Going back to oil bath air cleaner

[cancow]

I am pretty sure my 1967 originally had one and I would like to go back to the original set. Is there a way I can look up to see what the original set was so I can look for what I will need to find? Or is an oil bath not a good way to go? Right now I have a air filter from an unknown vehicle on the engine and a vented oil cap. The problem is the oil cap almost sprays oil when running and if put a regular oil cap on the engine hardly runs at all.

[AlleyCat]

Oil bath air cleaners did the job but modern filters are much more efficent. They trap far more dirt and aren't nearly as much hassle to service. I don't know which engine you have but all of the engines the factory used in bumps had a paper filter setup with a crankcase breather filter at some point. I would go this route rather than an oil bath unit.

[cancow]

Is that similar to a pcv valve setup to the carb and a hose from the oil cap to the air cleaner housing?

the factory used in bumps had a paper filter setup with a crankcase breather filter at some point. I would go this route rather than an oil bath unit.

[hazelnut]

Yes, thats the one that our trucks come with from the factory.

[cdeal28078]

I had a 66 F100 for a little while that had an oil bath and bet that was the last year of them unless they were specially built for high dust conditions and that I am not sure of.
Sounds like you either have high blowby. A lot of oil vapors coming out of the oil filler and OR you don't have a proper PCV system set up.
DO you have a PCV set up on one valve cover hooked up to either a nipple on the carb or intake?
clint

[NM5K]

My 68 had oil bath. But when I got it, some parts were missing and I converted it to paper.
Myself, I don't see much point in converting back to oil bath, unless you just want it all to
be original. The vented cap should have some mesh in it to keep the oil from flying out.
I think mine does..

[cdeal28078]

I don't see the reason to convert back either unless it is for a stock appearance. A paper element does just fine for filtering the dirt and dust.
Clint

[ezernut9mm]

from wiki: Oil bath air cleaners were very widely used in automotive and small-engine applications until the widespread industry adoption of the paper filter in the early 1960s. Such cleaners are still used in off-road equipment where very high levels of dust are encountered, for oil bath air cleaners can sequester a great deal of dirt relative to their overall size, without loss of filtration efficiency or airflow.
i agree that paper filters can do the job, but why do heavy duty off road apps still run oil baths? i will keep my oil bath.

[jzjames]

but all of the engines the factory used in bumps had a paper filter setup

???

[AlleyCat]

but all of the engines the factory used in bumps had a paper filter setup

???

Your truck may have an oil bath as an option but paper filters were standard.

[NM5K]

Mine probably had it because it was pretty much a HD work truck. I might have
kept it on there if I hadn't had some parts missing. But some were gone, so
I switched it to paper.. And... The air cleaner it's using now is off a V6 from a
Pontiac I scrapped. I connect a hose from the vented cap to the little GM style filter
element in the air cleaner housing.
I know an oil filter works pretty well. I'll be up in the country mowing and get
so much dirt and dust the filter will be totally encrusted. But little gets to the
engine. Course, that's a little different from the truck version, but I think the
oil helps catch and hold the dirt even if it's just squeezed in like the mower
filters.
My Yota toy car has one of those new fangled weird filters that seem to cost about
four times normal..
Has a cabin filter too.. I just washed it out the last time.. Probably about due
again.. Been a while.

[cdeal28078]

Like I said in my 1st post. Paper works fine unless it is in a high dust area then an oil batch might work better. That is with proper maintenance I might add
clint

[big block]

here is an oringinal oil air cleaner that i kept on this truck 65 f-100 because the rest of truck was 100% bone stock to but i would get rid of it if it was mine ! just looking at how it works there is no way it could catch fine dust in the air it would travel over and into the carb! wes

65 f-100 eng .jpg

[70_F100]

That post from wiki also has some misinformation.

I worked on heavy equipment from the early 70's thru late 80's, and I never saw a machine with an oil bath air filter.

On heavy equipment, just like on over-the-road trucks, most had a paper filter, and most of them were made by Farr http://maesco.com/products/racor/r_pamic/r_pamic.html or Donaldson http://www.donaldson-filters.com/products.html#air . Some were square, sort of like VERY large versions of the flat, square filters used on cars and trucks today. They probably measure (at minimum) 15x24x10, and have 30 or so round tubes. The large round ones measure about 24 inches tall x 16 inch diameter.

They also used what is known as a precleaner, which is basically a vortex that knocks the dirt out of the air before it reaches the filter. On many of the round elements, they have fins that serve the same purpose as a precleaner https://dynamic.donaldson.com/webc/WebS ... &item=2047.

[big block]

i must be missing something k&N is basicly an oiled paper or actually foam filter still a filter , that covers the entire hole where air comes in // in the oil baths ive seen there is a huge hole where there is nothing stoping air from traveling unfiltered to carb throught . my thoughts were that the air path went close to oil sitting in the bottom and that some of dirt ect ...would stick to oil. i looked at the one in this 65 picture (up a couple posts) and there is nothing covering the carb intake how can it be better???