I have won the bid on two air cleaners and got them in today. Interesting stuff because one of them is shorter than the other. There were two different types and this was news to me. I mounted both on my 261 engine with Roch B just to make sure they would fit and they do. Here..
The one I am using for my stainless project uses all stainless hardware and I used a taller (and thicker just for durability) screw in hopes of finding an air filter that is just a bit taller. Here..
You can very carefully remove the center stud and then use new hardware to put it back with the length you will need for the air filter that's available. I don't have the part number, but I will soon. Here..
Another interesting thing on this flatter bottomed one is the sticker. Cant find that in any of the vendor offerings. Im thinking this is an older cleaner than the others? Here..
These were available on cars and trucks dating back to 1938 or so. I just didn't want oil sloshing around in my air cleaner, so it was a relief to know they are available. Not inexpensive. I paid $142 for the short one and $120 for the other. They were both in great condition. So, they are out there.
"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir "When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me Some TF series details & TF heater pics
I can't speak for anything other than the '38 but the standard filter wasn't an oil "bath" filter. It used oil soaked copper gauze as the one you pictured the label on. The heavy duty as I have on my '38 was an oil "bath" filter where you actually poured oil into the housing after oiling the gauze. I assume the same held true with the newer models but I don't know that for a fact.
Pages 167-168. The oil "bath" filter held one pint of oil in '38 as noted on page 168.
Last edited by Tiny; 06/25/20147:59 PM.
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet. The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion. Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
Up through 1955 Task Force trucks, the oil-wetted "silencer and flame arrester type" metal-mesh filter element air cleaner was standard equipment (on all 3100-3900 Advance-Design trucks and many 1955 Task Force trucks up to 4000 series) .
An oil bath filter was optional equipment on A-D 3100-3900 trucks.
One of two types/sizes of oil bath filters were available as standard equipment on A-D 5000-6000 series trucks.
It looks like all 1956 and later Task Force air cleaners were oil bath.
It is interesting to note that in 1958 the two types of standard oil bath truck air cleaners had different types of filter element fibers.
Deve, I've done some research on these little air cleaners and that shorter one may have been for the '54 Corvettes. Only proof I have is that I saw a NOS one like that some time back and was said to be the Vette version. Also selling these for years at swap meets and found out the vette restorers were buying up all the truck ones as those vette units are very difficult to find. Also have seen others which were very similar but a bit taller for Studebakers etc.
Oh, I recognize the one from ebay sporting the old blue decal. Only repros I've seen were the orange.
Last edited by JiMerit Boltr#43; 06/25/201410:01 PM.
Interesting how many people opted for the optional oil bath filter. They are everywhere! Its very hard to find the 'stock' non oil bath cleaner. Must have been a really good sales pitch for oil bath at the time.
Interesting how many people opted for the optional oil bath filter. They are everywhere! Its very hard to find the 'stock' non oil bath cleaner. Must have been a really good sales pitch for oil bath at the time.
I think that very few 3100 A-D truck buyers opted for an oil bath air cleaner.
In VA in the late 60s and early 70s I worked on many A-D trucks. I never saw on oil bath air cleaner on a 1/2 ton A-D truck 216 engine (or on a 1954 3100 235 truck engine).
I also never saw a 5-window cab, nor a deluxe heater. Perhaps the more desirable parts/cabs are the ones that have survived?
The Task Force (and later) 235 engines, which were the most commonly used replacement engines in the older A-D trucks, would have had standard oil bath air cleaners. That is what we see today?
Yeah, isn't it funny how anecdotal evidence.. what you see, isn't necessarily matching the statistics. Here in Kansas, if you have an AD, it has an oil bath on it 98% of the time (Actually 100.. never seen one with non-oil). 5 window cabs are about 20% of all of them around here, deluxe heaters are about 20% as well. I look at the non-oil bath cleaner as a step up and far more desireable. What I need now is a bit taller filter to go in the ones I have. So little time, so much research needed!
