Re: oil bath air cleaner

Posted by Mark Buckley On 2012/2/20 22:47:59

Regarding whether paper air filters do a better job protecting our engines than oil bath air filters:

I have no idea if this anecdotal evidence is true, but several old-timers here in the Seattle area commented to me that oil bath filters are superior. They said that back in 1980, after the Mount. St. Helens volcano blew, many vehicles equipped with paper filters experienced engine failures. This happened, they reported, because fair amounts of volcanic ash got through the paper filters and got sucked into the engines. The ash tore up piston rings, contaminated the engine oil, etc.

They went on to claim that this did not happen to vehicles equipped with oil bath air filters. They say the oil bath filters protected the engines and that ash-related engine failures were rare in vehicles that carried those filters.

Again, I have no firsthand experience regarding this matter; I'm merely passing on what I heard!

All the best,

Mark