joetiii

On Sunday I was running a skid pad at a Performance Driving Clinic held by NER PCA. Even though my oil stick read half way tween min & Max, the oil in the tank of my 69 was too high and came up the neck and into the hoses that go to the carbs. Things got ugly from that point as oil was sucked into the carbs and my run was cut short. The car was smoking as about a 1/2 quart of oil was splashed all around the inside of the engine compartment, Heat exchangers were smoking from the dripping oil and the plug sockets were filled w/oil. I cleaned up the mess pretty good with towels, but the K&N air filters are half soaked in oil and are restricting air flow. For those in the know, should I use an engine degreaser to unclog the filter? or will that harm the element? I have the K&N recharge kit which I can use once I wash the filter up, but I'm not sure how to get all the petroleum mess out....

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Joe,

Use Castrol purple degreaser to help remove the excess oil and follow that with the K&N biodegradable cleaner to remove the remaining oil from the cotton gauze aircleaner elements.

Remember, the dipstick is only accurate at or above 185 deg F on a level surface after the engine has been idling for 2 minutes.

joetiii

OK Steve, you bring up a very good point. Here in the northeast this time of year I often drive in 45 degree weather. I can run the car on the highway like I did Sunday cruising at 3500 RPM for an hour and a half , and i couldn't get the temp guage up to 180 degrees. How do I measure the oil in this situation? I believe that oil expands as it gets warmer correct? so how low should it read when the temp is below 185?

In summer, the temp gauge will touch 200 on only the hottest days street driving

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

I'd agree, its challenging to get the oil hot enough to get an accurate dipstick reading in cool weather.

If the car has a front or fender mounted cooler, I block it off so no air can get in or out. If the car doesn't have a front cooler, I put a blanket over the engine grille and let it idle long enough to get it up to 185 deg or better. Quite obviously, this requires very careful attention to the oil temp guage during this process to prevent overheating. One can sit in the car and read a magazine,..

The oil thermostats open at 185 deg F so it must be at LEAST that warm to be sure they are completely open.

3.2SLANTNOSE

The K+N filters are pretty tough! Totally agree with Steve with the purple stuff to remove most of it, then use the kit to finish. When using the K+N spray lube for the filter, don't get carried away with it, follow the directions. Good luck!! Tony.

Bob Rouleau

I have had success using paint thinner to clean the foam elements. Called Varsol up here but available in any hardware store.

3.2SLANTNOSE

Varsol is actually an Exxon trade name for mineral spirits.

wwest

The absolute BEST way to "clean" a K&N filter, or the "like", is to find the nearest garbage can to deposit it in.

For myself I would run the OEM system and if I REALLY wanted the slight additional engine performance for the track I would remove the OEM housing and filter. But only for the track duration.

Maybe a piece of window screen to prevent ingestion of "large" objects.