Hi and thanks for looking. My newly acquired 1974 1600 T2 has a K+N type air filter fitted in place of the usual oil bath type. I had noticed a faint smell of petrol, and found that the pipe from the fuel tank breather T-piece that would normally connect to the air filter, is missing. There seems to be nowhere on the K+N to connect a pipe to. Can anyone suggest where I should connect the open end of the T, or can I just block it off. Also, the oil filler cap breather pipe that should connect to the air filter has been replaced with what looks like a mini K+N filter, is this OK. Any advice would be much appreciated.
you need to buy a nut-thru' elbow hose fitting, for the diameter of the breather pipe....drill a hole in the metal top of the filter, install the elbow...away you go this type of thing. regarding the mini filter on the filler breather...it's ok to do this, but VW didn't, so I'd revert to stock...not that I'm a purist or anything....
Hi Vanorak, many thanks for that, I'll see if I can find one on Ebay. Could I connect the oil filler breather pipe in the same way, or would the vapour be to messy.
A filter in the oil breather line will create crankcase back pressure as it collects oil...since the system is designed to have a slight vacuum applied, hence exiting into the air filter intake, any pressure build up means oil will eventualy leak past the labryinth seal behind the pulley.
If you still have the original oil bath filter stand in the engine bay, why not go back to stock? I might have an oil bath filter knocking about...
Thanks for all the good advice, I'd like to put it back to original but the filter/stand/clips/pipes etc are all missing, and a pile of wiring and relays have been fitted in the way. Thinking about that back pressure though will cause me sleepless nights, so I might take a run down to FBI? in Swansea to see if they've got all the bits. Typical how a simple mod could potentially have unforeseen consequences .
I wouldn't be overly concerned about crankcase pressure in a stock 1600, particularly seeing as those mini filters provide very little restriction. It's a compromise, but not one that will create issues further down the line IMO.
But as it’s so easy to vent the engine into the airfilter as VW (and most other car manufacturers) intended why not do it properly?
he doesn't have the original air filter box, and there are other components mounted in its place....Yes you could relocate these, and refit the original set-up...but that doesn't answer the OPs question The stock set up IS a breather box...if you're using an alternative air filter(s) , why not fit something that fulfils the oil mist return/vent function of the original? I must've missed something here as it appears that people who have gone down this route must be easily swayed by pedalers of superfluous trinketry I fitted a CB breather box that mounts onto the original oil filler...purely because it's easier to fill up, and provides a return path for oil mist,,,nice bit of kit IMO
Thanks for the good advice. As is often the case, a solution comes from listening to many opinions. A brass elbow should be arriving through the post this morning so I can connect the loose fuel tank breather to the air filter. As for the oil breather, I can live with what I've got for now and get out and enjoy the van over half term without worrying unduly about mishaps. Obviously, if the crank seal was close to blowing, any increase in back pressure would make matters worse, so I'll pick up the bits I need to go back to standard over the winter. One problem sorted, a couple of tricky ones still to address Cheers, Chris.
slight word of warning, I fitted a single Weber to mine and the plastic elbow inside ,the hole /diameter was to small and put pressure on the breathing system and caused oil to come out the dipstick tube. so get a good quality one.
Cheers zed, I was hoping to use a rivnut, if I've ordered the right sizes (never quite got the hang of metric).
