BEVO76

Over the past two weeks I have been chasing starting issues, rough idle in drive, and almost a stall when going from park to drive.

After a bunch of wasted hours I pulled the K&N filter, which was soaked in its own oil coating the base plate and my pre filter.

I cleaned everything up and grabbed a new spare paper filter and installed. Also replaced the M.E Wagner PCV with a stock PCV.

I was amazed all issues went away. Engine fired strong on the first crank. Idle was no longer surging, and no stalling when shifting from park to drive. Also I achieved something that hasent happened in a long time. After running the car for 10 min I shut it off, waitied 30 sec and it fired right back up stronger than ever.

I think this is very very interesting to say the least.

Hope all are well

Beau.

jb78L-82

I have had a K&N filter on my 78 since 1985 and still using it. I also have a K&N filter on my 2008 Chrysler 300 with 165,000 miles on it and my 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix with 190,000 miles on that filter...all are perfect. The key maintenance with K&N is to NOT over oil them.....ever. After cleaning with the K&N cleaner and water, lightly mist the filter medium on both sides. Sounds like someone completely over oiled that filter....They are great when maintained properly...Glad you solved your issue though.

Team Lazy

Beware? Seems a bit excessive.

Maybe "beware" when over oiling would be more appropriate. Glad you sorted it out.

BEVO76

I would agree with you. However, I have not done anything to the filter in the 8 months I have owned it. Straight out of the box, whiped it off and installed. It has run fine all summer until the last two weeks. Then nothing but problems. I think that warrents a caution. All depends on how much time you want to waste.

BEVO76

Also I have had a lot of K&Ns over the years. This is the first one that has caused issues. But after messing with the carb, rebuilding it, changing jets, and messing with timing. Only to find out that it was the filter is enough to keep me from EVER putting another one on a high performance engine. I have too much money in it to chase gremlins from over oiled filters from the factory.

domenic tallarita

I believe what you are saying and also the other guys and just wonder what could have happened. Could you have got into some dirty air and let the filter do it's thing? I deal with similar types on aircraft and the oil traps the dirt and they start to clog, then I have to clean them and re- oil.

Dom

BEVO76

Possible but its not a daily driver. I only get it out once a week or a montly trip to the strip. But that could be possible. I should have taken a pic of the filter when I took it off. The thing was soaked.

TimAT

Not really Corvette related, but I put a K&N on my 2001 GMC Diesel pickup- the foam pretty much dissolved over time and made a real mess out of the airbox, inlet tube and the turbo intake.

slickfx3

i think it messed up my o2 sensor

69ttop502

I have always read from very knowledgeable people that the K&N's do a very poor job of filtering. I have seen quite a few very poor results from used oil analyses where these filters were used. Enough evidence in fact for me to never use one.

Bill

mikem350

Sounds like the PCV system was causing the oil fouling. Possibly too much blowby or the valve itself. The valve cover should have a baffle to prevent the PCV from sucking up splashing oil.

BEVO76

Its not the PCV and there is no blow by. I have baffles in my covers. I put the old PCV in after I changed the filter and cleaned all of the filter oil up. The car was already running great at the point of the PCV swap

resdoggie

Yeah, K&N filters are the *****. They sell millions of them. Whats wrong with these two statements?

slickfx3

i roll with paper

BEVO76

Yeah your right. However 999,000 are on rice burners.

BEVO76

I do after today!

d555

I would think that if it was over oiled out of the box, issues from oil saturation would of shown up much sooner than 8 months. Looks like the filter did what it was intended to do...trap dirt. Not sure you can blame the filter for underestimating the frequency of maintenance needed.

Dave

BEVO76

In 8 months I have driven the car a total of 1200 mi. If a K&N filter requires maintenance every 1000 mi then I will stick with paper. I dont have to touch it for at least 15,000 mi. So I should be due for a new one in the year 2030. Plus not a whole lot of dirt to "trap" with a pre filter on.

Not sure why everyone is so sensitive to the K&Ns capabilities. It didnt say on the box when I bought it that (1) need to clean it before I put it on (2) You need to clean it every 1000 mi or (3) It will suck oil into the carb. But yeah other than that it was amazing for the first 900 mi.

Beau

terry82

Fleets don't use them .have your oil checked and you wont use them.They have great marketing .http://www.blackstone-labs.com/what-is-oil-analysis.php send them a sample. and they will tell how much dirt is in your oil.

7T1vette

They look cool and folks believe the marketing hype. They let more airflow through them because they don't filter nearly as well as other paper (only) products.

I don't know of any new car manufacturers who use K&N filters or even try to copy them. That says way more to me than the stat of 'lots of car owners [with no testing data] choosing them'.....