[Richard]

I am trying to r&r the air dessicant cartridge. The one in the tag wheel well that drys the air. I have bled all the air from the system, but the cartridge refuses to budge with the strap wrench I have. It has a plastic handle, duh, and the handle is bending.

What have you used, or observed in use for changing this filter?

[rheavn]

Richard,
Sounds like some one put it on much tighter than necessary. I block my coach in the raised position to give me more room to work. I remove mine with a strap wrench & had no problem. I only put it on "hand tight". By the way it is not necessary to remove air pressure from the system prior to removal. Sorry I don't have an alternative I have had to personally use.

Might look for a stronger strap wrench that you can put an extention handle on, but the tire can get in the way. I also have a very large set of channel locks I'd try. Last resort is driving a very long and large screwdriver through it.

[RussWhite]

There's not much that can be added to the good advice Steve gave. I think your best bet is upgrading your strap wrench to all metal. The ones with a metal handle and a metal band with bicycle links are very tough. You could even slip a small pipe over the handle to increase leverage. If you can, work toward the bottom of the filter as that end is stronger and less likely to crush under the force of the wrench. Personally, I would not use the long screwdriver last resort as I would be afraid of that not working either and ending up with a mangled mess that would never come off. My last resort would be to remove the wheel which should allow lots of access and tool length to turn it loose.
I had a couple oil filters installed by Charles Atlas that took very long levers and in the end deformed both the tool and the filters, but got them off. The next time was much easier as I put them on with minimal torque. Those scary times of not being able to get something loose really stick with you. I guess I have been luck, my desiccant filter came off with just a big strap wrench and no drama. Good Luck!

[folivier]

Richard, I have a strap wrench that uses a 1/2" ratchet for removing my oil filter. Think I got it at O'Reilly or Autozone.
That should give you more grunt, and you can use an extension with it in hard to reach areas.
Here you go: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail...ter+wrench

[RussWhite]

Hi Forest,

I have one of those in my bag of tricks. But, for a really tough filter it places much of the force inward at the location of the hex and crushes the filter at that point. Works great if the filter is not on super tight though and covers a wide range of diameters.

[rheavn]

Richard,
They also make a filter tool that is made like a ring compressor, I'm just not sure they make one as big as the dessicant filter. I use one on my oil filters due to space restrictions and you can use a 1/2" breaker bar. Here is a link to one that will do up to 5 5/32". Although I don't think that is big enough, maybe some one makes a bigger one.

http://www.tooltopia.com/kd-tools-2321w....=nextag_r1

[Richard]

I'll let you know how it goes. I have assembled my Channel Lock filter pliers, and some nylon webbing and breaker bars for the assualt.

Interesting that you do not have to bleed the air pressure.

Thanks for your ideas.

[Richard]

After multiple attempts, tools, and head scratching the recalcitrant cartridge is removed and replaced. In the end I used channel lock filter pliers. Not quite bit enough to span the diameter so I had to use hand grip pressure on the pliers to indent the cartridge before I started twisting.

I raised the coach as far up as possbile and cribbed it double. The only way I could get the necessary leverage was to stick my upper body in the tag wheel well. My arms were doing the Elvis when I finished.

A great big strap wrench was useless. It just slipped on the fliter. In hindsight I may have been able to stick some of those no slp treads to the filter, but that was just a thought.

[tuga]

Richard,

What did you lube the dessicant filter gasket with? I use engine oil & I only put it on hand tight. It works pretty good.

It is amazing how yucky the old filter looks inside when it is removed.

BTW, I like the Dayton height control valves!

[Richard]

After the fact, a mechanic at work gave me a useful tip. I was using a big strap wrench with a nylon strap. The strap would slip on the filter. He said to put a piece of rubber between the strap and the filter. Duh on my part.