Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) afe product review

[Jed]

I will start by saying that I am not affiliated with any other manufacturer and I do not have any axe to grind.



I have tried 2 afe products for my 24 valve; torque tube and stage 2 cold air intake.



Torque tube with stock airbox, No change in egt and poor quality, plastic construction, with poor quality connections and cheap hoseclamps. Into the trash it went.



Stage 2 cold air box;

no mounting hardware (you are supposted to use stock rubber grommets from stock box) My stock box left 4 or 5 years ago. So off to the dealer



required use of stock air tube from filter to turbo;

outlet from box was too big for stock hose, had to be crimped



Pro dry filter ... I am sorry but this filter is nowhere close to the quality of the wix/baldwin bhaf. If I can see my truck thru the filter I am not going to run it and it appears to be of cheap construction. It looks guaranteed to dust your engine.



Decals for your truck; very high quality decals, very good detailed instructions for placement of decals.



Result; cut out center section of box so the bhaf would fit.



I guess that it is obvious that I did not like either of these products. I do not think either one is worth the outrageous price. Both products reeked of cheap construction compared to the stock parts.



A person would be much better served by a set of injectors or a box or an exhaust or floor mats, wipers,.....



If someone in the San Diego area would like the pro dry filter I will trade it for a couple 6packs of local micro brew pm if interested.

 

[darkhorse]

I don't know much about the two products you mentioned but I've had two Pro Guard 7 filters that were top notch.

 

[BILLVO]

Not to mention the poor design of the stage 2 torque tube that sits directly over the top of the turbo absorbing the heat from the hottest thing under the hood just a couple inches under it. Mine melted and AFE replaced it with a stage 1 plus every AFE goody to boot to make up for the design flaw.





Here is a link to the thread I started about it with pics.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com...-2nd-gen-afe-stage-2-owners-take-caution.html

 

[Jed]

Bill

Thanks for the link to that thread, only if I had bothered to use the search feature I could have saved my money. I went on recommendations of 2 trusted vendors and I thank the diesel gods that I did not have to pay retail. If I had I would have never bothered to install either part. I would have just sent them back.

Their filter is probably fine for racing but it is not the filter for a daily driver that gets lots of miles. It is interesting in your thread that people complain about the filter coming apart. Makes me think that I am correct not to run it.



If no one wants my filter I will install it on my 6. 2 chevy intake tube or maybe my lawn mower...



The quest for lower egt will continue.

Jed

 

[SAndreasen]

i run the afe stage one and have for 40 thousand miles i send an oil sample to cat every time i change the oil i have never had hi dust numbers i live on the farm and use my truck in the dust and dirt and everyday. the filter also lowerd my egts alot campared to the stock air box i could hit 1300 with a empty stock trailer with the afe i rarely hit 1300 even with over thirty thousand gvw

 

[Regcabguy]

Afe

i run the afe stage one and have for 40 thousand miles i send an oil sample to cat every time i change the oil i have never had hi dust numbers i live on the farm and use my truck in the dust and dirt and everyday. the filter also lowerd my egts alot campared to the stock air box i could hit 1300 with a empty stock trailer with the afe i rarely hit 1300 even with over thirty thousand gvw

I ran the AFE Stage 1 on my '99. Aside from it being too darn loud,it fit great and appeared of good quality. I sold it,however,on the TDR classifieds. Found a good compromise with stock box and Amsoil drop in. I'm on the fence with my uninstalled Bladerunner. The casting appears to be less quality than expected,but certainly not as bad as some photos posted.

 

[MVieira]

I'm the same as SAndreasen, I've run the AFE-Stage 1 set up for 32,000 miles with the Proguard-7 oiled filter and it has worked flawlessly for me. I work at a CAT dealership and I oil sample my engine oil every oil change and silicon has never been over 3ppm even when my truck is used during dry hunting seasons on the dusty roads here in northern Calif. Also, I feel it has helped the EGT's with the EZ and the mach 1. 2's in my truck with the HY-35. I guess what I'm saying is not all AFE products are bad, and I feel quality and function of the Stage-1 and Pro-7 filter set up are excellent. Just my opinion.
Regards, Mike.

