Oil bath air filter Questions

[TheMoose]

How do you tell if,

1. Your oil bath air filter is good?

2. How do you tell if it's dirty?

3. How do you clean it?

4. How is the replacement filter Roberts has?

[ggdad1951]

How do you tell if,

1. Your oil bath air filter is good?

2. How do you tell if it's dirty?

3. How do you clean it?

4. How is the replacement filter Roberts has?

1. they don't get "bad" unless they have a hole or get clogged

2. it probably is dirty, needs cleaning as a maintenance

3. I understad you soak it in kerosene

4. there are no replacements as far as I know of (if there are someone please inform me!)

[TheMoose]

1. they don't get "bad" unless they have a hole or get clogged

2. it probably is dirty, needs cleaning as a maintenance

3. I understad you soak it in kerosene

4. there are no replacements as far as I know of (if there are someone please inform me!)

Thanks, any problem using parts cleaner instead of Kerosene if it's fresh?

My Roberts book (catalog #17) in the Fuel area & related parts it has a listing for,

P318 Oil Bath Air Cleaner 6 Cyl 42-59 $65.00 ea.

Doesn't show on web site though.

[ggdad1951]

Thanks, any problem using parts cleaner instead of Kerosene if it's fresh?

My Roberts book (catalog #17) in the Fuel area & related parts it has a listing for,

P318 Oil Bath Air Cleaner 6 Cyl 42-59 $65.00 ea.

Doesn't show on web site though.

No idea about the parts cleaner...it might eat the mesh or it might not.....you go first!

Call up Gary and ask!

[Merle Coggins]

A mineral spirits type parts solvent would probably work similar to kerosene.

[Andydodge]

Any solvent that dissolves oil will work.......kero, turps,petrol, thinners, they would all do the same job.......andyd

[John-T-53]

If the mesh goes bad it can be "re-stuffed" with coarse steel wool, stainless pot scrubber material, or the like. I haven't encountered this with a Mopar units but have had to do this with 50's GM air cleaner elements.

[49roadster]

When I worked in a TEXACO station in the '50s we used Kerosene for the air cleaner and the breather cap.

[Jerry Roberts]

My oil bath air cleaner had horse hair as filter material in the very top and it was sealed in there with sheet metal that was perforated with holes . All of the air first went through the horse hair and there was no way to check what dirt had accumulated up there over the years . I tore out the sheet metal covering and the horse hair and put in a paper filter , without the oil down below .

[greg g]

The oil bath filter doesn't actually pass air through the oil. The oil works as a trap to catch the particles as they make a U turn in the air stream, so the condition of the oil is not really germane to the operation as long as it is still able to trap praticules. the theroy is the air makes the turn, the particles can't and drop into the oil. The oiled mesh at the top works to catch any of the smaller pieces that may make the turn.

The oil in the mesh is replenished by aeration of the oil in the bottom, so light weight oil works better than heavy stuff.

[HanksB3B]

Light weight oil is "not" a good idea because a bump on a turn can cause the engine to get a good gulp of oil. The other thing someome taught me was to use non-detergent oil so that the dirt particles remain undisolved and settle to the bottom of the oil bath cannister rather than become dissolved within the oil. He does have a 1934 Plumouth, but he is also a stockbroker so I don't know whether to trust him. He did give me a quart of 30w non-detergent oil, so I guess he's an o.k. guy.

There he is in there that stockbroker...Geoff (never trusted that name either) even wears one of those wool small brim hats (another reason for mistrust). and has a trophy wife (another reason for mistrust).

In all seriousness "Jeff" is a super nice guy, gave me the oil for free and I do trust his advice both mechanically and yes even financially.

Hank

[Young Ed]

The manual calls for even thicker oil. I think 40 or 50 weight.

[John-T-53]

Hank - where is that Sizzler at??

The air cleaner decal (at least on my Chevy) calls for 50-wt oil, "change every 5000 miles or oftener under extremely dusty conditions..."

I got some valvoline 50 wt racing oil that seems to do the job. Also use this in the breather cap.

But I do like the theory of non-detergent oil...let's explore that one some more...

[Don G 1947]

Manual calls for 50 wt. oil. Thinner oil will get sucked into the carb.

Don

[Don G 1947]

Just noticed I have 99 posts. Had to post this to see if I get an upgrade in my tagline when I hit 100.

Don

[HanksB3B]

Hank - where is that Sizzler at??

The air cleaner decal (at least on my Chevy) calls for 50-wt oil, "change every 5000 miles or oftener under extremely dusty conditions..."

