Caterpillar 496-9845 Air Filter

A Panel, Not a Can — and a Pre-Cleaner That Moves the Number

The 330 GC and 336 GC are the value machines in Cat's Next Gen excavator range, and Cat gave them an air cleaner that behaves nothing like the round canisters on the older 320 family. The element is a flat, non-round panel, and the pre-cleaner that used to be a separate bowl in the lid is built into the element itself. That is why the number changed with the series: the same housing now takes a taller, wider element, and the old round primary cannot be made to seal in it.

It also means the dimensions in the catalogues need reading carefully. Cat publishes three figures for 496-9845 — 17.386 in, 11.862 in and 9.984 in, which is 441.6 mm, 301.3 mm and 253.6 mm — without labelling which is height and which is depth. HiFi's specification for its SA 160081 replacement is more explicit: 439, 405 and 250 mm across the element, 300 mm high with a 265 mm second height and a 53 mm third. Take the two sets together and the footprint agrees to within a few millimetres; the height is where they part company, and the gap is the pre-cleaner stack.

Why the Machine Badge Is Not Enough

Cat lists 496-9845 against a wide group: 330, 330 GC, 336, 336 GC, 326, 326 GC, 333, 349, 352, 355, the 707 wide-body truck, MH3040 and the 330 MHPU. That list is built on the air cleaner group, not on the engine, and the 336 is the machine that proves the point. The 336 GC runs the C7.1 and takes this element. Some 336s are documented with the C9.3B at 314 hp (234 kW) — Cat's own 2018 launch release says so — while Cat's current 336 specification page lists a C7.1 TTA at 302 hp (225 kW). Different engine, different air box, different element: those C9.3 machines take 496-9841 at 519 × 294 × 300 mm.

So the question to answer before ordering is not "330 GC or 336" but "flat panel with a pre-cleaner, or round element with a clamp ring". A photograph of the open housing with a tape measure across it answers that in one message, and it is the fastest way to avoid shipping a panel element to a machine that needs a 519 mm one.

Buying It With the Rest of the Service

The air element is rarely the only thing on the order. A 330 GC service is the air pair, the 322-3155 lube cartridge, and the two fuel elements 523-4987 and 509-5694 — and the fuel side is the pair that gets mixed up most often, because the separator and the secondary element are different sizes in different housings. Our 330 GC air filter guide sets out the whole set in one table, and the filters catalogue shows what else we hold for the C7.1 engines.

We ship the 496-9845 as a quality aftermarket element matched to the dimensions above, alone or as part of that service set, with the pair 496-9845 and 496-9846 boxed together if you ask for it. Send the machine model, the serial prefix and a measurement or photograph of the old element and we confirm before dispatch.

FAQ

Q: Which machines use the Caterpillar 496-9845 air filter?
A: Cat's compatible-model list for 496-9845 covers the 330, 330 GC, 336, 336 GC, 326, 326 GC, 333, 349, 352 and 355 excavators, the 707 wide-body truck, the MH3040 wheeled excavator and the 330 MHPU. The list follows the air cleaner group rather than one engine, so it includes C7.1 and C13 machines. Confirm the housing before ordering: a flat panel with a pre-cleaner stack is this element, a round element with a clamp ring is not.

Q: What are the dimensions of the 496-9845 air filter?
A: Cat's parts data gives overall height 17.386 in (441.6 mm), a second dimension of 11.862 in (301.3 mm), overall width 9.984 in (253.6 mm) and a non-round shape. HiFi's specification for its SA 160081 replacement gives D1 439 mm, D2 405 mm, D3 250 mm and H1 300 mm, H2 265 mm, H3 53 mm. The footprint agrees to within about 3 mm; the height figures differ by up to 34 mm depending on whether the pre-cleaner stack is measured with the element.

Q: Is 496-9845 the same as 496-9846?
A: No. 496-9845 is the primary element and 496-9846 is the secondary that sits inside it. Cat grades the primary as Ultra High Efficiency and the secondary as standard efficiency, because the pre-cleaner in front of the panel takes the coarse dust load and the secondary only works when the primary is out of the housing or has been breached. They are different parts in different positions and are never substitutes for each other.

Q: What does the 496-9845 air filter cross-reference to?
A: HiFi lists SA 160081 as its replacement for the SF Schupp SL83168 element, and supplier listings pair SA 160081 with Cat 496-9845. Factory catalogues also quote a single bounding box of 410 × 245 × 267 mm for the same number. Cross numbers are a lead, not a fitment guarantee: measure the element you remove across all three dimensions, because a panel that is out by 20 mm will not let the housing lid close on the seal.