Hi,
Back when Scotty used to answer questions on his old website, he said I should use carburetor cleaner to clean out the dust from my engine air filter compartment when changing the engine air filter.
Any idea of why he would recommend carburetor cleaner to clean out the plastic engine air filter compartment?
I checked the ingredients of Auto Zone "Carb Cleaner" as well as O'Reilly "Carb and Choke Cleaner." I found that the Auto Zone Carb Cleaner had methanol as its main ingredient while O'Reilly "Carb and Choke Cleaner" had acetone as its main ingredient.
In my experience, acetone is really nasty on just about everything, and I'm worried it might melt the plastic, but I'm not sure.
Any suggestions on which brand of carburetor cleaner I would want to use for something like this?
I have a 2006 Lexus RX400h and my engine air filter replacement looks like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmBC3Xle8kc
Don't do that.
Just wipe dust off with rag.
Or blow it out with compressed air.
I sometimes use carb cleaner to clean inside metal air filter housings. For plastic I'll just wipe them with a rag.
wouldn't the oily film left behind just attract more dirt?
Hasn't been a problem, I wipe it up really good, it comes clean. Brake cleaner would be a better choice though since it leaves no residue.
For metal, yes. I wouldn't use any strong solvents on his plastic one.
No, solvents on plastic would be a definite no-no. (I have some older cars with the old circular metal air cleaner housings that sit on top of the carb and use solvent to clean those.)
Air boxes are made of a compound of polypropylene and a fire retardant.
Carb cleaners typically contain Acetone and Toluene.
Polypropylene has an A (excellent) compatibility rating with acetone.
You should be more worried about the toluene. Polypropylene has only a C (fair) compatibility rating with toluene.
But that only means it isn't suitable for continuous contact.
Spraying carb cleaner on the plastic and cleaning it up with a paper towel isn't going to hurt it a bit.
You are showing just one brand. There are many cleaners out there, with a various cocktails of chemicals, such as benzene, which polypropylene does not tolerate.
Thanks.
do have a vacuum cleaner with a detachable hose? or a shop vac?
thats what i'd use
