Do you consider my air filter dirty - and what is this spongiform stuff?

3991 Views 49 Replies 24 Participants Last post by STCorndog, 4 mo ago

MarkDTrooper

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

This is all air-filter related - honest!

I was doing some electrical work that required pulling the tank so while I was there I had a bit of a looksee at the air-filter. Mostly it has been serviced at a shop, so it's not something I look at very often.

My first observation is that my filter seems a bit dirty given that the service mob ostensibly changed it less than 5,000km ago. Those km have mostly been on sealed roads. At first I thought it might have been some spray-on solution that some air filter like K&N use, but it doesn't feel like it, so I'm curious what the hive-mind thinks. What do you think? Typical for 5,000km or typical of the service mob not changing it?

I ask this because I know that getting to the air-filter is quite a pain, so easy to avoid.

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My second observation is more of a question. What is this steel-wool/metallic spongy stuff on the left hand side of the airbox in the picture? I presume it's a filtering element of some sort. But as soon as I touch it, it crumbles into a 1,000 pieces. Can anyone tell me what this material is and whether I should replace it if it's all crumbly? And what do I replace it with?

This is on a 2010 DL-650.

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Thanks.

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Syz

· #2 · 4 mo ago

I wouldn't say that filter is too bad. I would leave it in there for another 5K.

As for the other media.
No idea. sorry

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dmfdmf

· #3 · 4 mo ago (Edited)

Agree, that filter looks okay to me. Normal dust which means it is doing its job.

The sponge thingy is to capture the oil from the crankcase breather tubes before the blowby fumes go into the engine to be burned (for smog regs) and return the oil to the crankcase. Years ago I messed with my airbox and posted in Four Airbox Mods thread which should give you an idea of what it does. Yours needs to be replaced and it still available from Suzuki but others have just used various types of foam from lawn mower air filters or what not.

Edit: Is that really metal or deteriorated plastic? They are known to disintegrate after many years/miles. Also, you could bang that air filter on the ground and vacuum the dust off and get many more miles out of it. I was surprised to find a lot of bees and bugs in my filters in the past hence the bee-blocker in my link.

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K9 Wee

· #4 · 4 mo ago

Me personally? That air filter is done, new one swapped in at this point. The other stuff? Oil mist coalescer that is normally made from a structured plastic (similar to a lawn mower air cleaner foam) but in this case looks to be a stainless steel version. Me? No way a bunch of steel crap is going to be in my airbox where it might disintegrate and be sucked into my engine, but there are lots of people who think the 'Zook is a BMW and there is little reason to worry. The dark staining on your air filter would seem to indicate that the metal stuff does not work as an oil coalescer as expected...the crumbly nature of it would indicate that the environment it is in has caused it to degrade and that it should be replaced with a structured plastic designed for the purpose. My 2 cents and worth about the same.

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81Delorean

· #5 · 4 mo ago

Filter is probably still good for a while but it's not that expensive so why not replace it anyway while your in there? That way you know its clean and will last. Can't answer about the metal filter. I don't think I would be to crazy about having metal in there for pieces to get sucked in the engine either. I would see what Suzuki has as OEM and go with that.

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MarkDTrooper

Discussion Starter · #6 · 4 mo ago

dmfdmf said:
Edit: Is that really metal or deteriorated plastic?

I'm not really sure. It looks metal, but it could easily be plastiky stuff. After it decomposed when I touched it, I avoided messing with it further. But clearly, flaky material in the airbox is not good.

FWIW, It's original to the bike as I've had it since new.

MarkDTrooper

Discussion Starter · #7 · 4 mo ago

81Delorean said:
Filter is probably still good for a while but it's not that expensive so why not replace it

Yep. My local Mr Suzuki has ordered a 3rd party filter as they no longer supply EOM. Figures. I probably could have gone on ebay just as easily as they did... Oh well, lessons learned.

MarkDTrooper

Discussion Starter · #8 · 4 mo ago

K9 Wee said:
The dark staining on your air filter would seem to indicate that the metal stuff does not work as an oil coalescer as expected...the crumbly nature of it would indicate that the environment it is in has caused it to degrade and that it should be replaced with a structured plastic designed for the purpose.

That makes sense. But what exactly is "structured plastic"? By all accounts Mr Suzuki is no longer supplying this thing as a part. Can I just use some sort of foam filter that's innocuous if any particles enter the engine?

Rolex

· #9 · 4 mo ago

As said coalescer is for the oil fumes, the microscopic oil fumes hit it, build up until they are a droplet, that droplet becomes heavy and drops off the coalescer, it then drips back down into the crankcase.

