Replacing the air filter in a 1980 Shasta motorhome.

    Changing the air filter on most vehicles is a five minute job. Pop the hood, unscrew the wing nut holding down the air filter cover (some covers may be secured differently) and remove the cover, take out the old filter and drop in a new one, then simply screw the cover back down and close the hood. Job done. Chevrolet designed the Shasta Mini Motorhome a little differently than most vehicles, though. It's a bit more difficult to actually get at the air filter to replace it. Not impossible, of course. Just more difficult.

Tools and materials needed:
- Phillips head screw driver
- 1/2'' socket
- One new air filter
Total time required:
- One hour (your mileage may vary)

    The engine cover is located inside the cab of the motorhome and must be removed in order to replace the air filter. This cover is made up of two sections and both will need to be removed. Two straps, one on either side, help hold this cover in place. To loosen them, pull the end of the strap closest to you away from the motor cover. I think they're called "tension latch," or "spring latch" (or something like that). All you need to do at this point is loosen them.

    Two half inch bolts are located at the base of the motor cover and must be loosened and removed. These bolts screw down into the floor of the motorhome and, at least in my case, were located beneath the carpet covering the lower part of the motor cover (I'm using the terms "motor cover" and "engine cover" interchangeably). The carpet wasn't fastened down and could easily be lifted away and pushed to the side to reveal the head of the bolt. You may need to run your fingers down along the carpet seam to find out exactly where these bolts are positioned. They're recessed so you won't be able to get a grip on them with anything other than a socket (half inch in my case).

    Next, there are two Phillips head screws that fasten the top part of the engine cover to the bottom part. They're easy to see and easy to remove (relatively speaking).

Two more screws to go...

    The last two screws holding the engine cover in place are located behind the ashtray lid. You'll need to open the ashtray lid about halfway in order to get access to them. Once these screws have been removed, both sections of the motor cover are free and can be pulled away from the motor. Pull the top half back slowly away from the motor. As you pull the cover back, you'll probably notice a red 12-volt wire running to the cigarette lighter. This wire connects to the cigarette lighter by means of a small plastic plug that fastens into the lighter itself. The plug can be removed by gently pulling both two arms away from the cigarette lighter casing. Once the cigarette lighter has been disconnected, both top and bottom sections of the engine cover are free and can be removed. Remove the top section first. It should look like this after the top has been removed. Once the top has been removed at is out of the way you can remove the bottom half. Using the straps for handles, pull back toward yourself and it should come away from the motor easily. Once the bottom section has been removed you should be seeing this.

    Now just unscrew the air filter cover, drop in a new one and put everything back together again. What size air filter do you put back in it? The same size that came out. Just take the old filter with you to an auto parts store and tell them you want the exact same size.

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