The part number for the new style air filter for the units described above is NAPA 2373. Its the replacement filter for a John Deere tractor. Its a 6 inch filter.
I also wanted to get one that was a little taller. They make one that is 5-7/8 instead of 6 inches around that is 1/2" taller than the ones above. It would work fine, but the problem I now have with it is, its ORANGE. Don't you hate it when something doesn't fit your motif? LOL! That part number is NAPA 6641. So still on the hunt for one that's BLACK.
According to the cross reference link you posted, the 2373 is 6-1/16 OD. The 6641 is only 5-19/32 just a tad more than 5-1/2. I will take some measurements to see what we can get away with in ID and OD. Thanks again Tim!
Yep, check out the dimensions and colors, Deve. Those cross references were provided by one manufacturer to obtain buyers of a competitor's product (the actual correctness of the cross-reference might be fudged by the seller).
The air cleaner unit has the following dimensions for an air filter to fit:
Max OD of 6-1/4" Max ID of 4-3/8"
Leaving a 7/8" trough (thickness of the filter) all the way around.
Since NAPA 2343 is right at 6 inches and its thickness is 3/4", it fits great. But the taller one mentioned above wouldn't be large enough. I am grateful the 2343 exists, but 1/2" taller would be just the ticket for me. I'll keep looking. Thanks!
Too large for the air cleaner I am using. Mine are 6 inchers. Thanks for trying though. Keep them suggestions coming. If you do what I did and make a hole to put a long screw and square nut, you can put any length screw on your air cleaner you want. If I cant find a taller filter, I will get a shorter screw. I want the taller filter for the capacity.
Deve, the Landon air filters are about 6 3/8" and fit in my stock std truck air cleaners. Some I had to trim a bit off o.d. of rubber area. I'll send you a pic PM.
Nothing works as well as the oil bath air cleaners. People think the paper filters are better because the new cars have them. Truth is that the oil baths are messy and the paper is cheaper. Oil baths take more particles out of the air than even the K&N.
Truth is, the microscopic particles passing thru a paper filter on you Stovebolt or any engine for that matter, ain't-a-goona make your engine fall out on the pavement. The proof is in the multi-millions of engines that have been using them as standard equipment throughout the world for the past half century. Now show me a NASCar, Indy, F-1 or any endurance racing engine that uses an oil bath air cleaner if they are so good. In the day they were simply better than the standard equipment wire mesh spark-arrestors. If you've ever run a properly maintained oil bath air cleaner then the ease of changing out a paper filter vs. mopping up after an oil bath cleaning would be obvious. The myth that an oil bath filter is more efficient is just that. I for one would welcome some scientific proof that they do a better job of cleaning the incoming air. Denny Graham Sandwich, IL
Oil bath filters are very efficient, and have a huge dust capacity as compared to a paper filter (unless your looking at a Donaldson for your semi-tractor). I spent many an evening running capacity tests on them, and they held so much that it was a very boring job, unless you had lots of reading material. Yes, they were a mess to clean, and obviously a paper filter is much cheaper.
I understand that the oil bath can hold more dirt that a paper one. Did your tests show how much dirt got past them compared to paper ones? I have wondered how often to change the oil in the oil bath filters. Since the only part of the oil which catches the dirt is on the top surface of the oil, can't you run it without changing the oil until it is so full of dirt that it is no longer wet? Carl
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
no, the part that "catches the dirt" is not just the surface of the oil reservoir, the way the oil bath works is the turbulent air moving thru causes enough mist of oil movement that the mesh screen stays wet, which is where most of the dirt is caught, and then washed down to the reservoir - just empty one that hasn't been cleaned in awhile and look at the sludge built up at the bottom of the oil, and note the mesh will still be wet
and Denny, the reason you don't see oil bath filters on endurance race cars is cuz they aren't run on dirt roads for 50,000 miles the way these ol trucks were back in the day
"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir "When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me Some TF series details & TF heater pics
