RoadTripper2084 Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 (edited) Folks, with 2 weeks until our next adventure I decided now was the time to replace the air dryer desiccant filter and purge valve that I picked up last year. The filter that's on there says "Midland Grau", so I knew it might be original, or at least very old. That's why I was putting it off, I was expecting it not to go smoothly. Well, I was right. The filter itself came off easily but the collecting filter tube wouldn't come out the top. Finally using pliers it broke into pieces, with the bottom portion still stuck in the dryer assembly. Fun. So I guess I'm removing the entire dryer now. I managed to disconnect all the hoses except the main one that feeds from the compressor to the dryer. For the life of me I can't see a way to disconnect the hose without twisting the hose itself all up? Here's a picture: I was trying to get the nut the green arrow is pointing at to loosen but only managed to move the elbow-adapter below it around a bit. Then using two wrenches, one to hold the elbow-adapter, I still wasn't getting anywhere with it. Is that the correct place to attempt to remove that hose from the dryer? All suggestions are welcomed. I need to get the dryer off, obviously, so I can either clean it up or replace it. Edited July 15 by RoadTripper2084 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narrlee Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I’d hook wrench’s to the steel side (arrow) and then remove at the brass flange that’s attached to the hose did you try any spray to loosen it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution Chuck H Posted July 15 Solution Share Posted July 15 2X On using penetrative oil and let it soak in for several hours. You can also try a little heat that's what I had to do when changing my drier. Good luck 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klcdenver Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Use penetrant on it and a line wrench so you don’t round the shoulders on the nut. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I don't like the looks of that kink on the airline either! Looks like it is too short, but, it has to be a minimum length, so there's probably extra out of sight of your picture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadTripper2084 Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 Thanks everyone. Penetrating oil wasn't doing it but my trusty butane torch did. I was able to keep the elbow segment from loosening further by bracing a crescent wrench on it against the dryer, and with a large 1" wrench was able to get the heated flange to loosen. Unfortunately the braided air hose got further kinked about another rotation before the flange loosened enough to turn in place without twisting the hose as well. Here's how the hose looks afterwards: Do you think it will recover/not collapse when air pressure is applied, or should I be planning on getting a new hose? So my dryer kit contains a coalescent filter with a bottom end that looks like this: An o-ring goes around the channel there at the bottom of the filter (top in the photo). My kit is for a Midland Pure Air Plus dryer, like this: But now that I have the dryer off and can see down the top, here the broken off section of the original coalescent filter remains, it doesn't seem to have that tapered section at the bottom with the o-ring? I have tugged on ring you can see below with pliers and haven't been able to get it to budge. I'm think given the sad state of this thing that a new dryer might be a good idea. Can anyone suggest a source for a suitable replacement? Budget is an issue at the moment due to me being employment challenged (and not retired, sadly), so a "cheap knockoff" will suffice. I do need to be able to get my hands on it quickly, as well. I have to say, I'm starting to regret tackling this today, I wasn't having any moisture or leak issues, was just trying to catch it up as I knew it was old. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 (edited) I'd replace that hose! Unfortunately, you have an old coach, and are playing in an expensive game! Edited July 16 by 96 EVO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadTripper2084 Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 I've decided to swap out the OEM Midland Grau Pure Air Plus dryer with a much more common (these days) and inexpensive to purchase and maintain Wabco System Saver 1200 unit, $89 CDN with 2 day shipping from Amazon, amazing. I can resell my Midland Pure Air Plus kit (still sealed) on eBay and probably recover more than this unit is costing me. Then there's no concern in the future with the coalescent filter failing and spreading bits throughout my air system either. Looks like I'll need to fabricate some kind of mounting plate for it, and I'm going to pick up a new, slightly longer air hose from the compressor to the dryer as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck H Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I too can respect budget constraints but a cheap knockoff could and probably will leave you stranded somewhere. Whichever brand you decide on consider OEM and consider it a good insurance policy. Just my 2cents. