David,

The oil bath filter was a completely different technology and a K&N is not a
oil bath air filter!!!!.

With the oil baths on my old Mercedes diesels, the air was directed straight
down at the oil then it made an abrupt 180 degree turn. The air would make
the turn but any suspended dirt would not - the dirt was driven into the oil
by the sharp 180 degree turn. There was a steel mesh filter right after the
oil bath that trapped anything big & light that traveled past the oil bath.

Your Dad's Ford oil bath air filter worked the same way. Your dad also had
to drain the oil bath filter, scrape out the fine crud in the bottom (the
dirt, far more than any paper filter would catch) and refill the filter 4
times a year. Then he had to dispose of the jet black, dirt filled oil -
usually in the back yard somewhere.

Oil baths are the most efficient filters to-date and the auto industry only
went to pleated paper because of the air flow restrictions posed by oil bath
and the extreme mess involved in clean-up.

Thanks,
Tom Hargrave
256-656-1924

Our Web Sites:
www.kegkits.com
www.stir-plate.com
www.andyshotsauce.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
David Beierl
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 11:03 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Was Motor Oil (Synthetic), now Ail Filters

At 11:21 PM 1/13/2010, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>This was enough of a test to convince me that K&N filters are junk and that
>they do not perform the superior filter job they claim to do. And, yes I
>oiled them per the instructions with their special red oil - this was not a
>user issue.

CU tested air filters a few years ago and K&N had the I think the
best breathing but by far the worst filtering ability of any filter
they tested.  I immediately went out and deep-sixed the K&N filter
I'd bought the week before for my Honda.

Yours,
D
PS -- I remember my Dad checking/filling the oil-bath air filter on
our '52 Ford Tudor.