Aria air cleaner

[Rgmarino]

Does anyone know how to change the air cleaner on an aria 3401

[m1noel]

If it is like the 3901, there is a panel held on with 4 screws in the outside power compartment. If you remove the panel, you can access the clamps. That's as far as I have looked at it.
Mike

[Rgmarino]

Yes I made it that far , but that basically does nothing , I think it’s going to be a week long project

[m1noel]

Please let me know how it goes.

[Rgmarino]

That project will start next week

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by Rgmarino

Does anyone know how to change the air cleaner on an aria 3401

Yes, and I typed in a complete description last night and hit the submit, but it appears to be lost.

I will try again later

JohnK

[Treynolds03]

I hope its not to bad.
Are the fuel filters hard to get to?

[JohnK]

My experience changing the air filter on a 2017 Thor Aria 3901, with the Cummins ISB 6.7 diesel engine and a Racor
094973004 air filter. Your model may have a different configuration.

Disclaimer: my experience may not translate to another individual with different life and work knowledge. In my
opinion do not attempt this if you have back issues, do not like working in confined space or do not have access to
various tools that will be needed in order to swap out the air filter.

Note: These engine/transmission assemblies are built on a stand and then put in place, therefore the assembly person
places the direction of clamp screws and nuts in such a way as to make their job easier(most likely yours will be like mine
and difficult to remove the first time). I now have them facing in such a way that it is much easier to work on.

During the air filter change I did not lower the air suspension, rather I lowered the back jacks and raised it up about
one inch to make it easier to roll under and out on my creeper.

In order to release the strap clamps that hold the filter, you will need to remove the approx. 10"x10" access panel that is
located in the electrical connection bay. Four self-tapping screws hold the metal plate in place, remove the screws and
the plate, do not release the clamps at this time.

I found it easiest to roll under the RV from the backend. I first release the two spring loaded band clamps that are
on the side of the filter housing, this is the filter outlet and engine intake connection. It is a heavy rubber sleeve
that connects the two. Do not run the nuts completely off the band clamps. At this time it is best to get the rubber
sleeve to move, you can pry against the filter to get it to move and then turn the sleeve and get it to move toward the
engine.

Now comes the real fun part, getting to the upper band clamp, this a worm drive type band clamp. It has a straight blade
slot for a screw driver and a hex for a nut driver. I could not use a nut driver the first time because of the direction
the clamp was placed in. I sat up on my creeper to reach to the top of the filter to be able to loosen the clamp.

Now it is time to release the filter housing band clamps, these are the two that are reachable thru the access panel removed
earlier, when releasing be cautious of the mouse trap affect upon release the clamp. I now bend these heavy duty straps
out a bit to give room for the filter removal. Now you can pull down and twist the filter to get it off the top hose connection,
you may have to try and pry at the top of the filter also.

Once removed I removed the heavy rubber hose connector from the engine side, cleaned the inside edge and rearranged the
clamps so that the nuts would be accessible from the bottom and toward the front of the RV. I also cleaned the inside of
the top hose. Before putting in the replacement filter I applied silicone grease to the inside of the hoses and to the lip
of the flanges on the air filter, this made removal the next time much easier.

My first attempt at taking out the filter was about 4 hours, the second time took 1 hour, the last time I had it out and
replaced in less than an hour.

And to note the fuel filter is easy on the other side of the engine.

[JohnK]

My experience changing the air filter on a 2017 Thor Aria 3901, with the Cummins ISB 6.7 diesel engine and a Racor 094973004 air filter. Your model may have a different configuration.

Disclaimer: my experience may not translate to another individual with different life and work knowledge. In my opinion do not attempt this if you have back issues, do not like working in confined space or do not have access to various tools that will be needed in order to swap out the air filter.

Note: These engine/transmission assemblies are built on a stand and then put in place, therefore the assembly person places the direction of clamp screws and nuts in such a way as to make their job easier(most likely yours will be like mine and difficult to remove the first time). I now have them facing in such a way that it is much easier to work on.

During the air filter change I did not lower the air suspension, rather I lowered the back jacks and raised it up about one inch to make it easier to roll under and out on my creeper.

In order to release the strap clamps that hold the filter, you will need to remove the approx. 10"x10" access panel that is located in the electrical connection bay. Four self-tapping screws hold the metal plate in place, remove the screws and the plate, do not release the clamps at this time.

I found it easiest to roll under the RV from the backend. I first release the two spring loaded band clamps that are on the side of the filter housing, this is the filter outlet and engine intake connection. It is a heavy rubber sleeve
that connects the two. Do not run the nuts completely off the band clamps. At this time it is best to get the rubber sleeve to move, you can pry against the filter to get it to move and then turn the sleeve and get it to move toward the engine.

Now comes the real fun part, getting to the upper band clamp, this a worm drive type band clamp. It has a straight blade slot for a screw driver and a hex for a nut driver. I could not use a nut driver the first time because of the direction the clamp was placed in. I sat up on my creeper to reach to the top of the filter to be able to loosen the clamp.

Now it is time to release the filter housing band clamps, these are the two that are reachable thru the access panel removed earlier, when releasing be cautious of the mouse trap affect upon release the clamp. I now bend these heavy duty strapsout a bit to give room for the filter removal. Now you can pull down and twist the filter to get it off the top hose connection, you may have to try and pry at the top of the filter also.

Once removed I removed the heavy rubber hose connector from the engine side, cleaned the inside edge and rearranged the clamps so that the nuts would be accessible from the bottom and toward the front of the RV. I also cleaned the inside of the top hose. Before putting in the replacement filter I applied silicone grease to the inside of the hoses and to the lip of the flanges on the air filter, this made removal the next time much easier.

My first attempt at taking out the filter was about 4 hours, the second time took 1 hour, the last time I had it out and replaced in less than an hour.

And to note the fuel filter is easy on the other side of the engine.

[Rgmarino]

Thanks John I was really hoping that it would be an easy filter swap out like my last diesel pusher but ha ha got me fooled . Thanks for the instructions.

[Mark Burgess]

Any suggestions on the best place to acquire the filter?

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by Mark Burgess

Any suggestions on the best place to acquire the filter?

https://www.dieselfiltersonline.com/ Is how I got mine.

JohnK

[Zitro]

I cut a second 6”x10” access panel above the factory access panel in the rear drivers side compartment. This gives me easy access to the upper clamp of the air filter. I no longer have to try to sit up under the RV to access the upper clamp. Why didn’t Thor do this for us in the first place?

[NMRVer]

Zitro,

Thanks for the tip about cutting another opening. What a difference, can change the filter in 30 mins without a problem.

Expanding on your idea, I used a screwed in metal hinge so it can be close/open, and hasp for locking.

Thanks it was/is a great idea.

[Zitro]

NMRVer,

I'm glad the tip worked for you.
It really makes changing the air filter a whole lot easier.
I like your idea of a hinged access door... I may try that.
Happy Motoring.