Ok so i live in Anchorage, Alaska. Over the last week Mt. Redoubt has been erupting. Now we are starting to get ash falling in the city. I know driving in the ash is BAD for my bird. Any tips or ideas for reducing the negative impact from the ash?

 

i know after mt. saint helens blew the truckers were running air filters in front of air filters and they were extra capacity. they were also driving side by side blocking the lanes and going real slow to keep the dust down. put the best air filter you can find in your car and change it often. an oil change should be done also. and don't wash the car with a mitt until you have rinsed off all the grit you can, unless you're sanding it for a new paint job anyway. and don't make the mistake i made and turn your car around in that nice looking dirt lot beside the road! it turned out to be the spot where the town was dumping all the ash they swept up off the roads. not a pretty picture!

 

alright. thanks for the response. I am running a Spectre cone filter off the stock TBI hat, then through a K&N In the TBI hat. so in essence i am running a Dual filter setup already. oh yeah... My bird has some cosmetic issues, the ash is prolly the least of my problems.

 

make sure you door seals are tight etc that ash can force itself in everywhere! you dont want a interior full of it. Other then that check you air filter often and blow it out with compressed air.

 

Clean the air filter daily. Install a sock type filter over the regular filter. Re-oil the K&N filter. It will stop the ash better than a paper filter.

 

I lived at the bass of her when she blew her top. ANY OIL FILTER is NO. My old man said use stock style and panty hose. You won't beable to use your cold and hot air. It will blow the ash inside. He said it's best not to drive it if it is forced air. I cleaned peoples cars up. We also had to collector cars in a garage over on the east side of the mts. People over the got 2'+. Can remember cleaning that crap for days. Hope it doesn't get that bad up there.

 

Man, buy yourself a cheap car, something cheap. No way I'm driving mine with all the ash. Thankfully I live in Thunderbird falls and have my bronco I can drive instead. No ash up here. The camaro's staying in the garage with the cover on.

 

stretch panty hose over your filter and clean it daily if not more often

 

if you have a colod air you can run an outerwear... the panty hose is a good idea.

I run a baby-tshirt on my dodges BHAF filter it's 12in by 10in across circular type.

if it's an oiled filter and you over oil it you suck oil into your engine, if it's under oiled you dust your motor.... especially in your situation i would run a dry filter for a while

 

As said I would just use as many redundant air filters are possible. Maybe I'd put panty hose over the initial inlet, as well as over the inlet AND outlet of the flex duct on the stock TBI air cleaner assembly. Then I would check my air filter and continually check everything every day or even after each drive.

Oh yeah, and only drive if you REALLY REALLY REALLY have to.

 

BTW, i have heard of chemicals being in volcanic ash... i wonder if it has a paint eating effect or would cause rust.

a constant washdown would be a good idea every chance you get.

 

Blow the car off with air before you wash it... the ash is very acidic and adding water to that can do REALLY bad things to your paint, metal, and glass. Blow as much of it off as possible with air before you wash it, and keep it under a car cover or tarp or something when it just sits.

 

Ash is extremely fine. We had it here when mt st helens blew. You definatly dont want to be using a k&n cotton&oil type air filter with this stuff. Get a real good paper filter, change it often. Don't rub the ash to get it off anything. It's as good as sand paper. Very sharp.

 

Don't hose it down until you take a leaf blower to the car. The ash will wreck your paint. Drive as little as you can. That stuff will get into every crack. Run the paper with the foam around it then put the hoses over it good luck