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis.mcdonaugh Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 (edited) On 7/15/2024 at 8:51 PM, RoadTripper2084 said: I've decided to swap out the OEM Midland Grau Pure Air Plus dryer with a much more common (these days) and inexpensive to purchase and maintain Wabco System Saver 1200 unit, $89 CDN with 2 day shipping from Amazon, amazing. I can resell my Midland Pure Air Plus kit (still sealed) on eBay and probably recover more than this unit is costing me. Then there's no concern in the future with the coalescent filter failing and spreading bits throughout my air system either. Looks like I'll need to fabricate some kind of mounting plate for it, and I'm going to pick up a new, slightly longer air hose from the compressor to the dryer as well. I don't think you can buy a real Wabco for that price. It's probably a Chinese knock-off, but people have reported mixed experiences with them. There are lots of them on Amazon and they say something like "Replaces Meritor Wabco 1200 series 955300" They do not say they are Wabco dryers. Edited July 17 by dennis.mcdonaugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadTripper2084 Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Oh it's certainly a cheap knockoff! I'm fascinated to see what it's like, to be honest. Should arrive sometime tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 (edited) I've been running a US built knockoff for several years now. So far-so good! I do run genuine Wabco filters on it though! Edited July 17 by 96 EVO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadTripper2084 Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 Well, that was fun. So the Wabco unit I received turned out to be an asian model I think, all the ports were metric. I'm in Canada so not the end of the world, spent 1/2 day travelling around the "trucker central" area of town hunting down fittings and such that would work. I now know where all the good places are for hydraulic hoses and other big rig related items, so that's a plus. Unfortunately, once I got the new unit under the rig I quickly realized that it wasn't going to fit in the location my original did, not without extending several existing hoses. Because I would also need to create a mounting bracket for the new dryer it was going to be a fair amount of new work, and frankly I was running low on time to dedicate to this at the moment. So I reverted to plan C, which was to go back to my original dryer and see if I could get the broken filter out and clean it up enough to feel okay putting it back in service. With the addition of several new tools to my kit I was finally able to get the bottom of the coalescing filter out of the unit. The plastic had really stuck to the metal ring over the years. Now that I've seen how it fits together it's no big deal but at the time I wasn't sure which part was the removable filter and which was metal belonging to the dryer, and I didn't want to destroy the dryer in the process. So a bit finicky. I then fished out the bits of shattered coalescing filter and then rinsed out the entire unit and scrubbed as much as I could with cloths, etc. I came out pretty clean in the end. Before I started down this journey my dryer had been working fine, I had no moisture issues in my tanks, and once I removed it there was no rust or slime or anything really, so I probably could have left it. I know it was old because it was caked in grease being flung off the u-joints next to it over the years, and the filter itself was still labelled "Midland Grau", which AFIK is a name that hasn't been used in many years. However, the coalescing filter, though intact, was very brittle and disintegrated as soon as I tried to pull it out, so I guess it was fortunate to get it out of there before it made a large mess all over my air system. The kit I purchased off Amazon included the desiccant and coalescing filters, and a new over-pressure release valve, and a new cover and gasket for the purge valve (but strangely, no purge valve itself). This was about $220 Cdn I believe (purchased last year). I have found that you can purchase a complete factory refurbished Wabco System Saver 1200 unit for $220 Cdn (with $100 core credit for one you turn in if you have it). So for the same money you can replace the entire dryer if using Wabco. Even so, when things go as planned, it is much simpler to replace the two filters than remove and re-install the entire dryer. Oh, I was able to fix up the twisted end of my stainless supply hose and it is working fine, no leaks, good output. A quick price check on that hose and it seemed like it could be $400 or more to replace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Well that sucks your air lines don't reach! You can relocate the dryer, but, the line from the compressor to the dryer has to have a downhill slope, and there is a minimum length to ensure the air is cooled enough before it reaches the dryer. Air coming out of the compressor is very hot! Edited July 22 by 96 EVO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadTripper2084 Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Yeah, it was a bit disappointing. Many of the people that have swapped over to the System Saver 1200 have also relocated it as part of the process. I'm nowhere near that motivated so now that I've got a refreshed dryer in place will likely never look at it again, er, I mean simply change the filters every 3 years. If the filter had come out in one piece it would have been a simple job. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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