Tranny fluid in oil bath air cleaner

[iowa51]

Have my mom's '50 Plymouth convertible in my garage to fix the overdrive cable.

Thought I would do an oil change while it was here. My dad had several Fords (1964-65 T-Birds) and on the shelf is a 2 or 2 1/2 gallon container of Type F transmission fluid about 3/4 full. We have no use for it and probably couldn't sell it as it is opened so I thought about using it in the oil bath air cleaner instead of motor oil. Any reason why I couldn't use transmission fluid in the air cleaner?

Edited August 26, 2017 by iowa51

[Plymouthy Adams]

very light weight and could possibly be lifted and induced into the carb and burnt....you would then have gotten rid of unwanted oil and maybe a mosquito or two

[greg g]

The design of the filter uses a 90° turn of the air flow to force contaminanents to not make the turn thereby falling into the oil. The air does not pass through the oil.  So by the design of the filter any fluid would likely work.  No reason trans fluid wouldn't be able to perform that function.  However the other part of the job is to coat the fibrous matting at the top of the filter that air does flow through.  But it should work there also.  The concern is that it might be quicker to evaporate than motoroil, so it may be necessary to check its level more frequently than when filled with sae 30 motor oil.  And being less viscous might slosh around more than oil also.  But for current usage of the car the answer is probably "why not?"  

[Plymouthy Adams]

I stand behind the viscosity statement that it may well be lifted...in temperature operation above 32 degrees the oil viscosity is by factory specs 50w and 20w if below 32 degrees (cold oil stays thick).  The velocity of the air making the turn that does by sling shot effect throws heavier particle into the oil for capture and containment will in the same token in a light grade oil at a moderate ambient temperature cause for a lighter oil to be atomized and lifted.  But, if you wish to try it, just as a caution if you do, to keep an eye on the rate of loss....you wish not to lose your air cleaning effect as a by product of cause and effect

[desoto1939]

I replaced my oil bath filter element with a modern paper element. I feelthat in todays driving situation we are traveling on paved roads and ther is less dirt particles in the air. Also since our modern cars are now using paper elements except for the K&D filters I feel that the paper is just as good and no more messing with an oil bath filter.  Just my 25 cents worth of input.

I just took out the old oil wire mesh insert and replaced it with the same sized paper filter element that I was able to get at my local NAPA store. It fit perfectly with the origianl metal filter countainer.  When you open th ehood you can see the paper element but it does not poper me that it has been changed. I stil lhave the original wire mesh insert incase if I want to have it judged.  So i did not replace the entire filter housing just the wire mesh with a paper NAPA Gold filter.

Rich Hartung

Edited August 27, 2017 by desoto1939

[Worden18]

I'd save the tranny oil to mix with acetone (50/50) to battle stubborn rusted things...use the SAE 30 for the oil bath.  Just my opinion 

[DJ194950]

My 50 Ply.manual says to to 50 wt. oil in the air cleaner but I received a free 12 qt. case of 20 wt. oil which I decided to try. Seems to have worked fine over 3 years (low mileage -2-300 miles) no problems like smoke and none disappeared!

Now time to go ahead and change the oil and this time I have some unused 60 wt. from my old Harley and some more 20 wt. to mix to make a 50 wt. air cleaner oil!

Whatever works now as I only drive on paved highways.

DJ

Edited August 26, 2017 by DJ194950

[Dodgeb4ya]

I'd just use 50 W oil.......https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/valvoline-vr1-racing-sae50-motor-oil-vv235/8020450-p?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=8020450-P&c3apidt=23572414306&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7IPEy4721QIVhGh-Ch1rSw5hEAQYAyABEgK69vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Easy to do it right.

[Los_Control]

These oil bath air cleaners, I suppose they work. If they worked so great, why do new cars not have oil bath air cleaners?

Then they remind me of roofing tar. You crawl up on a roof, there will be a bucket of tar 3' away, stuff just jumps out of the bucket.

Gets on your pants, then your shoes, then you track it everywhere .... cleaning up spots of tar for 3 days after.

 

I removed the air cleaner from my truck and set it on the running boards, it started making a mess there, I wiped it all down and set it in the cab on the floor and it started making a mess again.

I took it up to the oil barrel and drained all the oil out and set it on the bench, it started weeping and making a mess there. I then put it in the parts washer and cleaned it up and wiped it down, still my hands got all oily every time I touched it.

Now it is all cleaned dry and painted. Would like to move to a paper filter without modifying it. Or I have a old ford oil bath here, I would not care if I modified it.

Even made a hub cap for it, so could be like the cool kids 

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

they were 98.5% effective..they are however bulky, dirty/messy when handling and time consuming to maintain..thus the trend to go with throw away paper....these units are a breeze to modify to paper and unless you popped the top...no one would have a clue it had been converted.

[Andydodge]

I think another reason for the change to paper elements was due to the lower hood height which made having the oil bath air cleaners harder to incorporate into the design as all the oil bath cleaners I have seen have been around 6-8' in height...........paper element air cleaners are generally half that, around 3-4" in height.................the trend to less dusty paved roads, lower hood styling & design, the ability of car makers to espouse another "cleaner to use new product"  and maybe an improvement in paper element effectiveness/design/reduced cost probably heralded the demise of oil bath air cleaners usage in normal passenger vehicles ..........their use in heavy machinery possibly continues/ed due to space and overall effectiveness at a guess................and I would be hesitant about using any lightweight oil in an oil bath aircleaner...........andyd.       

Edited August 27, 2017 by Andydodge

[Desotodav]

I modify my oil bath air cleaners to take a stainless steel cage which is covered by an oil-soaked sock. I don't travel too many unsealed roads, but I do think that my air filtration modification is now more effective than the original design. The modification is not really visible... even to the trained eye.

[Dodgeb4ya]

That's pretty...

 

[Andydodge]

Dav........what size sock do you use and I suppose that you get them at the local amputee store............lol..........no point get two when one is all you need.............lol........oops........better get back in my corner.....how you going anyway?.......lol.................andyd

[Don Coatney]

This would make an excellent episode on Forensic files on Netflix.  Who could be the guilty party of killing an engine by using the incorrect oil on an air bath oil filter???? Was it the wife of the STP salesman who was having an affair with the acetone distributor? The lover of the ATF salesman who was gay??? Or the spurned lover of the GO90 distributor who had a past criminal record??? Or Billy the gas station attendant. Or is it a suicide by too much engine sexual activity??? Only DNA tests and shoe prints and bullets casings can confirm....

[Los_Control]

Or was it aliens from outer space?

 

[Andydodge]

This thread plus the shoulder pain meds from the greasing today has given me a good laugh............thanks Don & Los.............andyd  

[iowa51]

9 hours ago, Don Coatney said:

This would make an excellent episode on Forensic files on Netflix.  Who could be the guilty party of killing an engine by using the incorrect oil on an air bath oil filter???? Was it the wife of the STP salesman who was having an affair with the acetone distributor? The lover of the ATF salesman who was gay??? Or the spurned lover of the GO90 distributor who had a past criminal record??? Or Billy the gas station attendant. Or is it a suicide by too much engine sexual activity??? Only DNA tests and shoe prints and bullets casings can confirm....

It was the incompetent shade tree mechanic who put a "hazardous" to Mopars fluid (Ford use only) in the air cleaner and the engine choked to death on it.