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View Full Version : Question Air filter covered in oil, how?



leon_richard
09-12-2009, 11:48 PM
I just openen up the air filter to find it was covered in oil, how is this possible? where could it have come from? im mistified

Thanks

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/5610/p0912091432.th.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/p0912091432.jpg/)

zollaf
10-12-2009, 12:27 AM
its come from the engine breather.there will be a pipe from the top of the engine to the air box.

leon_richard
10-12-2009, 08:57 PM
Is this the pipe you mean?
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1623/p0912091446u.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/i/p0912091446u.jpg/)

why would this happen?

zollaf
10-12-2009, 09:23 PM
thats it. fumes from the engine are released into the airfilter. these fumes carry oil mist. on older engines that breath heavily, more oil is carried up. when was your airfilter last changed? you can fit a catch tank in the pipe to seperate the oil.

leon_richard
10-12-2009, 09:46 PM
Not sure when it was last changed, haven't had the car that long.

Think i'll have to fit a catch tank then, how much would one be? Is there anything else i could do to solve it?

zollaf
10-12-2009, 11:09 PM
some cars have a piece of foam in the airbox where the breather pipe goes in to stop oil hitting the filter. i dont know if yours should or not. i wouldnt worry too much about it. a catch tank wont cost much if you go down that route. a friend of mine used a coke bottle on a mk1 golf, but his engine was pretty unhealthy.

aBoijj
17-12-2009, 11:18 PM
Catch cans can be bought new from as little as 25 quid (+p&p).... and that's without having looked on ebay.

Crasher
17-12-2009, 11:26 PM
Don’t worry about it; it is quite normal on the 16v engine. Remember that unless the catch tank breathes into the air filter, it is illegal.

aBoijj
17-12-2009, 11:52 PM
Remember that unless the catch tank breathes into the air filter, it is illegal.
All of the ones I've seen for sale do breathe into the filter.

Finding somewhere to fit the damn thing is the problem http://www.aboijj.com/images/wack.gif

Crasher
18-12-2009, 12:24 AM
You simply do not need it, fit a K&N panel filter which is oiled and washable and stop worrying about it. If it gets realty bad the breather on the back of the block may be clogged which increase the speed of the gases and pulls oil up but my wife’s brand new Polo 16v (exactly the same filter unit) had oil on the filter when I changed it to a K&N and the car had 7 miles on the clock.