A Little Air Cleaner Advice?

[Bookwus]

Hiya All,

1970 Bus - stone stock.

I'm thinking of taking the flaps out of the intake horn on my air filter in order to do a little cleaning and just generally inspect for wear, etc. But I've never taken apart a Bus air cleaner so I need a little advice........

Check out this picture of the bottom portion of the intake horn.....

I'm guessing that the flaps can be extracted from the horn by somehow getting out the plastic(?) clamp the flap pivot lives in. You can see the forward flap pivot and the rear flap pivot and counterweight. Notice how both are inserted into a plastic looking clamp and that, in turn, is inserted into a notch in the bottom of the air cleaner horn.

So....anybody out there have any experience removing these flaps?

 

[Dave105]

Took mine apart last year when I had the carbs overhauled, bit different than yours as its a '72 but the basic principal looks the same. My vac control flap had fallen off and was wedged inside the air cleaner body!! Anyways from what I can remember they 'just pop out' of the plastic insert that then allows the plastic pivot/clamp to be removed. Be a bit careful as these things are quite delicate and are a bit bendy. might take a bit of effort with a screwdriver. Fitting should just be a reverse>plastic clip>flap
Hope this helps

 

[BJ1]

Be very careful when you do this because the nylon clip will be pretty brittle by now. It's worth heating it up for a few minutes with the hairdryer, just to soften the plastic. Then gently ease it out. The spot welds on the flap often break leaving the flap loose.

 

[Bookwus]

Hiya Guys,

Well, I managed to get the both of them out by doing a little careful prying. I did manage to break one of the clips. But that was easily repaired after a thorough cleaning. And I'm telling you the inside of that air cleaner horn was filthy! There is no way that could have been cleaned properly with the flaps still in place. The dirt was gooey on the top and baked on the bottom. I weighed one of the flaps when I took it out.....34.5 grams. After I cleaned it.....21.1 grams. Yuck!