Accidentally discovered a possible reason for bad K&N experience

[got3fords]

Still seems like a lot of hassle to have the 'K+N Equipped' sticker in the back window.

Well, never was one much for stickers, so... not an issue.

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[DROZ23]

Which leads me back to..., why does the K&N come with the Ford Performance kit? From Ford?

Marketing. People by K&N from Autozone. It is probably fine. I drove 150K miles on one no issues. maybe cleaned it 3 times. It is still the dirtist media for filtering of all the ones i have seen. the AEM Dryflow looks like the good simple solutions. High flow, High filtration %, no oil to mess with and easy to clean.

 

[Gdub]

I don't understand the negativity of K&N air filters. I have used them on all my vehicles since around the mid 80s. I do a light oiling on both sides and have never had an issues with any vehicle that had MAF. I don't do anything to remove excess oil, I just don't over oil it.

I always wipe the inside of the intake tube on the filter side with a white cloth. I have never gotten any darkening of the white cloth. I am approaching 300K miles on my 02 Ranger with a K&N air filter on it since shortly after I bought the Ranger new. I have no issues that would indicate the filter passed dirt particles. It uses no more oil now that it did new.

I had an 89 Ranger that I sold with nearly 200K miles on it with a K&N air filter. I sent out oil for analysis every oil change because I ran extended oil changes. There was never any indication of dirt getting into the engine via the intake. That vehicle also had no more oil consumption than it did when new.

Maybe I am just lucky or took more care to clean and oil it right. I did made sure the dirty side was on the same side when I reinstalled them.

I may not use a K&N air filter if I buy a, Ecoboost power Ranger in 2025. I have heard there have been issues with turbo chargers when K&N filters are used with them. Apparently, the small amount a tiny particles that do get through can cause damage to the impeller over time from the high seed impact. I understand turbos have a limited life anyway but I would not like to take the risk of shortening that lifetime.

 

[Frenchy]

I don't understand the negativity of K&N air filters. I have used them on all my vehicles since around the mid 80s. I do a light oiling on both sides and have never had an issues with any vehicle that had MAF. I don't do anything to remove excess oil, I just don't over oil it.

I always wipe the inside of the intake tube on the filter side with a white cloth. I have never gotten any darkening of the white cloth. I am approaching 300K miles on my 02 Ranger with a K&N air filter on it since shortly after I bought the Ranger new. I have no issues that would indicate the filter passed dirt particles. It uses no more oil now that it did new.

I had an 89 Ranger that I sold with nearly 200K miles on it with a K&N air filter. I sent out oil for analysis every oil change because I ran extended oil changes. There was never any indication of dirt getting into the engine via the intake. That vehicle also had no more oil consumption than it did when new.

Maybe I am just lucky or took more care to clean and oil it right. I did made sure the dirty side was on the same side when I reinstalled them.

I may not use a K&N air filter if I buy a, Ecoboost power Ranger in 2025. I have heard there have been issues with turbo chargers when K&N filters are used with them. Apparently, the small amount a tiny particles that do get through can cause damage to the impeller over time from the high seed impact. I understand turbos have a limited life anyway but I would not like to take the risk of shortening that lifetime.

I used to think that K& N air filters we're pretty good until I learned how much they really aren't. It really comes down to the ability of filtering. I can tell you right now they do very poor at filtering small particles. Large particles are in a problem. I have seen a few different engines get wiped clean in the cylinder walls while running a K&N drop-in air filter in the factory air box. How did this happen? Quite simple actually. These vehicles were running in a mine and they were sucking in enough dirt dust and other debris through the K&N air filter and causing the cylinder walls to get wipes clean and build no compression. Hopefully that'll give you an idea as to why K&N is not really the best

 

[got3fords]

I may not use a K&N air filter if I buy a, Ecoboost power Ranger in 2025. I have heard there have been issues with turbo chargers when K&N filters are used with them. Apparently, the small amount a tiny particles that do get through can cause damage to the impeller over time from the high seed impact. I understand turbos have a limited life anyway but I would not like to take the risk of shortening that lifetime.

This was my major concern. I have used oiled filters before with no issue, but when I noticed oil drops coming right off after oiling, it gave me cause for concern. Is it a genuine concern? Maybe not. But it is somthing I don't worry about any more with the AEM dry filter.

