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Early Type V6 Oil Bath To Paper Element Air Cleaner Conversion

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by maurywhurt, May 19, 2017.

  1. May 19, 2017
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Western North...
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    This post is a follow-up to Tim E's recent post describing his conversion of the later-type (late 1967-'69) oil bath air cleaner to accept a paper filter element. That thread can be seen at V6 Oil Bath To Paper Element Conversion.

    Below is a description of my conversion of an early-type (1966-early '67) oil bath air cleaner to a paper element. I actually completed this project awhile back using a slightly different approach than Tim did, but am just now getting around to writing up this post.

    I've had the original oil bath air cleaner on my early '67 CJ5 since I bought it in 2009, and until recently, I had no plans to change that. Oil bath air cleaners do a fine job of removing dust from the incoming air, and especially considering that it is original to the jeep, I saw no reason to do anything different.

    [​IMG]

    Then, about a year ago, the engine was rebuilt and completely repainted. At some point following the engine rebuild, when taking the oil bath off or putting it back on, I apparently accidentally tipped it just enough to drip a little oil onto the top of the intake manifold. After the oil sat there for awhile, it had the effect of peeling off some of my brand new engine paint. To prevent this from happening again, I decided to give this mod a try.

    After looking at the air cleaner closely and searching around online for different paper filter options, I was fairly sure I'd figured out a way to make this modification work without altering its original external appearance. However, since I wasn't 100% sure it would work, rather than modifying my original oil bath air cleaner's housing, I looked around for awhile to locate a matching '66-'67 air cleaner, and eventually found one. Having both a modified and an intact original oil bath air cleaner is what I'd actually prefer anyway, just in case I or someone else in the future ever decides to change it back to the original oil bath type for some reason.

    The first task was to use a jigsaw / sabre saw to cut the bottom out of the upper portion of the air cleaner housing. Measuring from the top flange of the housing, I left about 1-1/4" of the metal cylinder in place below it. This metal is fairly thin, so it only took a couple of minutes to make this cut. Once the bottom was cut off, there was a metal screen that was easily removed by hand. The cut-off metal edge was smoothed using a hand file.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    The old paint was removed from the lower housing by using various wire wheels on a drill, rather than by blasting. I didn't want to blast it because I was concerned that some of the grit might get caught in between the joints in the metal, get into the cavity, and later find its way into the engine.

    [​IMG]

    With the upper housing cut open, it was possible to fairly accurately measure the inside surfaces and pick out some different paper filter elements that might work.

    On the Wix Filters website, there's an option to sort through all the air filters they make by their outside dimensions. After carefully measuring and then actually experimenting with a few different filters, I finally settled on the Wix 42011. This filter is rated for 90 CFM, and is very common, as it was used for many years in various Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth vehicles with the slant 225 straight 6 engine, as well as in some V8 applications.

    Continuing with the modifications on the upper housing, an angle grinder was used to grind the bottom of the PCV tube more or less flush with inside surface of the housing. This grinding no doubt weakened that joint, so after blasting, I used some JB Weld steel reinforced epoxy to strengthen it.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I wanted to make sure the PCV system would continue to function normally after the original housing was modified. The way the PCV system on the Dauntless works, in a nutshell, is that filtered air is drawn out from the air cleaner through this tube, down through the crankcase of the engine, then out through the PCV valve and is pulled by vacuum into the intake manifold, where the crankcase fumes are burned off.

    One difference between the early type and the later type oil bath air cleaner is that the early type had a cone-shaped bottom flange (see photo of screen removal above), rather than the flat flange the later type had. The solution I ultimately came up with was accordingly a bit different than Tim's. Rather than mounting a flat circular flange at the bottom of the shortened upper housing as Tim did, I used a stainless steel ring attached inside the upper housing to provide a level surface for the top of the paper filter element to seat against. This ring also keeps the PCV tube's opening from getting blocked by the top of the paper filter element. Because the ring is mounted up near the top of the inside of the upper housing, the paper filter element used is quite a bit taller in this version.

