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Opened up my cover to winterize.
Found my foam air filter mostly gone.
Assume it was inhaled. No sign of mice. No ill effects as far as I can tell.
Motor is new to me this season.
Any one else seen this?
Is there a better solution than replace w/stock ie aftermarket k&n type?
Thanks

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I can't speak for this motor or the filter but are you sure the foam was inhaled or could it have disintegrated?

I have an older engine on a log splitter that has a foam filter. Apparently the foam used back then was not Ethanol compliant and it turned to a gooy mess. I might also be possible the previous owner used some sort of fogging spray with out removing the foam and it attacked the foam. Is there no metal screen between the foam and the throat?

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Yes, I have heard of this problem before. Here is a lengthy discussion of the problem. There does not seem to be a good solution apart from replacing the filter with a new one.

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Good discussion link Tom and it appears to be just as I had suspected. We saw similar issues with ATV's a few years back. The filter makers began to place an aluminum screen under the foam but this only kept chunks of disintegrated foam from being ingested. The foam still got gooy.

I am pretty sure if I had this filter I would find another filter media and make it work with some sort of screen under it. I do wonder if the issue has been resolved as the discussion was a bit old.

In regards to some who decided to go filter-less I would highly recommend against this. Although it does not seem so, there are plenty of airborne debris floating around such as pollens and bugs that are not well digested by our motors.

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Hi guys,
Thanks for your help. This site is great. I'm going to buy some of that red foam from the dirt bike company and make a new filter. I'll post some photos. Probably take me a month or so by the time I finish. Best.
Ted

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I made a new filter out of UNI dirt bike filter foam according to the thread Tom posted.
It was easy and cheap and seems at least as good as the old one and hopefully the new foam won't melt.
I'll let you know how it works in the spring.
I posted a few photos on my personal page if any one is interested.
thanks
ted

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Great thread. I just checked my 2007 40hp EFI 4S and it does not appear to have an air filter. I checked my service manual as well. If anyone disagrees, please speak up.