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  View original topic: What kind of air filter is this?
Dogman Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:11 pm

I have the same kind on my bus and it's in desperate need of replacing.


that70s_bus Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:16 pm

looks to be a K&N style. is your torn? they are reuseable. just clean and reoil.

Dogman Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:49 pm

Thanks...it's not torn. Just very dirty and oily. I wasn't sure that the oil was supposed to be there :D

What's the procedure for cleaning and oiling? Guess I could check their site.

that70s_bus Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:14 pm

you can buy thier " recharger kit" comes with cleaner and the oil. or clean it with 409 or simple green. let it dry completely and reoil with k&n oil.

GusC2it Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:17 pm

Bus Depot has these. BTW, IMHO, they suck.

Desertbusman Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:52 am

Check out K & N's site. Chirco.com also. It's the type of filter material that most aftermarket carbs use. Needs to be washed and oiled. The oil catches the dust. That's why baja's and off-roaders usually have them.

mywifesghia Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:29 am

Desertbusman wrote: Check out K & N's site. Chirco.com also. It's the type of filter material that most aftermarket carbs use. Needs to be washed and oiled. The oil catches the dust. That's why baja's and off-roaders usually have them.
Also why most any type of race car you see has them...they work. When you clean it let the cleaner, Simple Green is great among others, sit for a few minutes. Soak it inside and out. Spray the cleaner off with water from the inside of the filter out, the opposite way the dirt would come in. Let it dry really well then re-oil it with the K&N oil, it comes in a spray can. This filter should last you a lifetime. I know there are people out there who hate these but a high quality guaze filter (that looks like it might be a Scat) is great. Reusable means less waste and more money for other stuff.

greenbus pilot Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:48 pm

mywifesghia wrote: Desertbusman wrote: Check out K & N's site. Chirco.com also. It's the type of filter material that most aftermarket carbs use. Needs to be washed and oiled. The oil catches the dust. That's why baja's and off-roaders usually have them.
Also why most any type of race car you see has them...they work. When you clean it let the cleaner, Simple Green is great among others, sit for a few minutes. Soak it inside and out. Spray the cleaner off with water from the inside of the filter out, the opposite way the dirt would come in. Let it dry really well then re-oil it with the K&N oil, it comes in a spray can. This filter should last you a lifetime. I know there are people out there who hate these but a high quality guaze filter (that looks like it might be a Scat) is great. Reusable means less waste and more money for other stuff.
Exactly- and please don't use compressed air to dry it off. It will destroy the material. :wink:

Hippie Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:17 am

I would replace it with a paper element type if it were me to catch more grit and dust.

Race cars use them but your race is for engine longevity.
They want maximum air-flow for maximum horsepower and usually rebuild their engines frequently.

My 2 cents.

mywifesghia Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:35 am

Hippie wrote: I would replace it with a paper element type if it were me to catch more grit and dust.

Race cars use them but your race is for engine longevity.
They want maximum air-flow for maximum horsepower and usually rebuild their engines frequently.

My 2 cents.

Maximum Air Flow and filtering is what every car wants, not just race cars. The filtering qulities of gauze filters are equal to or better than paper. Take two filters a paper and a gauze filter and run them in the same conditions and as they clog with dirt the paper filter will become less efficient much sooner, less airflow. 100 million paper airfilters end up in landfills each year. Race teams use them as they flow more air and they don't compromise on filtering dirt. Our buses and most all cars built now come with paper filters as they are cheaper to put in a car so keep prices lower or profit higher. When you see a manufacturer build a show car or a one-off car they put in the best parts and pieces, mass production just can't do that.

Hippie Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:08 am

I believe the paper filter is far superior in filtering out dust and have seen no evidence to the contrary (except in the maketing hype).
And when I hold the oiled gauze filter up to the light, I can see plenty of pinholes of light coming through.
Anyway, I won't use them. If I want more air-flow at that expense, I will take my air-cleaner off.

Difference of opinion I guess. I don't care what filter anyone uses, personally, I'm just putting it out there. K&Ns are good for what they are good for but not for me.
Here's some sites, for what they're worth.

http://duramax-diesel.com/spicer/index.htm

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

http://www.barneymc.com/TOY_ROOT/TECHTALK/ENGINE/air_fltr.htm

As for the environmental impact, if I were that worried about throwing away a dusty wad of paper every 15-30K miles, I'd just quit driving the Bus. They aren't the most efficient transportation on God's green earth, after all.

Wildthings Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:03 am

What is the tape over your foam engine seal for?

VWBusrepairman Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:19 am

That's the famous Pinto carburator- the engine might run better with dual carbs if you have the opportunity. (or fuel injection)

Dogman Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:23 am

Wildthings wrote: What is the tape over your foam engine seal for?

Not my (huge) image, just a reference to the filter ;)

Buscuss Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:30 am

Engine seal installed backwards? Tape goes on outside.

josh Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:53 am

hippie wrote: Difference of opinion I guess. I don't care what filter anyone uses, personally, I'm just putting it out there. K&Ns are good for what they are good for but not for me.
Here's some sites, for what they're worth.

http://duramax-diesel.com/spicer/index.htm

I've seen the tests that showed that K&N's have better flow but don't filter as well but this is the first independent test I've seen that also compared the AFE filters.

The AFE is also an oiled, reusable, guaze filter, but it uses multiple layers of different porosity to filter better than K&N and flow almost as well.
That test data seems to show that it works. It looks like it filters better than some of the paper filters and flows almost as well as a K&N.
The only test where it doesn't do as well as paper is the accumulative dirt capacity, which I wouldn't think would be a problem with frequent cleaning. I would guess a cleaning with every oil change would be more than enough.

Seems like something worth looking into to.

I don't know if they have them for the progressive, but they have stock replacements for fuel injected buses of the same type for about $50.

Here's a link with some info on the type of AFE filter tested.
http://www.afefilters.com/pg7.htm

Hippie Thu Aug 21, 2008 3:27 pm

AFE might be a good way to go.
I like paper (good ones anyway) but I'm not dedicated to them.
Anything that filters well and flows adequately is good for me.
My Bus has the original oil bath type and I'm happy with it.
I'm less concerned with dirt holding capacity since I check them often...I just don't want crap in my engine.

Anyway, it's kind of useless to compare all filters by type only.
There are good and bad ones in each category, I suppose.
Not all foam or gauze filters are created equal and some paper ones
are too porous and/or don't have enough surface area in the pleating.



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