... our Yanmar experts have not chimed in ...
Sheesh. I started drafting a reply within an hour. I need a raise if you want better response time than that.
Ok, the Help Desk is open.
DJM, you have a US Yanmar, not a gray market model. You can order genuine parts from Yanmar-USA through one of their authorized dealers.
The Yanmar dealer who I have found most helpful is
Danny Parker, Parker Equipment Co, PEQ.com. Don't mind the amateurish website; Danny must have 50 years experience and knows everything there is to know about Yanmars. He will probably say something like there were three different air filters in 1981 and ask you for dimensions - which he already has memorized.
Another thoroughly competent Yanmar dealer, who posts here occasionally, is
lens12.
Leonard Sheaffer
sheaftractor@grics.net
www.japanesetractorparts.com
Its my impression that Len is THE go-to guy if you need parts that don't exist anywhere except in Japan. He seems to have extensive overseas contacts and is willing to do the research to find that part from a Japanese supplier or even a Japanese salvage yard. You may need Len's expertise if you have a model of Japanese tractor (not just Yanmar) that is rare in the US and you broke something.
Either of these can order the genuine Yanmar filter element for you. I have bought from both of them, with excellent results.
Gray market replica parts are often, not always, cheaper.
Hoye Tractor has provided me good mailorder service on parts that seem to be NAPA-level quality. And they have a great online catalog.
Particularly for filters, I prefer genuine parts over replica parts if there is little cost difference.