth (to keep moist air out). Perhaps this was done, and air filter mislaid before engine came to be dewinterised.
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The tip is good, but I once almost wrote off a Turbo, as an engineer had cut a polythene disc, and replaced the filter and cover without telling me!!
Perhaps leaving the filter out is a good option...
 
Dill et Bound said:
The tip is good, but I once almost wrote off a Turbo, as an engineer had cut a polythene disc, and replaced the filter and cover without telling me!!
Perhaps leaving the filter out is a good option...
Click to expand...

We didn't have an air filter on our old lister hr4w in our previous boat. The dorades to the engine room were screened so little outside could. Get in.

I considerered fitting one. Spoke to an engineer - the filter can help cut noise but that engine was so loud, despite all the lead and heavy wood over it, he doubted it would make a difference.
 
need to employ Shelock Holmes mentality , eliminate the possibilities and whatever is left is the culprit

we had a suzuky 40 2 stoke , still have,going to be up for sale, i digress , no filter in the filter case well I went through hand book , manual , rang several dealers , augued with several dealers that there was a box so should be an element , turns out they didnt fit from one new . Go figure. I still am not sure and am ready to argue there should be one !
 
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FWIW, my 2 IVECOs 8061SRM22 (if I got the # right...) do have a perforated cylindrical filter casing, BUT nothing inside. When I asked couple of years ago, was told that's the filter, no element inside...

cheers

V.
 
macnorton said:
Boats don't need an element as the sea is not a dusty place?
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What ?? You must be joking!!! Ever seen the engine bay on a kad series Volvo or changed the air filters on these engines along with the tamd series with breather filters ? An engine bay is a real dirty place especially on older boats where the sound proofing is falling apart making its way inside the filter housing .
 
volvopaul said:
What ?? You must be joking!!! Ever seen the engine bay on a kad series Volvo or changed the air filters on these engines along with the tamd series with breather filters ? An engine bay is a real dirty place especially on older boats where the sound proofing is falling apart making its way inside the filter housing .
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1972 engine bay (quite old but not a real dirty place) no air filters just flame traps, for a bay to get in a mess its badly designed or poorly maintained. If oil mist gets out the breather system is poor, if the belts produce dust they are worn out and should have been replaced likewise sound-proofing.

Not seen that many of the Tamd engine bays, are they really that bad?
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