Air cleaner with reduced restriction precleaner

An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical housing extending axially along an axis and having a tangential inlet and having an outlet, an annular filter element in said housing and having a dirty side receiving dirty air from said tangential inlet and having a clean side delivering clean filtered air to said outlet, such that air entering said housing through said tangential inlet flows along an interior surface of a sidewall of said housing in a helical pattern about said axis, and flows radially inwardly through said annular filter element, an annular shielding sleeve circumscribing said annular filter element and spaced radially inwardly of said interior surface of said sidewall of said housing by a radial gap defining an annular flow channel between said sleeve and said interior surface of said sidewall of said housing, said filter element having an axial end covered by an axial end cap at said tangential inlet, said end cap having an axial height, said tangential inlet having an axial height greater than said axial height of said end cap, said sleeve having an axial height greater than or equal to said axial height of said end cap and less than said axial height of said tangential inlet.