Oil & Fuel Oil Bath Filter

[Jerry/MT]

My MF231 has an oil bath filtration system for the air cleaner. I cleaned the oil cup and all the wire mesh this evening.

Ok, so the oil cup has 2 parts to it. Inner and outer cups... My question is should I fill up only the outer part of the oil cup, or both the outer and inner parts of the cup? The inner cup has 6 tiny holes all the way around it. I'm getting different opinions on this question from research.

Thanks

if you look closely you'll see that the inner cup has some holes in it so it will fill by itself. Just fill to the line on the cup.

 

[buickanddeere]

If anything your more likely to hurt the engine with too little oil than too much.

There is a story still popular about an incident at Harper Detroit Diesel in Etobicoke. Back in the 1970's glory days of customers purchasing a gas truck then having a Detroit Diesel transplanted in for more power and lower fuel costs.
A young apprentice had serviced both oil bath airfilters on a dump truck. Then gave her a good snort of throttle backing out once clear of the shop doors. There was a sudden screaming howl, billowing clouds of smoke and a scared kid with both feet on the brakes and the steering wheel turn hard to starboard. The airfilter oil bowls had been filled to the top instead of to the line. To his credit he got her stopped without running over anything or anybody.

 

[Travis_R]

if you look closely you'll see that the inner cup has some holes in it so it will fill by itself. Just fill to the line on the cup.

Thanks for your reply.

So I DO NOT fill the inner cup with oil??

What is the inner cup for?

Why does it have holes in it?

Some say fill it up, others say not to. Which is right and which is wrong?

...still getting different answers/opinions on this.

 

[hog987]

Fill the outter cup to the line insert inner cup, it will now fill with oil.

 

[Travis_R]

Fill the outter cup to the line insert inner cup, it will now fill with oil.

The "inner cup" I'm referring to seems to be more of a 'baffle'... I'm guessing the metal pipe 'tube' in the center of the canister sits down in that baffle..

 

[Travis_R]

Fill it as the owners manual states. Cheaper than buying a new engine.

Ok so I looked through the manual again. The pages are torn out that explains how to service the air cleaner. But I looked at the fluid capacities and it states that the air cleaner cup holds 1 U.S. Pint, which is 2 Cups.

So once I fill the outer oil cup to the "exact oil level" mark, that's gonna tell me if I need to add oil to the inner cup (or baffle)... If the outer cup holds 2 Cups of oil, then I won't add any to the inner cup.

Whatever the outcome may be, you can be sure I'll post back the results! (I done got aggravated with this!!)

 

[Jerry/MT]

Thanks for your reply.

So I DO NOT fill the inner cup with oil??

What is the inner cup for?

Why does it have holes in it?

Some say fill it up, others say not to. Which is right and which is wrong?

...still getting different answers/opinions on this.

Look, here's how this filter works. When the engine is running, the suction from the intake manifold pulls oil up on the mesh. The air comes down the center tube that sits above the small cup, turns 180°and goes up the bigger passage with the oil wetted mesh. When the dirty air turns 180° the big dirt particles don't make the turn and end up in the small cup. The rest of the particles get stuck on the oily mesh. When you shutt down, the oil on the mesh drips down into the cup bringing with it the dirt. That dirt settled down in the bottom of the cup.

Both cups should be filled. Most likely the small cup at the center has 2-3 holes in the side of it so it will fill itself when you pour oil in th outer channel. Just fill both cups and be done with it. It has holes in so that it is self leveling!

 

[Travis_R]

Thanks for the replies and all the help. This thread has very good information, and I'm positive that I'm not the only one with this concern/question. I have seen other posts on the net with people asking the same question, but never got an answer.

Jerry, I understand about the suction of oil and how the process works thanks to you and Hog. It makes perfect sense because when I took the oil cup off the canister, the oil was low in the cup, with crud and sludge in the bottom and the wire mesh up inside the canister also had some oil on it.
I service the air cleaner every 2 years but have read on the net where it needs to be serviced every 6-10 hours under dusty conditions. My owner's manual states every 250 HOURS to CHANGE the air cleaner oil, and every FUEL FILL to CHECK the oil, but regardless, I can surely see now that letting it go for 2 years is just way too long. Sad part is Im very particular about maintaining everything I own that has an engine and thought I was taking real good care of it by servicing the air cleaner every couple years! Starting today, this will no longer happen again.

I don't use my tractor daily. Sometimes it will sit for 2 weeks, but usually not any longer. On average, I put about 100 hours (+-) a year on it mainly gardening, bush hogging, and driveway maintenance. Occasionally I'll pull a few logs and run my wood splitter off the PTO.

 

[Travis_R]

Ok folks there's no doubt about it. You DO fill up the inner cup!

It takes exactly 2 cups. 1 cup fills the outer cup and 1 cup fills the inner cup (baffle with the 6 holes). When it's all said and done, the oil self levels as Jerry stated.

Satisfied to know that this how I been servicing it since I owned the tractor, even though I haven't serviced it often enough.

THANKS TO ALL!