How To Clean A Kand N Air Filter

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K&Due north auto air filters are prized for their durable structure and long lifespan. Different normal paper filters, they can be cleaned and reused for tens of thousands of miles, which will spare you the inconvenience of having to have your air filter replaced regularly. Best of all, they're a cinch to clean. Using the Recharger kit included with your K&Northward filter, just spray the filter with the cleaning solution, rinse it and apply a new coat of dust-trapping oil. Keeping your One thousand&North air filter clean and in good condition volition greatly amend your vehicle'southward mileage and overall performance.

i
Remove the filter. Popular the hood on your vehicle to access the engine compartment. Find your air filter—these are nigh always housed inside a big plastic box that makes them hands identifiable. If there are band clamps or latches holding the filter in place, disengage them and lift the filter straight out.^[1]
- Depending on the make and model of your vehicle, the air filter may be flat, circular or conical in shape. The methods used to make clean the filter volition exist the same regardless of its design.^[2]
- You may also desire to stick a towel or some other object into the air intake port to keep debris from entering the engine after the filter has been removed.
2
Determine whether your filter needs cleaning. K&N advises that their air filters only require service if whatsoever of the filter's folds are covered so thickly with dust or dirt that they're no longer visible. If you can still obviously see the pleats on your filter, information technology may not need to be cleaned, even if it appears dirty.^[3]
- If your filter looks clogged or fuzzy, or if it's lost all traces of its reddish oil coat, it'south probably due for a cleaning.
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iii
Shake off loose dust and dirt. Give the filter a gentle milk shake to dislodge any debris is resting on the surface. Don eye protection and a animate mask if you accept them to avoid inhaling dust particles. Be careful non to shake the filter too hard or handle the pleats directly, equally this could potentially damage them.^[iv]
- You can also use a soft-bristled castor to remove dust without harming the filter.
- To avoid making a mess, information technology'due south recommended that you remove your air filter outside.
4
Spray the filter with cleaning solution. Catch the canteen of aerosol cleaner that came included with your filter. Spray the filter liberally on both sides. It's important that y'all clean both the inner and outer surfaces of the filter, non just the muddied exterior pleats. Make sure each individual pleat has been thoroughly misted with cleaner.^[5]
- Use as much solution as you demand to completely glaze both sides of the filter.
- One thousand&Northward's proprietary air filter cleaning solution can be purchased online or wherever auto accessories are sold.
5
Allow the solution to soak on the filter for 10 minutes. As the cleaner sits on the filter, it will begin to cutting through caked-on crud, making it easy to rinse away. Identify the filter in the sink or on a towel while the cleaning solution does its job. This will prevent dissolved gunk from running off and staining your work surface.^[half-dozen]
- Be careful not to let the cleaning solution dry on the filter.
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1
Rinse the filter from the inside out with cool water. Turn on a hose or tap to a light stream. Hold the air filter directly under the stream and so that the h2o runs through the inside of the filter to the outside. The h2o will carry abroad the grit and dirt loosened past the cleaning solution.^[vii]
- Rinsing from the outside in will just force dirt further into the filter.^[8]
- If your air filter happens to be especially filthy, y'all may demand to echo the cleaning and rinsing procedure more than once in society to restore information technology to a like-new condition.
ii
Shake off the excess water. Alternatively, y'all can rest the filter against another object at an angle and permit it drip-dry. Get off equally much standing wet as you tin can. Again, try not to handle the filter likewise roughly.^[ix]
- Set the filter on a clean, dry towel to absorb more than h2o.
- For quicker drying, brand certain you leave the filter in a well-ventilated surface area at a mild temperature.^[10]
iii
Let the filter air dry out overnight. It will usually have somewhere between six and eight hours for the filter to dry completely indoors. Plan on servicing your air filter at a time that you know y'all won't need to drive anywhere.^[11]
- Exercise not attempt to use oil while the filter is still moisture.^[12]
- If need exist, you tin temporarily install a regular dispensable air filter so that you'll be able to use your vehicle while your K&Northward filter finishes drying.
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ane
Apply a thin coat of oil to each fold in the filter. Your K&N air filter Recharger kit should besides include a separate oil in either a squeeze canteen or aerosolized spray tin can. This oil needs to be spread directly over each pleat in the filter. If y'all're using a clasp bottle, run the tip along the tiptop of the pleat as yous squeeze. If you're using a spray can, concur the filter a few inches abroad from the nozzle to ensure that the oil coats properly.^[13]
- Chiliad&North air filter oil contains a subtle cherry dye that makes it easy to come across how much of the filter you lot've covered. By the fourth dimension you're finished, the entire filter should have a carmine tint to it.
- Utilise a paper towel to wipe away excess oil effectually the edges of the filter and work the oil more evenly into the pleats.^[fourteen]
- Be certain to piece of work outside or in another well-ventilated area and spray the oil abroad from your face.
2
Let the oil stand for twenty minutes. The oil will wick into the surface of the filter, creating a more than effective bulwark.^[fifteen]
- Oil is used to assist the filter collect dust, clay and other debris every bit it enters the air intake.
- The oil also serves to protect the filter from deterioration, extending its lifespan.
3
Supplant the air filter. Slide the filter back into its specified slot in the engine compartment. Recollect to reattach whatsoever clips or clamps that secure it. Your car'southward engine will now be protected, optimized and prepare for up to another 50,000 miles of open road!^[16]
- Fifty-fifty though One thousand&N air filters are designed to last, y'all should nonetheless go far the addiction of checking the condition of your filter every 25,000 miles.^[17]
- If you placed a stopper in your air intake, don't forget to remove information technology before reinstalling your filter.
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Add New Question

