Technical Girl needs help please!!!!

I am the proud new owner of a 1956 Buick Special. I'm in love with the blue beauty but I'm dying from the smell of fumes when I'm driving it. Wondering about the oil bath filter. What kind of oil should I replace the old stuff with and how much do I need? Would it make sense to change the oil bath to a new paper style filter. I appreciate any feedback from you wise fella's. Thanks in advance.

 

What type of fumes? Oil on the exhaust? Fuel leak?

You should find the source before changing things that won't help.

 

Exhaust leak? If so, you must have that fixed ASAP. Keep the oil bath air cleaner. They work a million times better than any paper filter. I use transmission fluid in mine as per an old timer. Works great.

Andy

 

Good advice. ^^^^

I would change the filter anyway, but I am not a restorer and always changed them when I was a kid.

I don't know about the condition of the motor but when I was buying those old cars in the '70s the normal culprit for fumes was the road draft tube. Those old motors were usually on their way out by then. Exhaust was also a common problem.

 

What a great car and trailer combo. I loved my 55. You don't have air filter problems. You have an exhaust leak or gas and or oil fumes are coming in the car. Look under the hood and make sure there are no leaks, then look for ways that air under the hood is getting inside the car. Check the draft tube. If the engine is worn, there will be a lot of blowby. It could be coming back in the car. Last of all, check out the entire exhaust system. VENTIPORTS FOREVER!

 

I agree with Beano,the road draft tube very well my be the culprit.HRP

 

Sharlene, Welcome to the H.A.M.B. That's a Kool Buick and camper you have. Yes, If you have an Exhaust leak, By no means drive her until its fixed. If you don't have a lift go to your nearest garage and have it checked out. Post some more pictures of her. You may just have some oil or trans fluid on the Exhaust. Photos would help. Also your thread ***le really works{ Girl Needs Help} lol Thanks, Ron...

 

Look at your rubber fuel line, and just replace that.
I do that every time I get an old car, or get one running. Its real easy, cheap and then you know its done.
Oil bath air cleaner is not your problem.
Maybe an exhaust shop is in your future. They're not really expensive.
Either way, *****en car. You'll do fine.

 

Be sure that your tailpipes exit past the rear bumper so the fumes are not ****ed back into the cabin.

 

Great looking car, at trailer too! The mid-50's Buick are some of my favorites. As already suggested, I would focus on fixing the culprit of the fumes first. With that said, I would then get rid of the oil bath. There's a reason they went away from them. A paper element is much easier to maintain.

 

Great combo! Along with checking your exhaust system for leaks, check your trunk seal as well. If your trunk seal is gone or deteriorated, exhaust fumes will be ****ed into the cabin through the trunk.

 

EGAD! "Throw the oil bath air cleaner away???" "There's a reason they went away from them?"

1. How many engine miles are on the Buick? (has engine been overhauled in its life? My guess would be yes, but one never knows. Not until researching.)Where are the fumes coming from? Exhaust leak? Road draft tube? If excessive miles, it would be emitting smoke (fumes) from the tube. Engine may be 'tired', from 120K+ miles...
Have a compression test done, then a cylinder leak down test. This will confirm the engine's condition pertaining to oil burning.
2. Reason they stopped using the oil bath air cleaners was production cost. The oil bath air filters are superior in design, but require periodic washing and changing oil inside.

 

Replace your road draft tube with a PCV system. This is easy to do and will eliminate those oil fumes that come up into the car every time you go up a hill or accelerate away from a stop. I had the same problem on my 55 Buick and the PCV system solved the problem. You can check out my flickr photo page to see my 55.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/buickfan/albums/72157594218766363

 

Welcome to the HAMB. Where are you from? I had a '56 Special a couple of years ago and one of the exhaust manifolds had a big crack in it. If you're going to drive it as is for a while make sure you leave all the windows down. Good luck with it....

 

Oil bath air filters really work well. After paper filters were used by the factories, oil baths were still available as a heavy duty, (dusty use), option. At least that is how it was with GM products.

As far as what oil??? Straight 40 wt. perhaps? That's just a guess, though. Do you have an owners manual? If so, that should state what weight of oil to use.

The oil level should be marked on the lower half of the filter. It will be visible after the filter top is removed.

That is a really nice Buick that you have. Especially cool with the matching trailer.

