Oil Bath Air Cleaner Packing

I have cleaned and restored the exterior of the original oil bath air cleaner for my 1950 Ford Flathead 6. However, the packing inside the center portion of the air filter is bad - it appears to be some type of non-metal fiber. Has anyone replaced the packing in one of these old air cleaners? I am thinking about pulling out all the old packing and replacing it with several stranded metal stainless steel or bronze pot scrubbers. I think one of the most popular brand name for pot scrubbers is 'Chore Girl.' They can be poked into the openings at the bottom plate of the center piece and, when assembled with the wing nut down into the oil, they would not be sucked outta there by the engine vacuum. It'll be a tight fit getting them in there anyway. This would make a fine metal mesh which, when saturated in oil, would provide the additional cleaning of any dust or dirt that got passed the oil. This was the intent of the original packing. Has anybody done anything similar to this. Better yet, is there a packing material that can be bought over-the-parts-counter specifically for this purpose. Or, would you recommend removing the packing all together. I could understand a concern about metal fragments possibly breaking loose and getting sucked into the engine which would be some bad news. However, if you look at a good quality pot scrubbing pad upclose and personal, they don't have small metal shavings that could come loose. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

[Hal Davis (MODEL A HAL)]

What about fiberglass or foam rubber?<P> I know fiberglass is available as a filter material in sheets. Something similar to a household central unit filter without the cardboard frame.<P> Practically all lawn mowers use oil soaked foam rubber as an air filter. Perhaps it is available in sheet form that you could cut to size and roll to shape.

[Ron Green]

Check out a K&N filter catalog. They make many different foam type air filters that you may be able to adapt into your stock unit.

Jim: I had a similar problem with the "dry type" element (steel shavings and a heavy wire mesh to hold it together, cleaned and re-oiled regularly) in my 48 packard. My problem was that there was just so much dirt built up inside I couldn't clean it properly anymore. I was put in touch with a guy by the name of Bob Caruba @ 805-434-2963 who specializes in Buick Parts. but, he has a guy who fabricates new elements. You might want to give him a call, at least it can't hurt.

[John N. Packard]

Try AMWAY Scrub Buds. They are stainless steel.<P>jnp

Thanks, fellas, for the many excellant suggestions. I am going to review each suggestion in depth and select which one seems the best. I will post the results later.<BR>

You might try soaking the filter element in carborater cleaner, the stuff repair shops use to soak carbs. That stuff cleans real good but may remove the paint. I just found two N.O.S. air filters for Fords, one is a complete unit the other is just the filter element or top part. I don't know which Fords they fit though. If your interested in any of these contact me by e-mail.<P>------------------<BR>tsauto@v35.com<BR>AACA member<p>[This message has been edited by Tom Spaar (edited 07-13-2000).]

[ronbarn]

Back on my high-horse again, with apologies to some of the relative newcomers. When there is a good thread going with information that may (and likely will be) pertinent to many of our DFers, please do not go off line to email unless there is a personal context or passage of info that should not be on the DF. This has the potential of depriving us from some essential learning. This is a learning (and sometimes entertaining) DF and we like to see the progress our members make on their restoration projects.

Reply to Tom Spaar: Do you have any jpegs of the air cleaners you can post. I will be able to better tell which model Ford they may fit. If you have a 50 model, I would be interested if the price is right!!!

Jim,<BR> I have pictures of the air filters, but I don't know how to post them here. Is their a fax number that I can fax them to you along with measurements.<P>------------------<BR>tsauto@v35.com<BR>AACA member

this is a really cool site. i'm from arlington. anyone been there?

this is just a test of the system. sorry for the interruption.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jim M:<BR><B>I have cleaned and restored the exterior of the original oil bath air cleaner for my 1950 Ford Flathead 6. However, the packing inside the center portion of the air filter is bad - it appears to be some type of non-metal fiber. Has anyone replaced the packing in one of these old air cleaners? I am thinking about pulling out all the old packing and replacing it with several stranded metal stainless steel or bronze pot scrubbers. I think one of the most popular brand name for pot scrubbers is 'Chore Girl.' They can be poked into the openings at the bottom plate of the center piece and, when assembled with the wing nut down into the oil, they would not be sucked outta there by the engine vacuum. It'll be a tight fit getting them in there anyway. This would make a fine metal mesh which, when saturated in oil, would provide the additional cleaning of any dust or dirt that got passed the oil. This was the intent of the original packing. Has anybody done anything similar to this. Better yet, is there a packing material that can be bought over-the-parts-counter specifically for this purpose. Or, would you recommend removing the packing all together. I could understand a concern about metal fragments possibly breaking loose and getting sucked into the engine which would be some bad news. However, if you look at a good quality pot scrubbing pad upclose and personal, they don't have small metal shavings that could come loose. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

Fax the information to 281-395-5102. Ignore the answering system message. The fax machine is an office system with message capability.

Jim,<BR> Did you get my fax? I ran into a little trouble with the fax machine, but I think it finally went through.<P>------------------<BR>tsauto@v35.com<BR>AACA member

I received your fax yesterday. However, the picture portion on the faxes were too dark to make out the true shape. As for the dimensional information, they don't seem to fit my unit - 8-1/2 in. dia x 6-15/16 in. base (oil baffle) x 4-1/2 in. tall x 2 in. throat. Could you post a jpeg that I can look at?<BR>

Jim,<BR> I tried to e-mail you a picture of the air cleaner I have. I don't know if this worked or not. I've never tried to send photos over the internet before, and I don't have anyone to ask. All my friends are dummer than me about these new fangled high tech gagets. I learn by trial and error (mostly error). Let me know if I did it alright.<P>------------------<BR>tsauto@v35.com<BR>AACA member