cleaning my filter

[Nigel215]

Ok, so i think its about time for me to clean the filter on my K&N FIPK. Its been on their for about a year now and it is BLACK! I have the recharge kit and everything, i was just wondering how long i should let it dry? I dont want to pull any of the oils into my MAF. Has anyone cleaned theirs? any pointers or tips?
Thanks

[2000CAYukon]

I usually spray on the cleaner and wash with soap and water. Rinse and I let it sit in the sun for about an hour. I then spray on the oil. Be careful not to overspray. I let it sit for a half hour and then wipe off any excess oil with a clean rag.

//2000CAYukon

[jeverett]

I was wondering this same thing...mines black also with bugs n stuff stuck in it!!

[kenny-1907]

When ever i have had to clean any of my K&N filters i usually only used the cleaner from the recharge kit cause they have never really been all that dirty. Use cold water only for rinsing it out and i would be careful about letting it sit in the sun to dry because i did that one time with the ring style filter and the damn thing shrunk because the filter element is made of cotton. I usually just rinse it out and shake the excess water out of it and let it sit outside out of the sun where a breeze can get at it. Once it is dry and you are re-oiling it just apply a light coat and let it soak in then if needed re-apply a second coat because it is not so much about the excess on the filter that can cause harm, it is the excess that will soak in and possibly get drawn into the air intake damaging the MAF sensor.

[2000CAYukon]

You can also use a soft bristle brush to help clean the filter. I bought a 1 inch round brush that I only use on my K&N filters.

//2000CAYukon

[Rollingbones]

One thing you might want to do. After washing and when rinsing the unit, rinse it from the inside out (opposite direction of the air flow) and be careful not to use to high pressure as to not damage the element. This will help remove the dirt as opposed to forcing it in further.

[Nigel215]

thanks guys, ill give it a go sometime this weekend

[jethro_3]

Anyone seen the True Flow foam filter? Got one on eBay and picked it up on my trip, cleans a lot better than K&N and allows more air even when dirty. Check it out..

[Rollingbones]

Hmmmm. I took a look at their web site. The part I didn't agree with was keeping the original box in favor of a cone. When you pull the air box from the truck you'll see it's a lot more restrictive to the amount of free flowing air which gets to the filter. I'm not too worried about "damaging moisture". First I'd be willing to bet that if you pop your hood under multiple circumstances, you'll find the engine compartment to be dry. If it isn't then there's also a chance moisture can get into your air box as well, though not as much since the air intake into the box itself is more restricted. Of course I can't prove all this, but just my $.02 worth. As for which lets more air through, inch for inch, I'd have to see some cold hard data to make a judgement on that one.

[jethro_3]

Ever seen what farm tractors, combines and K&N wrap their filter with? Foam wrap. If a thin layer of foam stops the large particles then an inch plus will trap a lot more than large particles providing more surface than a layer of paper. If one area of the foam gets plugged the air can travel through the faom and still provide the volume needed. When a paper surface gets plugged the air can not have the room to find a different path to get around the plugged area, just through a different surface space. Interesting that K&N does a prewrap of foam... Just a thought

[Rollingbones]

I'm sure they both let ahella lotta air through and I don't doubt the foam works well in doing this. On the other hand, I've had yard power tools which used foam filters and they got dirty and backed up and had to be cleaned as well. K&N is not paper, it's cotton....big differance (and it does a really good job blocking dirt). One other thing is I used a K&N filter with the stock air box for the past 2 1/2 years. It worked much better than the stock paper filter. When I dumped the box for the cone, it showed an additional improvement. Just a thought!!!

[jethro_3]

Cool, cool... I agree about the air box, I want to make a hole in the bottom and tube it to the tow hook location making a ram tube thus getting more air in cold.

[jeverett]

I just cleaned my FIPK filter last night. I don't agree with the box about only cleaning it every 50K miles. Mine was filthy! Made a good difference after washing and re-oiling.

[Rollingbones]

When I installed mine and with reading the instructions (don't tell anyone I did that) and other material, it said to clean the FIPK filter once a year (or more if needed). Some things are worth giving a little extra attention to!!!

[korndogg]

it depends where you live and how much crap is gonna get stuck in the filter.