Question

In a pinch, what blazon of oil can exist used for a K&N air filter?

Transmission fluid or power steering fluid works just as well. Just make sure all excess has been drained away. Oil filters can touch on your mass air flow sensor if not properly oiled, so it's very important to get all that dripping oil off.
Question

If I spray K&N oil on a standard paper element air filter, will that piece of work until it gets as well muddied?

Do not practice this. K&N filters employ a cotton filter element, and the oil is designed to increase the efficiency of that medium. Applying oil to a paper element will cause the newspaper filter to have reduced efficiency, besides as weakening the chemical element and thus increasing the take a chance of it vehement or breaking, similar to a piece of newspaper towel or toilet paper losing strength when it gets wet.
Question

I have a 2004 Blazer with a rectangular air filter. Exercise I spray the oil on the filter on both sides - top and bottom - or just one side?

Aherrera505

Community Respond

After properly washing the filter, you want to spray just one side, co-ordinate to their maintenance tips, simply honestly I don't run across any harm in putting it on the other side also, equally long as you let information technology dry properly before installing it and starting the vehicle.
Question

Does hot h2o destroy a 1000&North air filter?

Yeah, hot water can exist damaging. The manufacturer recommends using merely absurd or warm h2o. H2o should flow from the clean side out. Only depression pressure should be utilized. Go on flushing until h2o flows clear.

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Go on close tabs on your mileage then you'll know exactly when your air filter requires cleaning or replacing.
Information technology's a good idea to wear gloves to keep the cleaning solution and tinted oil from getting all over your hands.
Drying times may be reduced significantly if you lot leave the filter to sit out on a warm, sunny mean solar day.
If yous tend to drive in dusty off-road atmospheric condition, you'll probable need to clean your air filter more ofttimes.
When you begin to detect structural impairment to the fabric of your filter, it'southward time to supersede information technology with a new 1.

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Never use other means, such as a blow dryer, microwave or oven, to try to cut down on how long it takes the filter to dry. This is guaranteed to ruin your filter.
Exist careful not to over-oil your filter. Backlog oil could get sucked into the air intake, triggering your "bank check engine" light and hindering your engine's performance.

Things You'll Need

1000&N air filter
K&N air filter Recharger kit
Rubber gloves
Soft-bristled castor
Hose or faucet
Large bath towel
Newspaper towels

About This Article

Commodity Summary Ten

To clean a K&N filter, pop the hood of your car and pull the filter out of its housing. If the filter has a thick coat of grit and dirt and you can't come across the folds, information technology's safe to clean information technology. Kickoff by shaking the filter to dislodge loose dirt and droppings, and spray the unabridged filter with cleaning solution, allowing the solution to rest for 10 minutes. Then, rinse the filter from the outside using cool h2o, and shake off the excess water. Leave the filter out of the car to dry for 6-8 hours. For tips on oiling the filter earlier you put it back in the automobile, read on!

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