The jute or stainless material is supposed to be rinsed out in kerosene once in a long while and pan cleaned out. I've not encountered one where the media was falling apart and don't know why it should unless it was abused.

The advantage of oil bath is that they will run a long time with almost no restriction in airflow, which doesn't increase as they get dirty. They just keep accumulating dirt/sludge in the bottom of the pan. Paper gets more restrictive as they clog up and have to be replace relatively frequently but it's certainly a less messy task.

The paper filters are considerably more costly. (Some in newer cars are an outrageous three figure cash cow for automakers, only available at dealers.)

Some large industrial and agricultural equipment still rely on oil bath filtration but some have gone to centrifugal prefilters with paper secondaries. That takes up a lot of space and for that reason isn't so practical for automobiles.

Which begs the question, why? The original oil bath air filter is effective and doesn't clog up relatively quickly like a paper element does.

Yes, it's the separate control unit that is leaking. The rod does not appear to be leaking. As far as I know all three are original.

Of three '55's, all have leaky power steering valve assemblies. Is this an endemic problem with them? Any words of wisdom?

The starter (ignition) switch popped out of the dashboard and looking at the bezel it appears to not have anything to really hold it into place. There are little nubs where it looks like something more substantial should exist to lock into place. BTW, speaking of substantial, the spring behind it looks to be overkill.

Am I correct? If so, I assume a new bezel is needed. Anyone have an extra to sell?

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Thanks for all the details. Not as easy as I had hoped. I haven't removed the entire cluster before and that part looks to be a monumental task and to get everything back into place. Working on the cluster itself looks relatively easy.

The speedometer glass in my '55 400 has cracked (broken). Any tips on how to replace it and where to get a new one?

Found my set of trim removal tools which are a very hard plastic and was able to use them as wedges to break it free without breaking off a lip.

The O-ring was only partially in the groove and the horn button must have been forced in. Consequently the O-ring was deformed.

After removal of the wheel I was able to lubricate the upper steering shaft bearing, which was my goal. It had high stiction which made driving it annoying as you couldn't use gentle pressure to keep the car in a straight line, but it would break free in opposing directions leading to erratic driving.

I had to use the tool to work the deformed O-ring into the groove along with a light film of silicone grease as the button went in to get it seated properly but mission accomplished.

Thanks for the help. I've had the '48-'50's apart many times (the button is a press and turn) but never before the '55-'56 so wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.

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I tried silicone spray with the tube/straw but that didn't seem to help. I'll keep working at it.

I've been running a stiff metal putty knife around under it and prying hard to where the lip is likely to break off and it's not budging in the slightest.