Cleaning K&N Filter...
 

it has been a year since i got my K&N kit, and the filter was beginning to look kinda dirty. i know the instructions say "clean every 50,000 miles", but i have only driven about 8,000 since i got it. i made the decision to clean it anyway, while i had the time.

it was simpler to clean than i expected, the only hard part was picking out all the tiny bugs stuck in it. after letting it dry, and then oiling it up, i put it back on and took the car for a spin. i actually noticed a difference. it had a quicker throttle response, especially for a humid day like today.

i figure the bottle of cleaning solution and oil that came with the kit will last for 3 or 4 cleanings. the performance gain was definitely worth the simple cleaning.

has anyone here waited till 50k to clean theirs? i'd imagine it'd be totally black with dirt by then.

Party ON,
~Bob

You should be able to service it more than 3 or 4 times. Just make sure you apply the oil sparingly. If it looks wet anywhere, you have too much oil on it. Too much oil will eventually contaminate the MAF. I'm sure you did great, but just be careful.

Actually, that reminds me that I need to service mine. LOL.

:)

Take care,
~Chris

PKRWUD i love your web site. very clean and user friendly :D made me laugh a few times

nice work

Thanks!!! I'm glad you liked it! I try to add some things every other week or so, so check back again in the future.

Thanks again!

Take care,
~Chris

I clean mine every time I change the oil at 5000 miles....It's simpler that way as you never have to remember when you did it last........By the way, dish soap works the same as the K & N cleaner. I haven't found a substitue for their oil.........

chris, your input on dishwashing soap? i dont know about that, what's your opinion?:D

I wouldn't. If you don't get it all out, adding the oil could create oil bubbles that would take the oil to places that would rather not see it (ie: your MAF). That's just my opinion, though. It might work great. I've always had plenty of cleaner and oil, though, so I've never needed to improvise.

Take care,
~Chris

My owners manual and several other sources, say you should not regularly clean the K & N airfilters. More than a little dirt build up is expected and the filter actually works better this way. If you're offroading in your Stang, you obviously want to clean the clumps out, but if it has just changed colors on you and shows normal dirt build up, don't worry about. My last one I went over 30k miles with and no a single issue. Someone correctlif I'm wrong though, these were the instructions I got for a K & N I had bought about 5 years ago. My new one for my current Mustang I never got the owners manual for, as it was intalled with my Supercharger.

The only reason I could see for not cleaning your air filter too much is that it could cause the cotton fibers to begin shredding. There is no way a dirty or partially dirty air filter is better than a clean one.............Look on your cleaner that comes with the kit and see what the ingredients are.

I swear Paver that is what the directions said. I to would figure a regular cleaning would be good. Have you read the manual which came with your K & N? I read mine and that is what it said. That is why I was wondering if the new owners manual is saying differently, to clean it frequently.

It is very deceptive wording in the K&N paperwork. Allow me to clarify:

The K&N filter actually filters the air better as the filter gets dirty. This is true because the design of the filter makes the dirt particles that become trapped act as another filter. Thus, the more dirt, to a point, that collects on the filter, the better it actually filters the air that passes through it. BUT, the flow decreases as the dirt collects. So, a K&N does filter better when it's dirty than it does when it's clean, but it flows the most air when it's clean.

Does that help?

Take care,
~Chris

Thank you WUD for explaining this MUCH better then I!