 

[Jed]

pics of installation;

 

[Jed]

sorry about the poor format

Pics 1 and 2 are afe filter showing flex at neck and inside looking out into the sun



Pics 3and 4 are bhaf from the same view



pic 5 is how I used the afe box



I am glad that others are happy with this product. Does anyone have a high mileage example of use of afe products, such as the 110,000 miles that I have on the bhaf. I have also done multiple oil samples with no dirt.



Truth be known I probably purchased this product for the wrong reason. I had a good system but I thought there might be a better way.

I am sure that this product is an improvement over the stock box at least as far as flow.

I was very irritated that for the price the afe did not come with mounting hardware. If I start off negative when a product comes out of the box it has to be very good to overcome the initial negative.

With a $22. 00 filter and about 3' of exhaust wrap I have the same results as a very expensive set up.

 

[SAndreasen]

jed i to was just as happy as you were about the afe box not coming with the nuts to mount it i luckily had the stock box ans was able to reuse the nuts from it but stil it would have been alot nicer had it came with the nuts. as far as long term oil samples i will keep you posted but as far as i can tell the filter seem to be doing an excellent job of keeping the dirt out

 

[Bob4x4]

I am not sure why you had a problem reusing the factory hardware?

I have MANY miles on my 94 with AFE filters the engine is still running great,ask anybody that tries to keep up :-laf

I have also run the AFE filters on the 3rd gen including in Baja one of the worst conditions you can run in. The bhaf has shown on the dyno to be down by about 12 hp on a mild 12 valve



Bob

 

[Jed]

I am not sure why you had a problem reusing the factory hardware?

I have MANY miles on my 94 with AFE filters the engine is still running great,ask anybody that tries to keep up :-laf

I have also run the AFE filters on the 3rd gen including in Baja one of the worst conditions you can run in. The bhaf has shown on the dyno to be down by about 12 hp on a mild 12 valve



Bob

Bob,

My main problem with using the stock hardware was that I did not have any. My stock box has been gone for a long time. The next problem was having to pay $3. 50 apiece for $0. 25 rubber grommets from the dealer. I know it is a minor detail but for the price of the afe ?????



If you endorse the filtering quality's of the afe filter I am much more confidant in trying it. Your exploits and expertise are well known.

I will come up with a connector pipe between the filter and inlet tube and I will give the filter a good try.



I am still disappointed with the filter box but that just means that I will have to get off my *** and build my own.



As far as the dyno with the bhaf what was that compared to?



Bye the way thank you for doing all of the testing on the air intake horns.



Jed

 

[darkhorse]

I think AFE has 3 different filter mediums. The ProGaurd 7 is the best for filtration.

 

[Bob4x4]

Bob,

My main problem with using the stock hardware was that I did not have any. My stock box has been gone for a long time. The next problem was having to pay $3. 50 apiece for $0. 25 rubber grommets from the dealer. I know it is a minor detail but for the price of the afe ?????



If you endorse the filtering quality's of the afe filter I am much more confidant in trying it. Your exploits and expertise are well known.

I will come up with a connector pipe between the filter and inlet tube and I will give the filter a good try.



I am still disappointed with the filter box but that just means that I will have to get off my *** and build my own.



As far as the dyno with the bhaf what was that compared to?



Bye the way thank you for doing all of the testing on the air intake horns.



Jed

I had built my own filter box on the 94 out of Lexan before AFE was doing diesels,I was running a K word cone filter :-laf The AFE stg 1 went on next and my smoke level dropped considerably. I was impressed enough to sell off my custom at a drag event I went to.



The Dyno was just pulling off the BHAF and putting on a AFE stg 1 cone filter in it. s place. The truck was tyed down to the dyno during the swap and was only a few minutes apart.





Bob

 

[SAndreasen]

thought i would post my silcon ratings with the afe standard oiled filter 3 or 4 with 5000 mile oil change intervals 9 with a 12000 mile oil change interval

 

[CKelley1]

i had the same expirence with every thing i have bought from afe and my pro-7 looked just like the one above