    The ring is 14-gauge stainless steel with a 8-3/4" outside diameter and a 6-1/2" inside diameter (total shipped cost was about $18 through eBay seller Lumberjack1983). When mounted, there is sufficient clearance between the PCV tube's inner opening and the ring for air to pass through the tube. A small notch was also ground into the inside edge of the ring at the tube to ease the flow of air through it. I used Loctite RTV to seal the outside edge of the ring to the upper housing, then used JB Weld epoxy to make "spot welds" around its perimeter to permanently secure it in place. (After the epoxy cured, I filled the areas in between these "spot welds" around the outside of the ring with RTV.)


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    To help ensure a good seal between the filter against the cone-shaped surface inside the lower housing, as well as to get the necessary height differential between the lower and upper housings when installed, I picked up a 5" silicone pipe flange seal on Amazon (Silicone Flange Gasket, Ring, Red, Fits Class 150 Flange: Industrial Gaskets: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific). I "glued" this silicone ring to the inside surface of the lower housing using the process described here (which seems to have worked well):
    What glue do you use to glue silicone rubber to steel
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    The exterior of the air cleaner housing was painted with VHT gloss black epoxy spray paint. I've used this particular paint in the past and have consistently had excellent luck with it. It requires no primer, and has a sheen that's very similar to the original air cleaner's black paint. (Note, however, that if using this paint and you decide to apply additional coats after the first hour, you'll probably need to wait quite a bit longer than the 7 days indicated on the can for the epoxy to cure completely first....based on experience, I'd recommend waiting at least 2 or 3 weeks.)

    Last, I applied a new air cleaner sticker to match the original, available on eBay from sellerjfranzl48.
    [​IMG]

    The installed modified air cleaner looks identical to the original, and the engine (still) runs just fine with this paper filter setup. I haven't found a need yet to adjust the carb for any differential in air flow there may be between the oil bath and the paper filter element.

    And best of all....No More Drips![​IMG]


    UPDATE 6 / 2017:

    TimE on the Early CJ5 forum corresponded with me about this air cleaner conversion project following my initial post above. During that conversation, he told me about another paper filter he'd found on the Wix website with a higher CFM rating. I hadn't located this paper element during my own search, as I'd been looking at filters in a different range of dimensions.

    The paper filter I'd used above, the Wix 42011, is rated for 90 CFM. The filter Tim found was the Wix 46022 (for a 1981-82 Toyota Starlet), which is rated at 170 CFM. Though it's both shorter and smaller in diameter than the 90 CFM filter, it's also much thicker, which is clearly what allows the significantly higher CFM rating (due to having more paper surface area).

    I decided to try to figure out a way to use the 170 CFM filter instead of the 90 CFM element I'd initially used. The 170 CFM filter exceeds the specs of the OEM paper element used on the 1970-71 Dauntless engines, which was rated at 155 CFM. Though at lower RPMs, the 170 CFM filter wouldn't result in much if any improvement over the 90 CFM filter, at higher RPMs it should deliver the needed volume of air with less resistance.

    In comparing a few different brands of the 170 CFM paper element, it turned out that the ACDelco A2980C was a bit more robust than the Wix version, as it incorporates an expanded steel mesh outer surround, while the Wix lacked this feature.

