Removing 8V71 Turbo Air Filter Element from a MC-9??

[Highway Yacht]

I'm doing a little bit of PM work today on my newly purchased 79 MC-9 like changing fuel filters, and oil & oil filter. I also want to pull my air filter and check it but can't seem to find an easy way to get to it. Not sure if it is the stock air filter setup since a Turbo Charged 8V71 was installed a few years back by the PO. The current setup is that the air filter canister is sitting over the muffler. The top of the canister is up against the floor of the bus so I can't take the lid off to pull the element out. The only way I see that I can pull out the element is to completely remove all the hoses and then remove the canister from the bracket and pull the complete unit out and then remove the element. Is that a normal set-up and normal way to change the element??  Also, I can't seem to see where the canister pulls fresh air in. I see the 6" outlet going back towards the turbo and a small opening at the bottom of the canister with a small rubber boot on it. Any help would be appreciated..

[buswarrior]

Yes, you need to remove the whole thing from the coach.

And undo all those fasteners...

And put it all back together, wrestling with those steel bands. Grabbing the band edges with a pair of vice grips as you try to put in the bolts helps.

Have a look inside the radiator cavity, you'll find the intake.

Feel free to begin designing your own upgrade to something from the truck junk yard that the filter is aimed out the door and three clips lets it fall out.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Highway Yacht]

Yes, you need to remove the whole thing from the coach.

And undo all those fasteners...

And put it all back together, wrestling with those steel bands. Grabbing the band edges with a pair of vice grips as you try to put in the bolts helps.

Have a look inside the radiator cavity, you'll find the intake.

Feel free to begin designing your own upgrade to something from the truck junk yard that the filter is aimed out the door and three clips lets it fall out.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

Thanks for the reply. You better believe I'll look into designing a different setup. I've got a 1989 RTS too, that I can change the element in less that 3 minutes. I can only imagine how long it will take me to change it on the MC-9.. Maybe an hour???