The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Air cleaner cleaning

I have a conventional (non oil bath) air cleaner and wonder what solvent has proved effective for cleaning it and if 50w motor oil is good for reoiling? Ed

I've used gasoline to clean those type filters. The shop manual for my '56 Cadillac recommends gasoline or kerosene.

I slosh it around until it's fairly clear running out and then I let it dry/evaporate in the sun before oiling it. The 1948-'52 Chevy truck manual says to dip it in engine oil after the solvent is dry. I think any viscosity will be fine.

The description of the filter element refers to it being "saturated in heavy oil" so 50 weight is probably just right.

We used to soak them in kerosene, then blow them out (from the inside) with an air gun. That worked well, but made kind of a mess.

My filter is a oil bath style but I use K and N filters in another car and they have a spray oil that is red and seems to be a little sticky and may work .

Any thoughts on using a spray lub like WD40 on the outside instead of immersing element in motor oil?

Forty9 Suspect that WD 40 would evaporate too much,I hate an oily mess,mostly used just Fram quality hub cap air cleaners thru the years. Learned to saw out 1/8 aluminum cleaners,clamp a filter in there. Lime truck big chevies with secondary foam green oiled filters were a real mess but the 427's lived a long time.

I use K&N filter system on my truck. Easy to clean and re-oil.

What model number is that KN Filter? Did you have to replace the center rod to screw the top on? It looks tall.

My '52 GMC had this type filter (wash in gasoline and re-oil every 1000 miles). I replaced it with a FRAM CA-140 paper element. I had to make the hold down bolt about 1/2" longer.

It's a K&N 3300, not 3320 as I stated earlier. Sorry. Yes, I added a longer bolt to accommodate the taller filter. Started out with the 3320 but the motor's RPM ran a little higher during idle. After installing the 3300, the RPM drop down to what it should be.

Various filter research I've read indicates that the K&N flows better than paper but catches less dirt. I have looked but haven't found definitive reports showing the effectiveness of oil bath vs paper. I know that heavy truck applications went to paper later than cars and that optional heavy service air cleaners on truck tended to be oil bath well into the sixties. They are certainly messy and time consuming to renew compared to changing a paper filter. Oil-bath cleaners would be more expensive to manufacture also. I have two carbs with oil-bath cleaners and they kept the previous engine clean for ~200,000 miles till it burnt a piston. I clean them once every couple of years or when there is dirt in the bottom of the oil bath, maybe 15,000 miles or so.

For the amount and type of driving that our vehicles see, I don't think it will make much difference what type or style of air filter is used.

These trucks aren't seeing severe use in dusty, dirty conditions and I'm sure we all open the hood and check the filter just about every time we use it.

Any decent quality filter that's kept clean will work for our needs , I'm sure.

Otto,
I agree 100%. Unless you’re driving out in a very dirty environment,….

I still use my old Chev as a truck. It's much too valuable to just sit and I don't want to join the computer/internet connected scene that a new pickup would involve. So, since parts are available, I just keep driving it, mostly on dusty gravel roads. A quart of oil is like $6 and does two air cleaners. I can handle that every other year.