 

[Gdub]

I used to think that K& N air filters we're pretty good until I learned how much they really aren't. It really comes down to the ability of filtering. I can tell you right now they do very poor at filtering small particles. Large particles are in a problem. I have seen a few different engines get wiped clean in the cylinder walls while running a K&N drop-in air filter in the factory air box. How did this happen? Quite simple actually. These vehicles were running in a mine and they were sucking in enough dirt dust and other debris through the K&N air filter and causing the cylinder walls to get wipes clean and build no compression. Hopefully that'll give you an idea as to why K&N is not really the best

I run off-road trips for a total of at least 4 weeks every year. These are trips that have multiple vehicles. I am very rarely in the front. My truck ends up eating a lot of dust. After these trips the K&N filter is loaded with dirt. I knock off most of it and it leaves big pile of dirt. Most of the time I will clean it but sometimes if I don't have time to do it I just put it back in and keep driving until I can get to it..

I can't say K&N filters are the best but they sure have worked for me. I think the dust in mines is extremely abrasive. I expect normal paper filters may also have a tough time in that environment.

BTW, one of the guys I run with is named Frenchie. Not a nickname, that is his birth name on his birth certificate. He is also a very knowledgeable person.

 

[Frenchy]

I run off-road trips for a total of at least 4 weeks every year. These are trips that have multiple vehicles. I am very rarely in the front. My truck ends up eating a lot of dust. After these trips the K&N filter is loaded with dirt. I knock off most of it and it leaves big pile of dirt. Most of the time I will clean it but sometimes if I don't have time to do it I just put it back in and keep driving until I can get to it..

I can't say K&N filters are the best but they sure have worked for me. I think the dust in mines is extremely abrasive. I expect normal paper filters may also have a tough time in that environment.

BTW, one of the guys I run with is named Frenchie. Not a nickname, that is his birth name on his birth certificate. He is also a very knowledgeable person.

That's why in the maintenance book they say to check your air filter every time you do an oil change. It stated that in severe conditions you may have to change your paper air filter more often than not. I don't care what kind of dirt and dust you have to deal with whether it's in mine or on an off-road trip. Dirt and dust will wipe an engine clean if you're not careful

 

[diesel924]

That's why in the maintenance book they say to check your air filter every time you do an oil change. It stated that in severe conditions you may have to change your paper air filter more often than not. I don't care what kind of dirt and dust you have to deal with whether it's in mine or on an off-road trip. Dirt and dust will wipe an engine clean if you're not careful

Such a heavy burden to bear when a factory air filter is more than adequate without any of the fiddling with oil, cleaners etc.

 

[Frenchy]

Such a heavy burden to bear when a factory air filter is more than adequate without any of the fiddling with oil, cleaners etc.

Even I have found the use for a factory filter that does pretty darn good. I understanding people not wanting to spend money on replacing an air filter, sometimes it's best to have the filter that gives best protection to the engine which is pretty important if you ask me

 

[Gdub]

I must be doing something right with almost 300K miles on my 02 Ranger with a strong running engine. The only major thing I have done to it is rebuild the cam timing chain system because that is a weak link in the 4.0 SOHC engine.

 

[TJC]

I must be doing something right with almost 300K miles on my 02 Ranger with a strong running engine. The only major thing I have done to it is rebuild the cam timing chain system because that is a weak link in the 4.0 SOHC engine.

The 4.0 SOHC is a very robust engine.

Changing the timing chains on the engine is a lot of work. Did you do this yourself? Front and back?

Have you ever changed the tensioners? I now change mine every 100K as a precaution. One of mine failed causing the death rattle.

 

[Fitzmotor]

I've told the story before, at Honda Racing we had engines come back from only one team that had no valve lash, made no sense, the seats and valves were badly worn, that's after about 2500 miles.

The track support guy found out they were washing the oil off the K&N filters, cans and cans of brake clean, they claimed it was a performance gain.

It immediately stopped when Honda threatened to charge them for the cylinder heads.

Since 2003 all Indycar engines use a series spec K&N filter.

 

[Gdub]

The 4.0 SOHC is a very robust engine.

Changing the timing chains on the engine is a lot of work. Did you do this yourself? Front and back?

Have you ever changed the tensioners? I now change mine every 100K as a precaution. One of mine failed causing the death rattle.

Yes, I did it with the help of my brother who has shop and is a professional mechanic. He had all the tools needed for the job. We pulled the engine to do the work. It was a complete rebuild including the crank to jackshaft chain and tensioner. The only thing broken was the crack to jackshaft tensioner. The cam timing chain guides (front and back) were still good but somewhat brittle.

I replaced the cam chain tensioners at 100K miles and again at 250K miles when I did the cam timing chain system rebuild. I never got the death rattle but spend a lot of time in the wilderness and wanted to make sure I would not have an issue and get stranded.

 

[TJC]

I wondered if you pulled the engine. I have heard of people changing the chains without pulling the engine, but I don't see how. I priced having it professionally repaired, but the cost was over 1/2 the price of a new Jasper engine. I had 157K on it when the rattle began so I went with a new engine. 3 years 100K warranty. It's proven to have been a great choice.

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