SubeeTed Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 So I dropped a K&N filter into my 2005 Subee Legacy wgn years ago. Decided that hey...it might need cleaning by now ! I have THE cleaning kit, it's been in my house for years. The cleaning fluid won't pump out of the sprayer, just seemed like over kill to dump it " neat " into the filer. So I vacuumed the big stuff along with brushing it, most of the stuff comes off ! I want to do a good cleaning on it some day when it's not 30 degrees out there and I'm not in a hurry ! Maybe I can't just splash the K&N cleaner on it , but I'de rather spray it on ! Anyhow, there's always been a urban myth that you can ONLY use K&N cleaner on the filter. I have plenty of K&N oil for it . I've done some snooping on the web, some people say use Formula 409, that " Awsome" stuff from the dollar store, or even Simply Green . Anybody here have any REAL experience with other stuff ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 most folks would probably tell you to throw it all away and get a quality paper filter and clean your MAF sensor if the car has one. but, did you consider pouring the fluid into a different spray bottle? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubeeTed Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 I have other spray bottles, I haven't tried transferring the fluid yet. I haven't had good luck with other sprayers working, I keep them around and hope they do, and they don't . And just what do you clean a MAF with ? Just another one of those Urban Myths...that you CAN'T ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Clean the MAF using CRC Airflow Meter Cleaner. Be sure to clean the temp sensor AND the MAF sensor, they are both in the air flow meter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 don't poke around in/at the MAF, just remove it, spray it, I wouldn't start the car' immediately' I guess but, it will dry fairly quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 3 minutes ago, 1 Lucky Texan said: don't poke around in/at the MAF, just remove it, spray it, I wouldn't start the car' immediately' I guess but, it will dry fairly quickly. Agreed, don't touch, wipe, poke or prod the sensors. Just spray them (the MAF is up inside the little tube) and let them air dry. I was a little quick to reinstall mine and while it did end up running fine, it stumbled and misfired enough to concern me when I first started the engine, but the idle quickly smoothed out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Gasoline and a match works really well for cleaning oiled air filters. Step two is to buy a proper synthetic paper element panel filter. GD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 2 hours ago, SubeeTed said: I have other spray bottles, I haven't tried transferring the fluid yet. I haven't had good luck with other sprayers working, I keep them around and hope they do, and they don't . And just what do you clean a MAF with ? Just another one of those Urban Myths...that you CAN'T ? A MAF is a hot wire anemometer with extremely thin wires protruding into the airflow. They can get dirt on them and oil from reusable filters can aid dirt sticking to them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp1 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 37 minutes ago, GeneralDisorder said: Gasoline and a match works really well for cleaning oiled air filters. Step two is to buy a proper synthetic paper element panel filter. GD Yes, the whole point of a K&N is to let little rocks in so they swirl in the vortex and clean the intake walls. Cleaning it just removes some of those helpful little rocks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubeeTed Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 Just bought this CRC kit off of Feebay. I'll clean re-oil K&N , then run car a bit and clean MAF and then Throttle body . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 (edited) Just use brake cleaner. It's cheaper. Same thing basically. AND GET RID OF THE STUPID K&N! Worst idea ever on a MAF car. MAF sensors are much too expensive to be damaging then with cheeeeesy K&N filter oil. They don't even filter that well. Especially when they have relatively little oil in them to "save" the sensors. Completely stupid. The synthetic paper element panel filters from like Cosworth, and others are what you want. They cost about the same and you can blow them out and reuse them for like 100k miles easily. Unfortunately Amsoil discontinued their dry panel filters due to poor sales. GD Edited November 21, 2018 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 ditch the k&n it doesn't filter as good as a quality paper filter and ive seen them cause issues from the oil in the filter getting on the maf and causing running issues. ive also seen a nice dusting of dirt inside the throttle body after using k&n filters for long periods of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubeeTed Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 If this K&N Filter and other oil type filters we're such a problem. Why don't I hear about this everywhere. And why don't I see commercials on TV saying buy our paper panel filter ? Get rid of those reusable oil filters! Etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubeeTed Posted November 22, 2018 Author Share Posted November 22, 2018 I just checked on eBay, those Cosworth air filters are 63 bucks. I have bought a paper air filter in years, and when I did they were by Fram. It seems that there are many paper filters on the market today, are there more that are reasonably priced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 It's not paper. They are a woven synthetic fiber. K&N has a huge marketing department. Doesn't make their product worth a $hit. The problem with them really is that the theory is kinda sound but the implementation is extremely variable based on using exactly the right amount of oil on the media. Tests have been done and the results are very poor with too little oil, restrictive and sensor fouling with too much oil, and the sweet spot is extremely hard to achieve and is fleeting at best. They take a long time to clean compared to an synthetic dry fiber filter that you can blow out in about 45 seconds of compressed air. It's pretty simple really - no OEM's use this technology. And the reusable dry synthetic fiber filters blow them away in performance and are much cleaner and easier to maintain. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubeeTed Posted November 22, 2018 Author Share Posted November 22, 2018 So I suspect that OEM's like to sell you a brand new air filter when you go to OEM's garage. So now I'm in the market for a dry synthetic air filter. So who makes the most reasonable for value one out there now? I'm new to this type filter and I'm finding there are lots available so I need a way to " filter "them out and figure out which one I'm going to buy. The whole idea of cleaning the K&N filter and then reoiling it bothers me. And I don't want to mess up my MAF sensor. Thanks. GD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 2 hours ago, SubeeTed said: If this K&N Filter and other oil type filters we're such a problem. Why don't I hear about this everywhere. And why don't I see commercials on TV saying buy our paper panel filter ? Get rid of those reusable oil filters! Commercials aren’t free, filter costs go up, people don’t buy them. consumer mechanical inclination is plummeting and couldn’t care less about parts. data doesn’t sell either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubeeTed Posted November 23, 2018 Author Share Posted November 23, 2018 I just had a thought about this cleaning and re-oiling of my K&N filter . I just watched the video below were this guy is testing filters of different types on a dyno, then real world. And yes it's a Subaru and yes it's a K&N filter too. I'm not so much interested in the performance results, but what he says at the bitter end of this video, he talks about the charcoal filter that is there . I find the idea ridiculous that the oil from the K&N filter can migrate pass this panel and get to the MAF sensor ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whynot Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 K&N was real big in the diesel pickup world and people were putting them in left and right and getting great HP gains. Until they blew an engine and it was full of grit from the K&N being poorly maintained. 10K for a diesel engine VS HP gain. Was not worth the risk, so I pulled mine went back to a high quality paper filter. Not sure about migrating oil to the MAF in the subaru, but is the risk worth it? And this whole thread started by someone asking if it was ok to maintain the K&N filter, in a way that was not what K&N calls for. Due to a broken sprayer. Your car you choose, Lots of info about them on the diesel pickup forums, and kind of like oil debates, no one really wins, and you can make a video to support any point, it is all up to You and the way You maintain or do not maintain the filter. And your risk/reward assessment. Good points and options pointed out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Sure. More airflow via less restriction = better performance. But how does the filter achieve this? By having bigger holes in it. Which equals more engine wear. No surprises here. Besides K&N - none of the aftermarket intake manufacturers use oiled cone filters for example - Cobb, Grimmspeed, AFE.... all dry element. The Amsoil panel filters were made by Donaldson. Might start there with trying to find the synthetic dry filters with the lowest price. I think they manufacture under several name brands. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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