Automobile air filter, commonly known as air filter element, is used to filter out impurities such as dust and sand suspended in the air, prevent them from entering the engine, and provide clean and sufficient air for the engine. To put it bluntly, it is like an engine's gas mask, allowing the engine to breathe cleanly, harmlessly, and smoothly.

What happens if the car doesn't have an air filter or the air filter doesn't filter well? As we all know, an engine is a very precise mechanical product, with gaps between its pistons, piston rings, and cylinder walls only a few tenths of a millimeter. If air is not filtered and sucked into the engine cylinder, impurities such as dust and gravel in the air will enter these gaps, accelerating the wear of these parts; If larger particles enter between the piston and cylinder, it can also cause serious "cylinder pulling" phenomenon. "This type of engine has a relatively short service life and can quickly experience symptoms such as severe engine oil burning, high exhaust emissions, and insufficient power. Generally, it is necessary to overhaul the engine.". After disassembly, it will be found that the interior of the engine is very dirty, with thick sludge and carbon deposits attached to the components. Generally, piston rings will be stuck by carbon deposits, resulting in severe cylinder wear, and a typical abrasive wear phenomenon of "large in the middle and small at both ends".

Generally, there are three types of air filters commonly used in automobiles: filtration type, inertia type, and oil bath type. According to different usage environments and operating conditions, we can choose different types of air filters, or use multi-level filtration. Ordinary household vehicles generally use simple single stage filtration air filters. Due to the harsh operating environment of trucks and various construction machinery, inertial and oil bath air filters with better filtering effects are commonly used, and most of them use multi-stage filtration.

The filter type air filter structure is very simple, that is, there is a metal or paper filter element inside a housing (paper filter elements are used more often), which will block and adhere impurities to the filter element when air flows through it. Its advantages are simple structure, convenient maintenance, and small intake resistance; The disadvantage is that the filtering effect is limited, and if the air filter is damaged, dust will directly enter the engine.

The size and throughput of the filter element are carefully calculated to ensure that the engine can obtain sufficient clean air. If the air filter element is too dense, the engine intake resistance increases, and the inflation efficiency decreases, which will affect the power performance; If the filter element is too loose, the filtering effect is not good, which can lead to abnormal engine wear. Therefore, air filters must use original or brand products with guaranteed quality, and it is not recommended to use by-products without guaranteed quality.

If the air filter is not maintained or replaced for a long time, the filter element will become full of dust and impurities in the air, reducing its filtering ability and impeding the flow of air. The insufficient intake of air into the engine will lead to excessive mixture concentration, resulting in insufficient engine power and high fuel consumption. Therefore, regular maintenance of the air filter is crucial. In a typical usage environment, blow with compressed air at 5000 kilometers and replace it at 10000 kilometers. If the use environment is particularly harsh and the dust is very heavy, then it is necessary to shorten the maintenance and use cycle, which depends on the specific use situation. It can take anywhere from two to three thousand kilometers to four or five thousand kilometers.

The maintenance and replacement of the air filter are very simple, and we can complete them ourselves. Generally, the air filter housing is fixed with steel wire clips, and we can open the housing and take out the filter element by pulling hard on these clips. When purging the air filter, the pressure of compressed air should not be too high, as long as two or three pressures are sufficient, and it must be blown from the reverse side to the front, never blow it backwards, otherwise its filtering performance will be reduced; In addition, the air filter can only be blown three times at most, and then it must be replaced, otherwise its filtering effect will become very poor.

In addition to air filters, there are several types of oil filters, gasoline filters, and air conditioning filters in automobiles, and their replacement intervals also have a great relationship with the operating environment. Generally, the oil filter is replaced together with the oil; There are two types of gasoline filters: internal and external. The external type is generally replaced once every 20000 kilometers, while the internal type can generally be used for more than 40000 kilometers; The air conditioner filter is very similar to the air filter, and its replacement cycle depends on the local air condition. Generally, it can be replaced once every 10000 kilometers.