http://www.oldcarsweekly.com September 05, 2019 ❘ 17
the element continually washed and
moistened with oil.
Servicing an old air cleaner
Servicing an old-fashioned carbu-
retor air cleaner is really quite simple,
although it can be just a bit messy. It is
also an operation that many recent old-
car collectors aren’t personally familiar
with, since they didn’t grow up in the era
when these systems were in use.
To service a standard-type carbure-
tor air cleaner, start by undoing the wing
nut and taking off the lid in order to re-
move the circular wire screens with the
mesh held between them. Make sure to
put the wing nut in a safe spot, as it is
easy to lose in or around the engine. To
do a really thorough job, remove the en-
tire air cleaner canister. It probably has
a spread ring that tightens around the
neck of the carburetor with a screw-type
clamp. There may be other braces secur-
ing it in position. By loosening attach-
ing bolts, it will come off fairly easy.
The wire mesh element can be
cleaned in a parts washer or by plung-
ing it up and down in a safe, non-volatile
parts-cleaning solution made for use in
a parts washer. (While your 1950s shop
manual may say to use gasoline or kero-
sene for cleaning the element, that’s not
exactly safe or environmentally respon-
sible, so don’t do it.) If you removed the
complete canister, you’ll want to clean
that, too. Doing so will help give your
engine that “show detailed” look.
After cleaning the element, it should
be re-oiled by dipping it in a plastic
drain pan fi lled with clean engine oil.
That’s right, you’re going to clean it,
then dip it back in oil. Let the excess oil
drain into your pan so it doesn’t mess up
your engine compartment.
Clean all the dirt out of the part of
the air cleaner canister that the element
seats in. Put the fi ltering element back in
its proper position and re-install the lid
and wing nut to hold it tightly in posi-
tion. If you removed the entire canister,
put it back on the carburetor and tighten
any attaching clamps, screws and bolts.
Servicing an oil-bath type carburetor
air cleaner requires somewhat the same
steps, but in this case, the entire canister
must be removed from the car so that the
oil in the reservoir can be replaced with
fresh oil. The fi lter element is cleaned by
plunging it up and down in the cleaning
solution, but the mesh element does not
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self by the air velocity system described
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In the winter, it was recommended tofi ll the reservoir with 20W oil. When the
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oil was specifi ed. For collector cars, the
50W spec will apply in most cases.