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Oil Bath Air Cleaner, Fuel Line??? And Alternator Bracket

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by cpdad93, Jun 28, 2017.

  1. cpdad93

    cpdad93 Member

    Item one-the oil bath...it looks fine, just a little dirty and grimy...I cleaned it somewhat with a parts washer but since its a sealed unit, is there a good way to clean the upper part? The lower had some thick gooey oil in it that the parts washer cleaned fine, or am I better off doing the paper filter conversion?

    Item two-my fuel line from tank to fuel pump runs right along the exhaust pipe, maybe 1/2" away...this doesn't really look like a good plan. It does have a rubber sleeve where it goes by the frame ...any opinions?

    My alternator bracket is broken where the long bolt goes through, so instead of a hole for the bolt, it has a C shape...any ideas where I can get another?

    Thanks, Don
     
  2. PeteL

    PeteL If it wasn't for physics, and law enforcement... 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    I think the idea with an oil bath is that the oil mist "washback" lets crud routinely drain back down into the oil reservoir. Self-cleaning.

    If you really want you could remove the entire unit for a solvent wash. But no one does that.

    The Paper versus Oilbath thing has been debated here, with advocates for both. I feel that if oil bath is good enough for Mack and Caterpilar, it's good enough for me.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
  3. Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    I'm an oil bath advocate, it and the oil canister using the cartridge are not popular because of the relative mess created by servicing them. Personally I don't mind it a bit.
     
  4. Twin2

    Twin2 not him 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    post a ad in classified . someone has a stash of them if V6
     
  5. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    I believe if you periodically change the oil in the oil bath filter, you should not have much sludge build-up in the bottom. Solids in the oil is evidence that it has been working. I used to use a little left-over oil at every oil change.

    There was some discussion about the emissions impact of oil bath air cleaners ... manufacturers may have been required to replace them. Anyway, the later Jeeps came with a paper element wrapped with a foam pre-filter. Really, this is no less messy than the oil bath, since the foam was washed in solvent and re-oiled as needed. A paper filter on its own may need very frequent replacement in dusty conditions.

    Not sure what the factory routing is for the fuel line, but they typically run down the frame channel to the tank. Unlikely the factory placement was problematic, but something may have been changed on your Jeep, likely the exhaust routing.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2017
  6. Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    I've never had any of the later CJ's so wasn't aware that they had a pre-filter, so yeah that could be just as messy. Pre-filters are prevalent on outdoor power equipment of course. I have a K & N filter on my truck and cleaning it takes a bit of effort to not be messy.

    It's good that Tim pointed out that sludge indicates that the oil bath filter is working.