K&N Filter Clean-Re-Oil

[UTEP]

How ya'll been?

First time cleaning a K&N filter and need some advice. Please see the photos of my filter and check out this video: Cleaning a K&N Air Filter

One of the photos is holding it up to the sun and plenty of light shines through. ~80% of the surface area looks very quite clean and the opaque, very dirty, less than 5%. If it was paper I would not bother at this point but don't know K&N's all that well.

Knowing I will probably have to clean my MAF several times after doing this I want to make sure I have a few days to let it work out so may not do this right away.

Also I bought a cleaner recharge/re-oil kit and the salesman said to hold the filter ~ 1 foot away and just give it one squirt of oil and let it wick throughout. The video from K&N is NOT doing it like that and really soaking it. I think this would lead to a long term issue with my MAF.

When brand new it took me 3 tries to get the MAF clean enough to stop CEL's. Each one a PITA.

Any videos of advice on how to get this right the first time or which approach to take for this process? I REALLY like the K&N and noticed a HUGE performance boost by installing it so will be keeping it.

Thanks,

uteP

 

[shootmymime]

I get mine wet under the sink. Spray on the cleaner and let it kinda soak in for about 5 min. If more dirt it left over I scrub it in with my hands. Then with warm water I spray it off with the sprayer from the sink and then let it dry.

Once dry I spray the oil on in back and forth zig zag motion pretty quick. It's not just one shot of oil and done. It's a spray to cover everything but moving pretty quick. But not soaking it like k&n just enough to change the color back to red.

Anything else? Did that help?

 

[piecesparts]

Coat with filter cleaning solution from K&N and then let set for 15 minutes. Run warm water from the inside out to get the dirt to move away from the filter. Once cleaned and dried, I use a fan to move air around my filters to make sure that they dry faster. I then coat mine with a air pressurized oil can to get a good coating of oil but no too excessive amount. I then let the filter set on edge to allow thee oil to drain off and carry away the larger amounts. I have been running K&N filters on fuel injected vehicles for many years and as of yet, I have NOT encountered the infamous CEL issue of the MAF needing to be cleaned. Granted, most of those vehicles have been late model GM cars and trucks, but they all had MAF sensors. (90 Nissan Maxima, 95 Impala SS, 98 Chevy Lumina, 09 Pontiac G8, 2011 GMC Sierra)

I have not had the Toyota 4 Runner long enough to decide what to do to it.

 

[BrianSD_42]

You really shouldn't be getting any CELs. If the filter went bad and has holes you should call K&N. They will provide a free replacement and ship it to you 2 day shipping.

When I do my CAI cone I first rinse it with warm water. Then spray it with the K&N degreaser. Then repeat rinse. I very cafefully wash it with a soft brush. Then final warm water rinse.

Then dry for 6 hours at room temperature. Alternatively I put it in the oven at 160 degrees F and let it sit for 30 minutes. I only set it to 160 because I don't want the thing to melt .....

On to the oiling ....

Lightly spray the oil all over the AIR-side. At least with the cone you don't spray the inside, only the AIR side. Get lots of oil on it until you see some beads. Then let sit for a minute. Finally take a cloth or paper towels and press against the oil side to dampen up the oil beads.

You should be left with a well oiled but not over oiled filter.

You should not get a CEL. I've done this over 20 times and have never (except the first time) gotten a CEL.

Good luck.

lane:

 

[UTEP]

Thanks all,

So it does need more than a puff but not as much of a soaking as K&N shows.

I had to clean my MAF 3 times to clear the CEL that came on within 10 minutes of driving with the new K&N. As I recall my MAF was very difficult to get off and I had to drill out a stripped screw so probably never addressed. Here in EL Paso it is windy and dusty and a little oil vapor pushed it over the edge.

Maybe I'll have better luck this time.

Thnaks,

UteP

You really shouldn't be getting any CELs. If the filter went bad and has holes you should call K&N. They will provide a free replacement and ship it to you 2 day shipping.

When I do my CAI cone I first rinse it with warm water. Then spray it with the K&N degreaser. Then repeat rinse. I very cafefully wash it with a soft brush. Then final warm water rinse.

Then dry for 6 hours at room temperature. Alternatively I put it in the oven at 160 degrees F and let it sit for 30 minutes. I only set it to 160 because I don't want the thing to melt .....

On to the oiling ....

Lightly spray the oil all over the AIR-side. At least with the cone you don't spray the inside, only the AIR side. Get lots of oil on it until you see some beads. Then let sit for a minute. Finally take a cloth or paper towels and press against the oil side to dampen up the oil beads.

You should be left with a well oiled but not over oiled filter.

You should not get a CEL. I've done this over 20 times and have never (except the first time) gotten a CEL.

Good luck.

lane:

 

[Amirocassar]

Are these even worth it? I mean the cleaning supplies each time I'm sure is expensive+ the time+the time drying, etc. I'm not criticizing, just wondering if it's really worth it money wise.

 

[UTEP]

Are these even worth it? I mean the cleaning supplies each time I'm sure is expensive+ the time+the time drying, etc. I'm not criticizing, just wondering if it's really worth it money wise.

I paid ~$45 for a K&N, I think it was on sale. Cleaning kit was $10 and I think good for several. The Toyota paper filter was close to $25 as I recall. SO the K&N should pay for itself in short order.

Performance wise I replaced a semi-dirty paper filter and the K&N made a HUGE difference in my case. Much greater acceleration and reaching speed on the fwy. Felt like a different 4R! YMMV

HTH

UTEp

 

[BrianSD_42]

As I mentioned it is very important to ...

1) only oil, despite however heavy, the air side of the filter and not the engine side - at least with a cone.

2) after you get plenty of oil on there, let it sit, then use a cloth to sop up all the extra oil beads.

3. You're done!




If you see oil beads / drops then it needs to be soaked up by cloth. No beads of oil then you are good. You still want plenty of oil on there just no whole drops of extra oil.

 

[Gerdo]

WHEN I had a K&N, I would wash it in a sink with dish soap and hot water. The best way to get it clean. Let it air dry and then SPARINGLY oil. As in use almost NO oil. Too much oil and it will get sucked thru and your MAS will get oily and attract dirt.

I say when because after having my MAS oily and dirty too many times, I tossed the filter. I pulled off the whole intake and cleaned it out. So much dirt gets thru the K&N. I'm back to using paper filters and have noticed little to no dirt past the filter and no loss of power.

 

[HiLife]

Are these even worth it? I mean the cleaning supplies each time I'm sure is expensive+ the time+the time drying, etc. I'm not criticizing, just wondering if it's really worth it money wise.

Even thought it looks clean it doesn't take much dirt to plug up a paper filter. And even though the K&N looks very dirty it still is free flowing and still doing the job filtering.

To me it's worth the extra time and money. This is one of the easiest maintenance things to do and pennies compared to other maintenance items.