Page 1 of 1
air filter question - hoping for quick answer
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 8:30 am
by sstein
I drained the airbox the other day and got maybe 1/3 cup of old looking oil. So I opened up the box to check the filter. May have been changed a few thousand miles ago - I really don't remember.
Filter was sort of "moist" with oily residue, not dripping, but enough so that it would leave a shiny oily trace on your fingertips after handling it. There seemed to be a trace of dirt as well, not too much. The airbox was otherwise clear of debris.
Is this normal? Or should the filter be totally dry? I am wondering if I should pick up a replacement.
Bike is 2002R with 23000 miles.
Thanks.
Steven
Re: air filter question - hoping for quick answer
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:54 am
by kirby
Paper filters? If stock paper filter they work best when dry (air flow) but tI should not hurt a thing if a bit of oil is on it.
The oil is from the crankcase and its normal to have some oil in the box but just a little. I have never seen it coat the filter unless there was allot of oil in there. (several ozs) A cup is 8oz and I would think that maybe the box has not been drained for a while. I rarely see more than some oil residue in mine unless I go to a track day or are really flogging it in which case I always pull the plug and drain.
Not a bad idea to pull that plug every oil change and get any oil out.
mike
Re: air filter question - hoping for quick answer
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 11:51 am
by sstein
Thanks. I think it is OK. It is just a trace of oil on the filter. It is a K&N filter.
Re: air filter question - hoping for quick answer
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 12:03 pm
by kirby
Of course K&N filters are not paper but gauze and they are suppose to be oily although most people put way too much oil on them after cleaning. They usually come from the factory oiled and if you have not cleaned yours its oily not due to the airbox!
cheers
:-)
Re: air filter question - hoping for quick answer
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 12:59 pm
by sstein
Gotcha...very helpful, thanks. I did Youtube "cleaning K&N filter" and saw that it should be cleaned once in a while in a certain way. Spray it, let is rest, wash with water, dry, then spray with their oil spray. The filters in the video are filthy, gunked up totally, way worse than mine. I'll just pop it back into the airbox and forget about it for a while.
Thanks again.