mguerra

I was about to invest in the K&N cleaning kit when I came across this posting (on the 350z forum). I followed the instructions and was VERY happy with the results. It removed all the grease, grime, bugs, etc...
I'm sorry I didn't take before and after pics.

We'll here's the post if you're interested...


DIY: K&N filter cleaning - new method
________________________________________
I saw this posted elsewhere, and it looked to be of use to all.

(NOT EDITED FOR SPELLING - YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY)

"this method is THE BEST BY FAR!!!!! it is EASY & FAST!!! & relatively CHEEP too!!!!

OK... i just figgered this out last weekend...arguably the BEST method i have EVER used to clean Cotton gauze air filter media....i have been cleaning these types of filtersd for about 20 years now & nothing REALLY seemed to CLEAN the stuff thoroughly......


This started because i have an SRT intake w/a AFE filter, & i was cleaning it the usual way: spray on the cleaner let it sit.. .rinse it out... blah blah... it seemed to work OK... but i could ALWAYS still see dirt & crap stuck into the filter media down deep in the grooves/pleats... this was pissing me off... so i cleaned it three times the last time ...
soak with filter cleaner..let sit, .rinse...
soak again w simple green, let sit in the HOT sun...& rinse...
then AGAIN, soak with with orange glow cleaner & simple green then let sit & rinse....

STILL there was dirt & bug parts & oil grime down in the pleats & even at the ends of the outside pleats..... WTF!! & you DO NOT want to blast it from the inside with a water or air hose.. .you will damage the cotton that needs to stay in good shape to filter properly....


Then..I had an idea......


I got a small bucket... dumped two scoops of that Oxy clean crap /powder in it & then placed the filter in there.....next i poured 1 1/2 $1.39 2 liter bottles of generic CLUB SODA in the bucket.....(about 3 litres total...dep on the bucket you use...use a smaller one to use less Club Soda etc...)

WELL!!! that **** bubbled & foamed up almost Instantly & this greasy dirty film & TONS of dirt & crap just freaking JUMPED out of the filter gauze!!!!! the foam was all topped with this yellow filter oil & dirt & grime & bug detritus .. .it was amazing that all this crap was STILL in there after cleaning it traditionally 3 times..... the Club Soda was the trick for SURE the carbonation in that just 'boiled' the crap out of the cotton gauze fibers instantly...!!

SOO much crap came out i ended up using a piece of paper to scoop the nasty oily grime & dirt & such that was riding on top of the foam in the bucket out & dumped it so i would not have to lift the filter up & out thru that ****.... i swirled the filter around in the solution for about 3- 4 minutes & then let it sit for a minute or three.....finally I just shook it in the solution for a few seconds & pulled it out... OMG.. .it was CLEANER than NEW!!! I mean it was SPARLKING clean!!!! elapsed time: 10 minutes MAX!!

ALSO....this is VERY gentle on your filter media.. .(cotton gauze) & is MUCH better than blasting it with water & or air trying to rinse out the crap or blow it out all of which are highly discouraged by the filter makers....

let it dry properly, (Note without all that residual grease & grime still clogging the filter.. .it WILL DRY MUCH FASTER !) then oil it up & reinstall.... i actually have two filters so i do not have to wait on drying & oiling the filter to drive my car when cleaning filters i just keep one all oiled & clean & ready then i can take my time cleaning drying & oiling up the other one....

you can use ANY cleaning degreasing solution I would imagine...it was the Club soda not the 'Oxy clean' that made the HUGE difference.. but feel free to copy this method to a 'T' if you want to...."

jol

Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing.

jrose7004

I've never used either the cleaning kit or the reoiling kit. There's many good and inexpensive ways to clean and recharge your filter system.

baxsom

How do you reoil it without their kit?

rws.1

I re-oil using transmission fluid ( red so visible) in a trigger style aerosol bottle.

jrose7004

After cleaning I reoil with a mixture of mineral oil and alcohol in a small spray bottle. The alcahol evaporates and leave the oil on the filter. That's the way we used to do it on the race cars and it works great in this case as well.

scottcolbath

Dusting off this thread because I'm about to give it a go with the Oxy Clean and club soda.

BTW, I purchased a cheap olive oil spray bottle that looks like it will do a real nice job atomizing the mineral oil/alcohol mix. And when I'm done with the air filter, I can clean out the sprayer and use it for cooking.

S.C.

knewblewkorvette

Please post your results

scottcolbath

BTW, before tossing this filter (K&N) in the bath, I did give it a gentle blowing with compressed air to remove some of the debris that was not necessarily dust/dirt particles imbedded in the cotton. I got a lot of stuff out of it.

I bought four 2 liter bottles of club soda since I was doing this in a 5 gallon bucket. It was enough, if you curve the filter to completely submerge it. Fine by me.

It foamed up like crazy, but didn't last long. Before I knew it, all that dirt that was suspended in the soap bubbles on the top was gone back into what was now just dirty water. No worries. I just removed the filter and gave it a proper, gentle rinse.

Check out what was left at the bottom of the bucket.



ETA, I can't see my video, using the Youtube function. Not sure why. Here's a link.


S.C.

scottcolbath

And......Using the Youtube tags didn't work, but just tossing the link in there does.

S.C.

BSenzina

I didnt use the soda, or simple green.......but i use the oxyclean then i clean my pool filter cartridge. SOunds like a good way to clean the air filter too.

jjc508520

Great stuff - thanks!