About a week ago, my BHAF began to come apart where the filter element joins to the rubber base. The paper shredded, and bits of filter wound up in my turbo and the pre-intercooler hose. The Fleetguard, NAPA, Baldwin, Donaldson, et. al., filters are essentially the same construction and manufacture, and all may be subject to the problem I encountered. <br><br>As pointed out by others, however, there is a BHAF alternative -- a &quot;marine&quot; version of Fleetguard's AH19037, p/n AH19004. I e-mailed Fleetgaurd asking for a comparison between the two. I told them that I was specifically interested in whether:<br><br>(a) the filter had an internal wire mesh to check filter media flexing and possible breakage and shredding, and <br>(b) whether the flow characteristics of the filter material were different. <br><br>Here's the response I received: <br><br>&quot;Thank you for contacting Fleetguard.<br><br>Below is information on the two air filter housings you reference. The marine version of this assembly has metal mesh reinforcement on both sides of the media, and is structurally stonger both in the media, and at the joins. The filter media in the AH19004 is constructed of a woven polyfiber material that maintains the high level of effective filtration of the AH19037, but has a significantly higher flow rate. This material is also effective when wet. In addition, the AH19004 has been tested for flow characteristics in a range of environments, and will maintain the same flow in wider temperature and humidity bands than the AH19037. <br><br><br> PRODUCT INFORMATION<br> Part No : AH1903700<br>---------------------------------------------------------------------<br> DEFINITION AND MAIN DIMENSIONS<br><br> Part Type AIR FILTER HOUSING<br> Configuration HOUSING<br> Flow Directio OUTSIDE/IN<br><br><br> Part Function HOUSING<br> END OPENING HEIGHT 1.38 in<br> END OPENING INSIDE DIAMETER 4 in<br> OVERALL HEIGHT 11.88 in<br> HOUSING OUTSIDE DIAMETER 10.5 in<br><br>FILTRATION, MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND TEST STANDARDS<br> CAPACITY 825 g SAE J726<br> INITIAL EFFICIENCY 98 % SAE J726<br> FINAL EFFICIENCY 99.9 % SAE J726<br> RATED FLOW 687 ft3/min<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br> PRODUCT INFORMATION<br><br> Part No : AH1900400<br>----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br> DEFINITION AND MAIN DIMENSIONS<br><br> Part Type AIR FILTER HOUSING<br> Configuration HOUSING<br> Flow Direction OUTSIDE/IN<br><br> Part Function HOUSING<br> END OPENING HEIGHT 1.38 in<br> END OPENING INSIDE DIAMETER 4 in<br> OVERALL HEIGHT 11.88 in<br> HOUSING OUTSIDE DIAMETER 10.5 in<br><br> FILTRATION, MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND TEST STANDARDS<br>CAPACITY 830 g<br>INITIAL EFFICIENCY 98 %<br>FINAL EFFICIENCY 99.9 %<br>RATED FLOW 918.19 ft3/min<br><br>HIGH TEMP 235 F°<br>LOW TEMP -20 F°<br>HIGH HUMIDITY 98%<br>LOW HUMIDITY 1%<br>This information is subject to change. <br><br>If we can be of further assistance to you, please feel free to<br>contact your Fleetguard Customer Assistance Center or send a<br>message to FleetMaster.<br><br>Please visit our homepage often at http://www.fleetguard.com<br><br>Sincerely,<br><br>Fleetguard FleetMaster&quot;<br><br>So, at 918.2 f3/min the AH19004 flows about 230 f3/min more than the AH19037. This is interesting as it seems to make the &quot;solid element&quot; AH19004 more reasonably competitive with oiled high-flow/lower filtration filters like the K&amp;N RE-0880 (971.1 f3/min) and the AFE 20-40044 (1004.4 f3/min), that may violate warranties and/or may not be as effective in fine dusts. <br><br>It is also interesting to note that Fleetguard concludes that temperature and humidity significantly affect the flow characteristics of a filter. I have not seen information on how the oiled filters like the K&amp;N and the AFE are influenced by these factors. <br><br>There are, however, two significant drawbacks to the AH19004. The filter is not re-usable after cleaning, and it retails for approximately $120 at Fleetguard and Cummins distributors. Nevertheless, I think it's worth adding the information about this filter to DTR's tech facts section on BHAF's. <br><br>GP<br><br><br>

 

Somebody's stringing somebody along, somewhere in this subject. Don't know who, though.

I called an asked a Fleetguard tech about the AH19037 and AH19004 versions a while back. The tech knew about the internal &quot;cage&quot;, but did not know about filter materials or flow characteristics. He checked with their engineering department and called me back with the following information:

All marine filters are waterproof by virtue of their application. In an &quot;emergency&quot;, they can be washed out with water and a mild detergent, although Fleetguard does not recommend this. Therefore, the filter media in the marine AH19004 is different than that of an AH19037. It's a &quot;non-absorbant microsynthetic&quot;; I think that's the phrase he used.

Flow characteristics of the marine AH19004 are different from the AH19037 because of the different filter media. The marine filter flows more air than the standard version.

That seems to support Gear Poet's story, and not what the Fleetguard tech told RDietze on TDR. ???

I tell you, though, I wonder about the &quot;unsupported&quot; paper filter media hanging above my spinning turbo blades at 30 lbs boost when it's been raining and the paper is a bit soggy. Seems like the marine filter is a better way to go, except for the cost.

I.