Air cleaner

[jp928]

Also applies to P4s. May be a duplicate post....Recent presentation (well, last year) at club meeting by a member was on air cleaners, based on experiences whilst he worked with a large US company that made big industrial vehicles and equipment. Company did a major review of air cleaners , prompted by customer complaints about short engine life between major overhauls. The upshot was a complete switch to paper filters from oil bath types - VERY large improvement in engine life. Being a very long time owner of a P5, he now runs a paper filter inside the std oil bath canister. Re paper filters, he warned that one should NOT either vacuum the outside, or blow air through the outside.

 

[quattro]

Re paper filters, he warned that one should NOT either vacuum the outside, or blow air through the outside.

I have worked in a particularly dusty place and have taken the air filter out and given it a good shake every few weeks. I did blow air through it from the inside and it seemed ok.

 

[jp928]

To check air cleaner function, apply a smear of grease to the inside walls of the cleaner casing (area AFTER the filter) and check for debris collected after a few 1000 miles. In the case of a P5, the inside of the silencer case is appropriate. In a P5B or P6B you would do it inside the alloy elbows.