RL02 drive tuneup

Hi all, this thread has turned up at the right moment... I'm beginning to resurrect an 11/23 system so I can get stuff off an batch of old RL01's & RL02's. If it hadn't been for the comments about the foam filter, I'd have found out the hard way! The foam was like an exihibit from the Mummy's tomb - just crumbled away as soon as it was touched! So, I suppose it's safe to run the drive for a while *without* this filter, but is there anything to use as a short-term substitute? Also, if I leave the head-lock in place, and try to run up the drive with a pack, would it run up to speed so I could leave it to 'purge' the pack before powering-down and *then* allowing the heads to load? These packs and drives have not been stored in the best conditions, which is why I want to take precautions. Thanks for any suggestions, Graham Reid