Offset air cleaner questions.

[In The Ten Ring]

I tried to get you guys pics of this but Photobucket.com is not cooperating.

My unit has a snorkel and inside of there is what appears to be a vacuum-operated valve. Why would it need a valve? Do I need to have a valve there?

My lower of the two halves has a tube sticking out the side that holds a fiberous material on the inside. What might that be for?

My lower also has a plastic clip of some sort on the floor (of the pan). What might that be for?

It was also VERY greasy, all on the inside and even outside. Would that make mine an "oil bath air cleaner?"

If so, may I use it as a standard air cleaner (non oil bath)?

[Wrenchbender Ret]

The flapper in the snorkel is an emission control item that closes when cold to draw hot air through a tube from around the exhaust manifold. The tube on the side is for blowby from the interior of the engine to be recirculated with the fibrous material as a filter. The plastic thing in the bottom was a senser to open the flapper when the engine gets warm. It is not an oil bath, or at least was not intended to be. The oil came from a worn out engine that had excessive blowby. You can eliminate all this as they only worked for the first couple of years.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

The flapper in the snorkel is an emission control item that closes when cold to draw hot air through a tube from around the exhaust manifold. The tube on the side is for blowby from the interior of the engine to be recirculated with the fibrous material as a filter. The plastic thing in the bottom was a senser to open the flapper when the engine gets warm. It is not an oil bath, or at least was not intended to be. The oil came from a worn out engine that had excessive blowby. You can eliminate all this as they only worked for the first couple of years.

Thanks! It's good to know I can get on with painting the bottom half. I considered powder coating and even got a price estimate but that would add $75 to $100 more dollars and all the extra time. I'll just paint it.

I wish had pics of all the grease that was in that thing! It was such stuff that you couldn't wipe off your hands! I had to wash each time I touched it.

This was also one time I should have soaked in Evaporust before using the electrolysis tank. Now I have an oil slick in my tank.....I don't want to dump that into the grass so I'll have to get a bit creative to get that tank cleaned out and not poison the ground.