RamFlo 400 Hole in filter element...

[Paulie420]

So, I've had my RamFlo 400 installed for around 3 months, 3000+ miles. Anyway, I just decided to pop the cover off and take a look at the inside. All looks great as far as shit left inside... not to much ugly residue or anything like that. However, right in the center of the filter element... the foam part, there is a hole. It looks like it just got too hot and melted, or caught a spark or SOMETHING... anyway, there is a smaller than a dime sized hole in the center... and it kinda ripples out, eated away a bit around the hole.

Should I completely stop riding the bike till its fixed? Also, around the outside it was quite dirty... that black kinda oily dirt stuff.

And, I'm thinking it might be a bit hard to replace the foam element b/c Trak Tek is down. I was thinking of just ordered any RamFlo foam element replacement... as long as its bigger than the 400 and cutting it to size. Is there a univeral foam element I could buy locally???

What type of oil gets sprayed on it??? Any certain way to do it???

Any info would help a lot, and I have pics at home if you wanna see it.

Wonder what caused it??? Hot rodding??? I dunno....

Anyway, you might wanna check yours too... LOVE the RamFlo just wanna make sure I get it back to normal.

Thanks.

[NRHS Sales]

Chris is back at Trak Tec. Had a family crisis he was taking care of but now all reports are things are back to normal. Give him a call or e-mail and I am sure he will take care of you.

[Under-Dog]

Okay, this is my first post here. I've been "lurking" for a while and reading and re-reading all the good info available in these forums.

So, why do I post now? Well, it's the first time I felt I could add anything of value that wasn't already in the thread.

The (hopefully) helpful part of this is that I talked to the guy at Trak-Tek by phone on Wed. night and he is still in business.

I have been planning a stage 1 and did a lot of reading to try and decide which A/C and pipes I should use. Based on what I could see, the RamFlo is the best in terms of performance, looks and size. But that's subjective and let's just say I liked it a lot. Then I read about the people who couldn't get a hold of anyone at Trak-Tek. Decided to put off the internet purchase and call instead. Got no answer on Tuesday but kept trying on Wednesday while I searched the internet for a suitable substitute. Fortunately, I didn't really find one and kept trying to reach Trak-Tek by phone. I was just about to give up when I got an answer.

To shorten the story, I placed my order because the guy is just so friendly, talkative, and informative (not to mention I WANT a RamFlo). I think we talked for 30 mins. or more.

He also said he has replacement foam. I can't say for sure. But if you call him up at the contact number on his site, he will likely do you right in getting that foam replaced. And he might even offer some advice as to the hows and whys.

Oh well. That's about all I can offer. So I'll shut up and get back to reading.

Thanks all for the wealth of useful information!!

Ride Safe!

[Under-Dog]

Oh well... too slow, I guess

[avnsteve]

I have a ramflo, and the hole is caused by carb farts, which can occur regardless how well you are tuned. Chris sent me a free replacement element (Thanks again Chris). In the interim, you can go to the local hobby shop or maybe even home improvement center, get some bulk foam and get it as close to the same size cell structure, as for oil, I used some spare 30 wt I had laying around, no problems...

[sportysrock]

Wash it in warm dish-soapy water, dry it, and oil with some high tack foam filter oil. You can probably get some locally at a dirt bike dealer. Reinstall the foam element upside down from how it was before, since the carb inlet lines up more to the bottom of the foam and scorches it there. You should then have some fresh foam area lined up.

[Gone]

I used to have the same problem with Edelbrock air cleaners on my car. A few back fires and the foam was melted. It doesn't take much to cause a hole in them.