    With one of the ACDelco A2980C filters in hand (about $11 on Amazon), it became clear that with the addition of another stainless steel disc in the lower housing of the oil bath air cleaner, this higher-CFM filter would work with the modifications I'd already made to the upper housing. In order to modify the lower housing to make it fit, I ordered a 1/8" thick, 9-5/8" OD and 3-17/32" ID stainless steel disc on eBay (from the same seller I bought the first disc through, Lumberjack1983):



    [​IMG]



    The new lower disc sits on the horizontal ledge just above where the lower housing is stamped "oil level":



    [​IMG]



    After first removing the silicone pipe flange installed above (which was difficult, as it turned out that the silicone "gluing" had worked very well!) and cleaning everything thoroughly, I epoxyed the disc to this ledge using steel-reinforced JB Weld, and also placed eight epoxy "spot welds" around the disc's perimeter to secure it to the inner steel bowl of the oil bath housing:



    [​IMG]



    Loctite Superflex RTV was used to seal the remaining outer edge of the disc. It was also applied around the inside, just to ensure that any pinholes that might have existed in the epoxy joint there were sealed:



    [​IMG]



    Here's how the upgraded filter fits on the modified lower and upper housings:



    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]



    The Dauntless runs great with the revised setup, and the re-modified original housing with the 170 CFM filter still appears to be stock when it's installed:

    [​IMG]

    Thanks again, Tim!! :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2018
  2. May 19, 2017
    Bowbender

    Bowbender I'm workin' on it!

    Northern Minn.
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    I see another project in my future....:cool:
     
  3. May 19, 2017
    TIm E

    TIm E Aggressively average

    NW Arkansas
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    Brilliant...very nicely executed sir. I like the silicone ring idea...and that you too kept your original oil bath just in case.
     
    Brian Carothers likes this.
  4. May 19, 2017
    honeywells41

    honeywells41 Member

    Auburn, Washington
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    Way to go Maury. Looks great. I'm happy to be a part of that.
     
  5. May 20, 2017
    Twin2

    Twin2 not him 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    nice work . still looks stock (y)
     
  6. Jun 20, 2017
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
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    Looks very functional!

    A comment - an alternative to JB Weld is soldering. I grafted the neck from a junk Mustang air cleaner to my stock 258 air cleaner to make a factory-appearing part for the standard 2V/4V US carbs (Holley, Motorcraft, etc.)

    [​IMG]
     
    Twin2 likes this.
  7. Jun 24, 2017
    Jeepman31

    Jeepman31 New Member

    Colorado, USA
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    Wow, nice writeup! Looks like another project in my future as well...
     
  8. Jun 24, 2017
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Western North...
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    Thanks!

    Just be aware that if you're converting a later-type oil bath air cleaner, you could probably use a similar approach to that taken above - but the stainless discs would likely need to be made to somewhat different measurements than those needed to convert the early-type oil bath housing.

    Maury
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
  9. Aug 31, 2019
    Lockman

    Lockman OK.....Now I Get It . 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Silver Hill,...
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    Maury,
    Just came across this.... Looks Great ! BTW, BeachBum66 was lookin' hard and long for an OEM oil bath cleaner. If you have a Spare...... I'm sure he would be forever grateful . :flag:
    Thanks again for the great tutorial & Pics,
    Richie-----Lockman
     
    Beach66Bum likes this.
  10. Aug 31, 2019
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Western North...
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    Hey Richie,

    Thanks for the kind words! After ensuring that the new setup works well, I ended up selling my extra air cleaner to a friend who needed it last year - but I will keep my eyes open for another one for BeachBum66.

    Maury
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2019
    Beach66Bum likes this.
  11. Sep 1, 2019
    Beach66Bum

    Beach66Bum 1966 Tuxedo Park Mark IV 2024 Sponsor

    Big Island on...
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    :flag:Thank you Richie for spreading the word and Thank you Maury for keeping an eye out. :beer::)
     
  12. Jan 6, 2023
    Dcartledge

    Dcartledge New Member

    Columbia, SC
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    What are the dimensions of the original oil bath cleaner?

    thank you,
    D
     
  13. Jan 6, 2023
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Western North...
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    The dimensions of the OEM 1966 - early '67 oil bath air cleaner are approx. 12" diameter (measured to the outside edges of the horizontal seam), and 5" tall from the bottom of the housing to the top of the upper part (not including the PCV tube).

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    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2023
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