How To: Clean/ Recharge an Air Filter

[riperoo]

I know this is probably 101 for most, but first time for me and thought it might help some one out, also allows me to use my new found photobucket skills, and I am pretty much killing time with a bottle of wine and a bad action movie, so here goes, if you like please hit my rep and I will return the favor. Any way, little back ground, I have the K&N CAI, and I was talking with my neighbor who is a Chevy/Vette guy, he was admiring the mag and comented on the CAI, so I said, yeah I am goin to pep boys an get a new filter and he said they are pricey, you can recharge it, so i went to PB and he was right, it was like $90 buck, recharge kit was $12, hard choice!!!. got it home and gave it a shot, it is a no brainer and it really did the job.

here it is.

This is the kit you buy,



it has two stages, a cleaner and an oiler



Here is the CAI in the car, and truthfully it don't look too bad



Little dirty, nothing major



Yeah right, once i took it out and got it in the shop, it if fricking filthy.



First step is to thouroughly soak it with the claener inside and out and let is sit for 10 minutes, I used about 1/2 a bottle, and I was being very liberal, so I guess they count on you getting 2 used out of the kit.



Let it sit and soak



After 10 minutes, the dirt is just draining off.



Next step is just to run cool water through at low pressure



Continued next post............................................

[riperoo]

Man, look at the crap flowing out of there even at low pressure!!!



Once you are done, you just let it sit and dry, here it is after about 4 hours.



Looks brand spanking new, next step is to use the oil and give it a good coat all over inside and out,



I am not spraying the oil yet, don't need to drive her till tomorrow, so I am going to let it sit over night, I have to say I was quite impressed with how clean it was after the flush, also, I noticed that concetration of grime was heavily concentrated in one areaq, so I have to imagine that rotating the filter everytime you are under the hood can't hurt.

Anyways, just a simple job, but thought it might help someone who had never done it, and if you like hit the rep, I will return the favor.

[riperoo]

Just a warning too, there is absolutely no need to use air pressure, power washer or even a garden hose, just real low pressure, the cleaner is doing the work, you will do more damage by trying to force dirt out with high pressure.

[riperoo]

Ok let it sit over night, nice and dry this morning, so time to spray the oil, not rocket science, the oil is red, like tranny fluid and you can see where you are spraying, you coat it inside and out. You can see the difference in this pic, see where the Oil (red) is and the filter element with out oil (white)



Action shot



You soak it real good, i used about 1/2 a can, and let it sit for about 1/2 hour, go back and look for light spots and hit them again, the goal is to have the whole element saturated with oil.



Here it is after sitting and soaking for about 2 hours,



Now back in the car, Here is a

Before



And after



Pretty radical difference, like I said, it is 101, but since I never did it before, thought some would like to see what is involved. Hit my rep if it helped you out.

[TRUEST ONE]

Great post....seems simple enough for everyone to do!

[HemiLover]

Great how to post! I'm moving this to the "How To" section

I'm doing mine as we speak..... I owe ya beans Bro!

[riperoo]

Great how to post! I'm moving this to the "How To" section

I'm doing mine as we speak..... I owe ya beans Bro!

Thanks HL, for moving it where it belongs.

[LowOCHEMI]

Thanks Man! I Was Just Thinking Of Doing That.good Timing

[MagWag]

dang! Good lil write up w/ PLENTY of photos for reference!

[Hemi iam]

Nice Work Riperoo Im Doing Mine This Weekend Thanks For The Heads Up ....

[spinnercj8]

Great write up! It is easy to do if you just take your time! beans too ya!

[JRob007]

Great write up Rip!! Thanks on the how to! Beans to you!!!

[Magmania]

I just did mine last Wednesday. I have the Dubair system and I actually bought a second filter and I basically clean and rotate mine (I don't like Maggie down time).

This is a great write up but one thing I would suggest is that when you run the water, only run it from the inside of the filter outward to force all of the contaminents out of the filter as opposed to into the filter.

I'm not sure how critical that is but I believe that is what the K&N recharge kit recommends. I use the same kit on mine.

Beans to you Riperoo!

[Giantchief]

great write up, way to look out for the inexperienced in the future

[CalMagnum]

Excellent write-up, beans to you...

Thanks for taking the time, great info on the CAI filter...