The Findings
Well here's what Motor Saver says. And some pictures to help show what they think the problem was.
Thank you Jeff for sending back the filter and base for evaluation. We were not able to tell where the dirt path was on the filter because the foam and the filter have been cleaned. This information is very helpful because it will show the path of the dirt as it moves to the center of the hole.
The foam seemed to be in fairly good condition. There was no major sign of degradation and the compression on the foam was still good. However, we did notice on the rubber base where it attached to the carburetor that there was a good chance that that was where the dirt came in. If you look at the picture of your rubber base (fig. 1) you can see track marks, or indentations, this can only occur when the tie strap is not seeded between both sides of the rubber rings. It appears that the tie strap was put on the second ring in from the edge as we recreated in figure 2. This could have easily accounted for the dirt sucking into the carburetor and blowing up the rubber base into the filter.
Everyone might not know that the carburetor has significant blow-by that actually shoots gases up into the rubber base, which is normal. If the dirt was coming from under the base it could follow the path into the engine and up the inside wall of the rubber base. We have found that if you attach a tie strap to the rubber base on most carburetors and tighten down tight the rubber actually bunches up (fig. 3) and can form a small air passage under the rubber base and between the rubber base and the tie strap (fig. 4). As we said before it looked like the tie strap had not been seeded between the two rings.
We have gotten away from using the traditional tie strap on the carburetor for those reasons. We developed a spring clamp that wraps completely around the rubber base evenly and when put on properly and snapped into position will actually dig into the rubber base forming a very clean and even seal around the carburetor. (See insert)
As we said in the last email, we want to know if there are any problems at our end so that we can correct them immediately. We also mentioned that we would send you $40 for your trouble so we will be sending that to you by way of registered mail, signature required.
Thank you,
Motor Saver Filters