Cleaning and oiling a k&n

[05Single]

Just got a drop in k&n for my stock box. (Replacing stock mit later)
Wonder if it's really necessary for the oil and what's in the magical k&n cleaning solution?
Can a different cleaning product be used ? It's only cotton....laundry soap?
Being a drop in filter is the oil necessary ?
Should I spend the money on a recharge kit?

I had a full cai kit on my 05 silverado 5.3, it threw a code but never effected engine performance. I took it off cause I hated seeing the check engine light on the dash and never thought of doing a kit or aftermarket filter again,.... till now

So many conflicting answers on this, but I realize it's not rocket science lol.

 

[Maximus1]

Any degreaser will clean it. Probably the reason for your CEL on was because you needed to clean your MAF sensor because of the oil from the K&N. Yes it is necessary to add the oil to the filter once it's cleaned. The oil helps catch the tiny particles of dirt that the cotton wouldn't. It's kind of a trade off of having a K&N to clean your MAF sensor. After I recharge mine I will usually drive it for about two weeks and then clean the MAF sensor with some brake clean or they actually make MAF cleaner. I would buy the kit just for the oil just to make sure it's right. Also one tip. After you degrease it and rinse the dirt off rather than waiting for it to dry I have a shoe rack for my dryer and I put it on that and start the dryer and whala it's completely dry in 10 minutes

 

[Maximus1]

You could buy some really thin oil.... say vegetable oil and place it in a spray bottle add some red food coloring or red dye so you can prevent overlapping and use that as your oil but I'm not sure on the longevity of vegetable oil.

 

[05Single]

You could buy some really thin oil.... say vegetable oil and place it in a spray bottle add some red food coloring or red dye so you can prevent overlapping and use that as your oil but I'm not sure on the longevity of vegetable oil.

Like back to the future stuff

 

[05Single]

I can wait a day to dry it as I never drive the beast and I have other daily drivers.

How about this, is it necessary to oil both sides ? What's the point if dirt and debris is only coming from one side?

Also K&n specifically says that 100% their oil does not soak through the filter and onto the maf.

Like I said it's not rocket science yet here I am trying to figure out how a rocket works

 

[Kenny D]

If you lightly mist the oil on the inlet side of the filter, that should be good enough to trap dirt particulates. Over saturation is where I believe that people run into the MAF problems. I've owned them before and just the filter by itself, I have never seen that much of a difference over a clean paper filter. Now with the entire Cold Air package, I can't speak for that.

 

[Sasquatch]

I have a spectre CAI and it came with an oiled filter, I never had a problem but i like dry filters better so i got two AEM filters on ebay so i have a clean one on the shelf when it`s time to wash the filter.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I figured the oiling was gonna drive me nuts (actually that I would screw it up somehow...). I don't drive in dusty conditions very often, so I went with the Airaid dry drop in. Very impressed with the quality.

 

[jeffbco]

Read the instructions too and you'll see that you don't oil both sides -

http://www.knfilters.com/cleaning.htm

 

[M1Gunner]

I have ran a k&n filter in my stock air box since I first bought my 04 Tahoe with no issues. I have a spare air filter to drop in during maintenance. It's just a parts plus filter AF1519. You're going to want that k&n filter to have ample amount of time to dry. Any oil based substance INCLUDING anything people use to "clean" the MAF will skew its readings by leaving a film on it and leave it prone to debris sticking to it. If you consider how small the actual sensor is and the quantity of air it's measuring in the amount of time it does, just imagine how easy those measurement can and will become skewed.