I got some valvoline 50 wt racing oil that seems to do the job. Also use this in the breather cap.

But I do like the theory of non-detergent oil...let's explore that one some more...

That Sizzler is in Torrance on Hawthorne Blvd and Artesia. A bunch of guys show up to an informal car club "Caffein Crusiers" on Saturday mornings, all year long. Because of it's Southern California (birth of the Hot Rod) location you can never be sure what can turn up on any given Saturday.

I'm in argeement with Ed and Don on the 50 weight oil from personal (gulp...) experience.

Hank

[Young Ed]

FWIW Napa only had straight 50 in racing oil which seemed to me like complete overkill. So I'm running straight 40 in mine.

[HanksB3B]

with the racing oil "Don't-ya-think ?"

[John-T-53]

Nice...you ever get folks coming over from the neighborhoods just east of there?? Might want to keep a flak jacket handy...

That Sizzler is in Torrance on Hawthorne Blvd and Artesia. A bunch of guys show up to an informal car club "Caffein Crusiers" on Saturday mornings, all year long. Because of it's Southern California (birth of the Hot Rod) location you can never be sure what can turn up on any given Saturday.

I'm in argeement with Ed and Don on the 50 weight oil from personal (gulp...) experience.

Hank

[Dan Babb]

Just in case anyone wants to change over, I also converted mine to a paper filter. I didn't want to hack up the original one (just in case I wanted to revert back to original at the time), so I found a donor filter and cut it up. The lid was a bit smaller on the donor piece, but it worked out. Just kept the lid and ground it smooth so it would seal with the top of the filter.

I brought the base to the auto parts store and kept trying out some until I found one that dropped inside. No mods were needed to the base.

I did the same thing with the Hemi...but I had to drop in a larger filter base so it would have a spot to rest.

[Desotodav]

I did something similar with my air filter. I added photos of my modified filter at post # 33 in this thread... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=26823&highlight=bath+filter .

There have been a few threads on air filters started in recent times.

Desotodav

[Rusty O'Toole]

How do you tell if,

1. Your oil bath air filter is good?

2. How do you tell if it's dirty?

3. How do you clean it?

4. How is the replacement filter Roberts has?

1. Never heard of one wearing out. Doubt it is possible. Some get damaged by blowing high pressure compressed air through them which creates channels or holes, that allow dirty air to pass right through. If this has happened it should be fairly obvious.

2. Look at it. If the base is full of dirt and the filter medium is caked with dirt it is dirty. You service them as necessary, as often as once per day in extremely dirty and dusty conditions, such as a dump truck on a construction site in the desert. Normally service once a year at tuneup time. If I take the lid off and the reservoir is full of oil, and the dirt is half way or less, I put the lid back on. After topping up the oil if necessary.

The filter itself works better once it gets a coat of dust and oil on it, as long as it is not too clogged up.

3. Soak in a pan of kerosene or varsol, slosh up and down a few times. Allow to drip dry. Pour some oil in, roll it around to coat the filter and let drip out again.

Pour the old oil out of the base, wipe out the dirt with old rags or cotton waste and refill with fresh oil. You can reuse the oil if you let the dirt settle out.

4. Don't know

SAE50 oil recommended but lighter oil will work. SAE20 recommended for below freezing weather. Too light oil will slosh around under rough road conditions and get into the motor, as someone mentioned.

The cost of the oil is not huge. One quart could easily last 10 years or more. On today's paved roads, given the typical modest use our cars get. Still cheaper than paper filters.

I like the oil bath filter and consider them a luxury feature as well as a money saver. Heavy trucks and construction equipment with big $$$$$ expensive motors continued to use them for years after cars changed to paper. The big advantage of paper is they are a lot cheaper for the car makers, and were easier to fit in as hoods got lower and engine compartments more crowded.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Rusty O'Toole

[Dodgeb4ya]

My last oil bath air cleaner service I did was back in the 70's. There is not much dust here in the NW-just mold spores which acts as upper cylinder lubricant!.

[IanT_Qld]

I considered using gear oil, its sticker, like what is used in foam filters on motorbikes.

But like most i cleaned the bowl, washed in petrol, and oiled with a spray foam oil, and put 30 weight in the bowl. Seems good, but like most trucks this age, it doesn't go anywhere dusty.

[cerick305]

Anyone have more specifics on how this type of filter works?  It appear there is a wool type material in the (Removable) cap but is there also something contained in the base?  Seems like a hollow space that traps the some kerosene when cleaning.  Doe this provide any function?