oil bath air cleaner help!

[Clip]

hey all, looking for some experienced input here so i don't screw up the engine, so here's the question:

on that old 1941 power wagon, i've got an oil bath air cleaner leading directly into the throttle body and intake manifold.

would it be possible to ditch this design and go with a k&n filter or some other type of replaceable filter so i don't have to deal with adding oil to the air cleaner, or worrying about if it's working correctly? not really looking for a performance gain, just something easy to work with.

in short, would switching from an oil bath cleaner to a regular cloth or fiber filter hurt the engine in any way? does the oil in the oil bath actually lube anything, or does it just cling to the dirt particles?

air cleaner

 

[Clip]

come on guys, anyone know about this?

 

[supra90turbo]

Oil bath is a prehistoric K&N!
The oil does exactly what the oil in a K&N does. The oil pulls itself up through the filter media so dirt and dust particles can cling to it as the filters back then weren't anything to brag about.

Definitely ok to go with a K&N

 

[Clip]

thats what i was wondering, ill just make sure to keep it properly oiled and cleaned. anyone else have anything on this?

 

[supra90turbo]

You can run without the oil bath. It doesn't need to be an oil-type filter, it can be a dry paper filter from autozone. It was just a "feature" in the old cars.
I know a guy with a 1954 Dodge Royal and he runs the filter dry. No issues, no side effects. No worries.

 

[Clip]

i just want the easier maintenance of a regular filter. look out stick welder, here i come!

 

[Adjuster]

The oil bath filters work great if your in sandy places. (Like where that powerwagon was designed to go.)

Nice thing is they don't clog up like paper ones do. (Same idea as your K&N, the dust/dirt sticks to each other particle, and is coated over time with oil so some other particle of dirt can stick to it... )
They "grow" thicker as they get dirty.

Clean up easy with anything that disolves oil...

 

[Clip]

hold up. so you're saying id be better off with the stock oil bath, or id be alright with a k&n?

 

[Adjuster]

Either one will work fine, just keep the oil bath "oiled" up. (I've seen these used in Saudi and other places with serious sand and dust problems with great results. *But you have to keep adding oil to the oil bath filter to keep it wet so the crap sticks to the oil.

K&N will probably be less work in the long term.

 

[Clip]

righty. thanks for the advice, i just emptied and added oil to it, had about 3/4s an inch of sludge in the bottom so it appears itll work fine. as for the k&n, im probably gonna go ahead and switch em out with a chrome plated intake pipe. (just messing)

so you're familiar with the power wagon, Adjuster?

 

[Clip]

whats anyone think of making a snorkel to go on there, and have a k&n fabbed in?