Hello Everyone,
What is the common thought about replacing the Oil Bath air filter with a nice (clean) chrome air filter with an inlet for the breather hose. Is there a good reason to not do this? Thanks for the input.
-Tony
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'66 F-100

 

Cheap and easy to do... Has been done and is more reliable than the oil bath in filtering the jusk.

Only truck that needs an oil bath is a concorse restored truck.

GArbz

 

Garbz2: An oil bath air cleaner does a far better job filtering air than the paper type does. Fine particles can find their way through a paper filter. This is especially true in sandy and dusty conditions. An oil bath only needs to have the oil changed once a year or so, depending on conditions. Only about a pint is required. A pint of oil is cheaper than any paper filter.


The only downside to an old bath is what they look like. BugbiteAudio: Don't throw it away! They are hard to find and very desirable. If you're in SoCal, drop me a P/M, I'll be only too happy to take it off your hands.

 

The oil bath air cleaner flows the same if not more than a paper filter. It is also very effcient.

 

An oil bath unit is only as good as it is maintained....END OF STORY. and i Know of only one dude on this planet that religously changes and maintains his. and he's way up near Danali.

Why did ford change to paper filters, cant be for cost effectiveness if it took a pint of fluid costing 15 cents verses a paper element that may have cost a buck.

They went to paper like every one else and effectivly increased the longetivity of rings pistions and cylenders. Less warranty on the part of Ford means savings as most of humanity looked at the thing and gave up eith the mess and BS of effectivily cleaning the mesh. you can just dump out the oil and put new in but the crap it filtered out is still there. So now we have no maintinence and tapered cylenders from it.

If it was such good technology we would still be using them on every thing.

Plus.. And i am in no way ever to be accused of being a tree hugger advocate,There is the added waste oil to be delt with by the operator of archaic technology.

Oil bath air cleaners have no reasonable function on a truck other than asthetics or the inane desire to have a numbers matching truck.

Garbz

 

Garbz, Click on my user id and send me an e-mail, be sure to add one in the text that I can reply to.

John

 

Lets debate another point.........

Dont care about flow, dont care about originality.

Lets job cost the oil bath air cleaner verses a paper element unit.

Ford Reccomends in the 61 factory shop manual for highway driving on page 16-3

Each 4000 Miles: Clean Carbureator Oil-Bath Air Cleaner and Refill Reservior.

Now a lets say 1991 F150

Each 30000 Miles Replace Air Filter.

Now the oil bath

At current costs it will effectivly take one hour of your valueable time to do the job.

so figguring time at say mechanics rate of 65.00 an hour.Then the solvent to clean the housing. Solvent of choice is kerosene. todays price lets say 2 gallon to completly immerse 6.00. Had to buy a big enough bucket 5.00. Box of shop towels to wipe the drool off the carb valve covers and fenders. 10.00 and of course a pint of straight 30 weight. .50

So that makes $86.50 so far and i did not figgure in the cost of disposal of the almost three gallons of contaminated kero...Frugal persons among us would save it but reusing it will only put the dirt back in later.

Now we need to do it 7.5 times to match the change interval of the 91 F150.

So we now have $684.75 invested in this.

Now the paper.

Job is reasonably completed in fifteen minutes. .25 hour at a mechanics rate of $65.00 na hour = $16.25.

And purchase the new filter A good one say a K&N about 35 dollars for this application.And dont forget the crank vent filter about 5 bucks.

So we have an investment of $56.25

And the K&n will require a hosin and drying then re oil the next 30,000 miles later.

So which is better over the long haul paper or oil.

Its a no brainer!

Garbz

 

The K&N looks so much better as well! I just put one on my 360 this week, I love the apperance of it.

 

Well... I think I do want to replace it. I am not fond of the horrid mess of cleaning these old things. And if the engine is fine with it, I would much rather have a sharp looking K&N paper filter on there. If I loose a little flow... How much could it be? I don't plan on racing a 1/4 mile any time soon, so thank you for all for your input.
I am in the San Fernando Valley. I'll drop you a note as soon as it is off.
-Tony

p.s. Happy Father's Day to whom it applies!

 

Let me know, I'll come over and pick it up...

 

Garbz2...would you go 30K between air filter changes considering you live in the desert? What's a K&N filter cost?

ONE hour? I can take my original oil bath air cleaner off, clean it, re-install it and replace the oil in less than 10 minutes. Most oil bath air cleaners have been neglected, so the first time they are cleaned, it's usually messy. After that, it only takes an occasional cleaning...mebbe one every year, and it takes minutes.

 

The K&N I put in was a 14"x3" and it was $49.99.

 

Sorry for the remedial questions but any suggestions on where to get it, and how do I know what size to get to fit my carb?
I have the stock 2bbl on a '66 f-100 - 352. Thanks.
-Tony

 

Well seeing as i just got here in october to this blacktopped desert, i would probally change it sooner. In fact yesterday i did and it cost me a Whopping 12 bucks for the correct ford factory specified air filter for my engine.

so if i change it every ten K here in the dust bowl i still have only spent a miniscule fraction of time and monies over what the oil bath would cost.

It would be pretty interesting to retro fit an oil bath to my 472 CI EFI Big Block.

I wll go out on a limb and agree with you that, yes they work, but there is no logical better reason to run one over a paper type unit.

By your profile you are a ford service related person with an assumed skill level that is far beyond the average joe poster who asked the question. I can probally do the job in less time, But the time in question is for the average joe who doesnt have a clue, and there for queries the so called "experts" here.

If anyone wants to run a original type oil bath but have the modern conveince of a paper element its a fairly simple conversion to do.

Garbz

 

Tony

You can get a K&N at most retailers like AutoZone or O Reilys. I used this as an example as they are EXPENSIVE verses standard paper types. Not sold on thier longetivity as they need to be oiled and do in fact gum up in dusty areas.

Summit, Jegs all carry this type of gauze filter in neat colors too other than K&Ns purple.

Measure accross the top of the round portion of your carb or the base of the oil bath. This will give you the diameter you need.

Garbz