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dmfdmf

· #10 · 4 mo ago

MarkDTrooper said:
That makes sense. But what exactly is "structured plastic"? By all accounts Mr Suzuki is no longer supplying this thing as a part. Can I just use some sort of foam filter that's innocuous if any particles enter the engine?

That part is still available. Find a site that has an OEM parts finder in your country. I looked it up at Carol Stream Suzuki (USA, of course) and it was $15. Do a site search here, some riders have replaced it with other types of foam, etc. I'd stick to an OEM air filter too if you opt to replace.

Suzuki Air Cleaner Part is #6
FILTER, BREATHER
13788-27G10

Improperly Torqued

· #11 · 4 mo ago

I'd probably replace that filter, but that's just me. It's kind of a pain to get in there and I'm not as cheap as some of my fellow strommers. I keep a new one on hand and whenever I'm in there, if it looks questionable, I swap it. Usually a couple of years / 10k miles-ish. Depending on what you're riding through (like wildfire smoke in the western US), it can saturate surprisingly quickly.

I would not be ok with steel wool in there, if that's what it is. Maybe some shop replaced the OEM sponge with steel wool, unbeknownst to you?

Nicad

· #12 · 4 mo ago

That looks older than a 5,000 km filter to me if it has been riden on asphalt.

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Gert

· #13 · 4 mo ago

All the 1st and 2nd generation Wee, plus the 1st generation Vee, have these PVC breather sponge.
If you do a search via the Search Comumunity, at the top of the page, you will find hits like Foam Filter under Air Filter, Breather box filter material, Breather Tube Foam?, Wet Breather Filter in airbox, Breather Foam, etc.

A tip for when you do install the air filter, remember to put a light coat of grease on the area of the air filter seal that comes into contact with the airbox base and lid. This will help to keep any dust from bypassing the air filter when riding in dusty conditions.

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PerazziMx14

· #14 · 4 mo ago

While that air filter is a long way from the end of its service life Suzuki made it a PITA to access them so I'm probably replace just because I already had the bike half was disassembled to get the the air filter.

FWIW I do not condone the use of pleated oil gauze type filters like K&N and I hate to pay the price of OEM so I use aftermarket like HiFlo air and oil filters.

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Marmora

· #15 · 4 mo ago

Hi-flo part # for 2020dl 1050? Please& thank you.

Motor7

· #16 · 4 mo ago

MarkDTrooper said:
This is all air-filter related - honest!

I was doing some electrical work that required pulling the tank so while I was there I had a bit of a looksee at the air-filter. Mostly it has been serviced at a shop, so it's not something I look at very often.

My first observation is that my filter seems a bit dirty given that the service mob ostensibly changed it less than 5,000km ago. Those km have mostly been on sealed roads. At first I thought it might have been some spray-on solution that some air filter like K&N use, but it doesn't feel like it, so I'm curious what the hive-mind thinks. What do you think? Typical for 5,000km or typical of the service mob not changing it?

I ask this because I know that getting to the air-filter is quite a pain, so easy to avoid.

View attachment 312937

Thanks.

No,....THIS is dirty:

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K9 Wee

· #17 · 4 mo ago

MarkDTrooper said:
That makes sense. But what exactly is "structured plastic"? By all accounts Mr Suzuki is no longer supplying this thing as a part. Can I just use some sort of foam filter that's innocuous if any particles enter the engine?

Hi Mark -
The item is a formed or woven piece of polymer foam (usually polypropylene) that holds its shape. The foam captures oil mist which then drains by gravity back to the crankcase. Most open-cell foam sold for fish tanks, lawn mowers, air filters, etc. would work.

Some manufacturers use stainless steel wool for this purpose in air compressors and the like. There are a bunch of discussions on the interwebs about this and many are of the mind that stainless steel wool is good for this application.

Not my cup of tea to put anything metal into an area where it might get sucked in to an engine...bad joo joo!

Find a suitable plastic foam, cut to size, install new air filter and ride on!

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PerazziMx14

· #18 · 4 mo ago

MarkDTrooper said:
That makes sense. But what exactly is "structured plastic"? By all accounts Mr Suzuki is no longer supplying this thing as a part. Can I just use some sort of foam filter that's innocuous if any particles enter the engine?

If it were me I'd get a pack of these or similar and cut a couple to fit and layer accordingly to get close to the right thickness

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Motorpsychology

· #19 · 4 mo ago

For the crankcase breather, this stuff works. you just want to break up the droplets. Cut to fit and you can get two. filters. This is off the US Amazon site

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Big Boy

· #20 · 4 mo ago

THIS is a DIRTY air filter

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