 

***uming the exhaust system is sound I agree with the draft tube being the problem. It will smell like unburned fuel, exhaust, hot oil, all the nasty smells a car cam make combined. Check all the other systems mentioned above to make sure they are sound then replace that draft tube with a PCV valve. That is one pollution control device I almost like. Eliminates the nuisance fumes you are experiencing and recycles unburned fuel raising the engine efficiency 0.00000001%. Every little bit helps!

 

Also, check the vent tube on the gas tank...could be cracked or split and the gas fumes are coming into the car via trunk.

 

We don't know where you live, but I'm sure there is another HAMBER close by that can check it out for you

 

If the carburetor is running rich it could exasperate the problem. Just went through this with my own car; rebuilt my carb, dis***embled it and cleaned it a few more times, but something still just wasn't right, running rich/serious fumes. So I rehabbed a different core (carburetor needing a rebuild). I installed the new carb and fumes improved 100%. Sometimes there are internal problems on a carb that defy solving. I'm not suggesting that this is your problem, just saying it's a possibility.

Love your trailer!

 

Welcome. IMHO there is no reason to remove an oil bath air filter. Usually just clean with a solvent such as kerosene and oil per spec.
They work well when in proper order.
Check the oil draft tube. Is it pumping smoke when idling?
Like others mentioned, check exhaust.
Beautiful car, enjoy....

 

@falcongeorge area?

 

I have to agree with Crazyolman. The fumes you're experiencing very well may be exhaust, but it's not an exhaust leak per se. If the engine has worn piston rings, you'll be experiencing the exhaust fumes, along with oil vapor, through the open road draft tube. What is suggested above should eliminate that issue, however, if your rings are so badly worn that the amount of blowby exceeds the amount of vacuum in the crankcase, you'll still experience the unpleasant fumes to a degree. If that's the case, you may need to convert to a crankcase evacuation system, where the crankcase vapors are dispensed directly into the the exhaust pipes and shipped out the tail pipes. This will eliminate the fumes coming from the engine bay, but basically just relocate them to the rear of the car. If your engine is so worn as to require that action, a rebuild is not too far off in the horizon.

 

Beautiful car. Agree on suggestions about road draft tube and checking for cracked exhaust manifolds and exhaust leaks. The stuff you can smell is unpleasant but won't kill you, You can't smell carbon monoxide, it is odorless, but it can kill you.

 

ZZZZzz, snork...Huh?! Wha?
I know NUTHINGGG! NUUUTHINGGG!!

 

i googled "long joe road" and it came up with B.C.
F.Y.I. don't just google "long Joe"

 

Took me a minute to figure that out...Ohhh, clever aren't you? I will look it up and see how far away she is, just looking at the pic, I think its in the Northern Interior, which means she is several hundred miles from me.

 

Do not throw away the oil bath air cleaner. Take the top off and look inside. There is an oil reservoir in the bottom, it should be filled to the line with 50 weight oil. There will be a line marked 'Oil Level' or similar. If it is over filled, or filled with thin oil it might slosh around and get into the engine.

The oil bath air cleaner will last the life of the car and only needs to be serviced every 5 years or so. At oil change time take the top off and check the oil reservoir. If it is low top it up with 50 weight. If it is more than half full of dirt it is time to clean it.

How to service an oil bath air cleaner. Only if it needs it.

Take the top part and soak in cleaning solvent, kerosene or Varsol. Rinse and let drip dry, do not blow air in it.

Pour the oil out of the base and clean it out with rags or cotton waste. Put it back on and fill to the line. Pour a little 50 weight into the filter media and put the top back on. There, done. If you drive on good paved roads it will stay good for years, even in very dusty conditions should go for months.

You can buy 50 weight motor oil at any good auto parts store. 1 quart or 1 liter will last for years.

Reasons for changing from oil bath to paper filter:

1) They were making hoods lower every year and paper filters are easier to squeeze into a small space

2) Paper filters are CHEAPER for the manufacturer to install

3) They make more PROFITS selling replacement paper filters

This is why they quit using oil bath air cleaners that last the life of the car, and went to cheap paper filters.

 

A road draft tube won't have any noticeable fumes if the engine is in good order. The engine (and the rest of it) should be gone over by a competent mechanic who is familiar with old school iron.

Oil bath filters work well. Typically the operators manual would specify the same weight oil as used in the crankcase. 30 weight or "10-W30" would be fine for spring through fall.

Cool car