Is a bath sponge suitable as temporary fix for car air filter?

After the heavy rain last week I gave my diesel car a check over and discovered rain water had got into my paper air filter and it had fallen apart. There’s a leak at the top of the bonnet and rain water seeps into the air filter box. Thankfully no water got into engine and it turns over as normal.

Is a dry bath sponge suitable to replace the filter with so I can drive out and buy a new air filter?

I have three Austin Sevens, none of them have air filters or were ever fitted with filters. You might notice a difference in performance because the engine will be getting more air. Why not phone a local garage or automotive supplier and ask if will do the car any harm to drive to them? Good luck.

Air filters are hardly necessary in the UK. One of my vintage cars has done 25K miles in my care without one.

Air filters are hardly necessary in the UK. One of my vintage cars has done 25K miles in my care without one.

I will third what John says!

Hi, if you have a Turbocharger, I understand that it is very unwise to run it without a proper air filter.

Regards Nick.

For a short trip, I'd go without a filter. Diesels have a strong suck, you might end up with a sponge in one of the cylinders.

That's not a very answerable question because you'd need think of the volume of air the individual sponge can pass at its expected flow-rate. Too porous and it might have implications for a turbo as Nicholas warns; insufficiently porous and you'd probably be running the engine too rich and lowering its power..

I suspect bath-sponges come in as many porosities as shapes and sizes, and I doubt the cashier in Poundland or Boots would be able to advise you on this.

Order one on line it will come very quickly, might get tomorrow if you pay a bit more.

If getting wet continues to be a risk then maybe K&N do a non paper element filter for that application. I would be more worried about a hydraulic lock but sucking a soggy filter into the engine is not to be recommended, If it got stuck on an exhaust valve seat it could soon wreck the valve.
Mike.

Totally agree with Duncan, get on line and order yourself one, you will most probably get it before the weekend.

Deleted V8

Edited By V8Eng on 18/01/2023 16:51:38

Don't play around with air filters. Get the right one and get it in. Any engine is extremely costly to repair or replace these days, not smart for OP to risk one on an air filter substitute. (or for any other filter, for that matter)

Edited By Jeff Dayman on 18/01/2023 17:59:52

Modern engines may refuse to run if the air supply does not fall with in the specs. Limp mode isn't fun.

Your real problem is that the water will probably do it again. Are you sure it hasn't got there from a big water splash?

A lot of modern cars have a very low air inlet behind the bumper.

I wouldn’t use a sponge in place of the proper air filter it will inevitably be sucked into the engine, proper air filters have reinforcements that prevent this happening. A drive to the dealers to get a replacement wouldn’t hurt the engine, it would only be potentially harmful if you decided to run without permanently. Dave W

Well it will certainly mop up the water that gets into your engine space.

regards Martin

A sponge filter should have a wire mesh/metal perforated plate(small holes) to rest against to prevent it from being sucked in, if its restricted I think you going to have a lazy diesel engine as oppose to an enriched(choked) petrol engine with a carburettor.

What on earth kind of car do you have that a) Lets so much water in around the bonnet b) Allows so much water to enter the air-filter housing and c) Has such a junky filter element that it disintegrates on contact with water, which is a common component of intake air? Lada? Trabant? Other?

The rest of us would like to be forewarned to avoid that brand and model, whatever it is.

DO NOT DO IT ! run without, I dont know where you are but you can use my trade account if you have an MPD branch near you. Noel.

Is the car french by any chance? Seemingly a french design technique is to put the air inlet low to the ground for cold air, I've noticed it more on my french cars than other brands.