I have the obvious Alta CAI and I have noticed that I when it gets hot from normal use, the very thick gooey oil turns very liquid and pools on the engine below it. The filter looks kinda dry, how often does this need to be oiled? And is there any oil that is VERY thick that wont drip? Im tired of mopping up oil on the engine.

 

I think they recommend to clean and oil the foam filter every 5k miles. Alta does have a kit available that includes a cleaner spray and spray on oil.

Your filter should not continue to drip oil unless it over oiled. They come saturated in oil and you really need to let it drain well otherwise it will keep dripping the excess oil when it heats up.

 

That oil going through the MAF is bad, over oiling can make it poop out.

 

I also got a big pool of oil below the filter which collected in the plastic covers over the intake runner to the head. The filter does seem to be a bit dry now. I inspected the MAF and it didn't have any oil on it. I'm thinking of replacing the foam filter with a paper one.

 

OK you guys....a little help please...

I've been trying to decide "how much" oil is too much?....I bought a "spare" foam filter and currently have that on the MINI. I cleaned my original ALTA CAI foam filter with the kit, let it dry overnight and then reoiled the foam.... but I'm not sure if I put too much oil on?... or not enough???... How can I tell???

There is no oil dripping from the foam now... and it "feels" moist but not really "greasy"... does that sound about right???

Sorry for the dumb question...

Suzanne

 

I wouldn't call that a dumb question at all since most of us probably don't know the exact answer. I don't. I do know I thought I had taken off enough excess yet it still pooled underneath.

 

If it is pooling under the filter, it is over oiled. It doesn't take much. Just enough to get worked through the foam. Do you have the new version of the filter (the one that come apart)? Those are real easy to oil cause you can get to the inside easier that the first gen ones. The best way for me to describe the amount to use is to rub your hand over the surface and then rub your hands together. If you can barely get oil to spread over both hands then you are about right. This comes from years of using foam filters on dirt bikes.

Also make sure you are using a foam oil not the K&N type. UNI is the brand most use for both cleaning and oil products.

 

Thanks ScottinBend -
your description is great. .. and I think I have it about right... I feel better about putting it back on now.... and yes, I used the UNI kit.

 

Glad I could help. Took me awhile to finally get comfortable with oiling up my old bike filters, but never had any problems since !

 

Yes thanks Scott, So just to clarify, we should oil from the inside?

 

Second that! VERY VERY Light amount of oil is all that is needed. We improved the recent shipments instructions to better explain to REMOVE nearly all of the oil on the filter when delivered.

Also, every 5-7K is a good rule for cleaning.

 

^ Good to hear. I just cleaned my filter last night (A little bit of a pain as its one of the older ones where the foam doesn't slide of, but simple none the less.)

*MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS IN A VERY WELL VENTILATED AREA!!!*

man does that cleaner stink!

 

From my experience, its best to lightly oil the filter then shake out all the excess that you can. Next, let it sit overnight so that any residual oil drains out the bottom. After this you can install it.

 

Not really. I meant that it is easier to get full coverage when you can actually get to the inside of the filter and massage the oil in from both sides. The new version filter is much easier to clean and oil.