Oil foam air filters or not

[ram]

I am about to change my foam air filters on my 3208ta's and want to know if I oil them or put them in dry. If so do you spray them or soak them. Just checking...thanks...Rick

 

[Glory]

They will get oily on the own. So I doesn't matter.

 

[SEVEN]

A very light mist of the K&N oil works great. Very very light. Just enough to catch the dust.

 

[krush]

K&N filters are well known for *RUINING* engines on land...they don't filter out the dust as well as advertised. On a boat, dust really isn't a problem, though.

*Note* a typo I had running at first instead of ruining.

 

[SEVEN]

You have a point on the dust. I have the airsep system on each motor and I was just following what the prior owner did. I'll do some more reading to make sure it's not needed. I will tell you I just removed and cleaned the filters with the recommended cleaner and they were very very dirty. So they must catch something.

 

[Boatsb]

Oiling them as designed will be better. Even when you don't see it dust is in the air. Look at your ac filters if you doubt me. Why not make it work as designed?

 

[ram]

I thought i had read to oil them somewhere so I'm glad I asked. A light misting they will get. Thanks

 

[34Hatt]

Oiling them as designed will be better. Even when you don't see it dust is in the air. Look at your ac filters if you doubt me. Why not make it work as designed?

I do agree with this thinking for sure. BUT

When I got my boat 16 years ago the Cummins 504 had air boxes and that was it no filters?
I thought someone change something wrong. Then my uncle came to visit a Cat mechanic for 30+ years at that time when I asked him if I should add filters he looked around at the bilge and surrounding and said don't worry. When I took them out they had around 8k hrs still running strong in 2006 and I was told this winter they still are in a boat running around the bay.
If I kept them I probably would have adding one even though I got original paper work and the manual showed them without air filters still think that is strange?

 

[Boatsb]

Even my old detroits have crap for air filters and when used back then in most applications they didn't see a need for air filters to do much. Over time we have learned the cleaner and cooler the air the better. More interesting is the fact that dry air and humid air combust differently and sea spray in air is bad for engines.

If you went to the trouble and expense of adding air seps get the most out of them.