Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Does the air filter minder really work?

[obert]

RSarvie



I have had a very good experience with K&N. It has over 100k miles on it, I clean it once or twice a year.



I have herd of nasty tales of that filter, but it sounds as though they may be fragile and intollerant to abuse.

However, I think alot of it has to do with it being the chevrolet in a Buick and Cadilac world. You dont pick up the AFE at auto zone for $60.

 

[LarryM]

Joe Gerber is exactly right. At the last oil change/service I did on my truck I stuck a hose to the bottom of the filter minder and used a Sears vac. pump on it and the filter minder went right into the red with hardly any movement of the vacuum gauge. It works! I still change my air filter every 15K, and although it looks dirty it still flows air well enough to keep the filter minder happy, so I think that these filters can really flow well enough even though they look dirty. Anyway, my thoughts, have a good holiday guys...



Larry

 

[bmoeller]

IF we had a safety filter after the primary filter, then it would be OK to blow out the air filter. Since we don't, I will only replace, not clean them.



Off-road equipment use 2 filters. One sits inside (called a safety or secondary filter) the other. It is there just in case the primary one is damaged from cleaning and to prevent dirt from getting into the engine while the other is out.

 

[Ron Bissett]

Filter minder?

The filter minder is a thing that works too good for this day and age . Make some thing that works fine for a long time without any help and no one will trust it . I do and I was around when we had to add oil to the filter pan about every thousand miles or less if in dust and had to wash out the steel wool pad and used that nasty word gasoline . If you make some thing to good will any one trust it. Just a thought . Ron Bissett in Metro Louisville Ky P. S the filters were called Oil bath filters. :-{}

 

[darkhorse]

After installing my EDM injectors I did some test runs & I pulled my minder all the way down with a brand new AFE drop in filter. I removed the oval plastic fitting from the air box to fender & all was well.

 

[obert]

The volume of air the ISB moves would require an enormous oil bath filter, but if i could find a place to hang it i sure would use one. I agree with the old timers that have told me that that is still the best air filter they ever made.

 

[Guest]

The filter minder is stupid! Mine never budged on the 02 with the hybrid suckin lots o air, Member (justinp20012500) could suck his down to all the way dirty on one trip to work and back. So in my opinion is a hole plugger.

 

[TenBensel]

I'm a newbie to these discussions, but have owned a couple Dodge Diesel 2500s. I put a K&N filter in the first, but have an AMSoil oiled foam filter in this one.



(I think the oiled foam filters are best. We've used them in missionary airplanes in the dusty Sahara long before I'd seen them for automobiles. )



That said, I think the K&N-type gauze filter, the AMSoil type foam filter, and almost any aftermarket-type filter will flow more air than a stock paper filter, and the filter minder is set up to gauge the flow thru paper filters. With a paper filter, my filter minder worked, but with the oiled gauze or foam type, it has always showed 100%, even when they are filthy. The reason we put in better filters is to flow more air than we could get with a paper filter, so 100% on the filter minder isn't necessarily good enough for me (especially if a timing box or other modifications are pumping more fuel in). If they sold a more sensitive one, that would be the way to go. But until then, to keep flowing the optimum amount of air, check the filter according to the amount of dust, etc. you drive in. That's my 2 cents' worth.