Re: oil bath or dry?

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2007/12/12 23:47:55

The oil bath (standard on senior cars, optional on others at least back to 1934) used a shredded, fiberous packing derived from either the Kapok tree or some cactus plant, I forget which, compacted into a nest-like form, is partially immersed in oil. The oil wicks up the fibers and catches the dry dust particles. The non-oil bath uses a metal mesh much like "chore boy" kitchen pot scrubbers enclosed in an inner and outer enclosure of perforated metal. It is meant to be oiled, meaning wetted with oil, after cleaning. Oil bath types on Packards, starting at least in 1934 and perhaps earlier have the oil bath pod at one end, connected by a horizontal tube, maybe 6-8 inches in diameter, to the other end which goes over the top of the carburetor. Early non-oil baths had a somewhat similar appearance but later ones, certainly 51 and up, were like hats or caps on top of the carburetor. It should be pretty easy to tell one from the other, the oil bath type has a lower portion to contain the oil, with a "fill" or "oil" mark stamped into the shell to show the proper level of oil.