? Re-oiling K&N?

[Ted Constantine]

I have just cleaned my K&N for the first time. It is the one for the stock box. I am trying to figure out how much oil to put on it. The instruction tell to oil it and wait 20 minutes for it to soak in then oil the parts that are not red. The pleats are very deap in the stock replacement. Am I looking for the top/clean air side to be red (I am spraying the bottom) and if not how do I know that the inside of the pleats is well oiled.

I know over oiling is a huge no-no but the filter also does not work at all without enough oil.





thanks

Ted

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

*I* would think you would spray the TOPSIDE, or filter area most exposed to incoming air, rather than the INSIDE of the filter - after all, THAT'S where you want the dirt stopped, not the inside!



Sure, the oil WILL soak up to the outer layer, but why not START there to begin with? I have the cylindrical K&N on my older Cummins - and use oil that is applied in liquid form from a squeeze bottle - I apply a bead of oil on the outer pleats of the filter all the way around the circumference, and in very little time, the entire filter surface is evenly covered as the oil seeps into the cotton material. Greatest efficiency of saturation requires that the filter be COMPLETELY dry when applying the new oil...

 

[Ted Constantine]

Gary,



i am spraying the bottom which is the side which catchs the dirt etc. I was figuring that that is where the oil will be doing its work. I am just wondering if I should use the top color as a guide. The oil I have is in an aerosol can and is harder to contol than the squeeze would be. I just don't want ot over oil it.



Thanks

Ted

 

[tntway]

another question...

how often should you clean and oil them. i've got a re-0880.

 

[Ted Constantine]

25k between cleanings give or take. The dirt building up on the filter can actually help it filter better. I think K&N says 50k to 100k for nomal street use. I am only cleaning mine because it has not been in the truck for a while, (running an amsoil) and I am going to put it back in. I did not like the looks of it.

 

[fmj]

Ted, I oil both sides and wait for the red color to get through out. This can take a few minutes. Oiling the turbo side will make it necessary to take a clean lint free cloth and pat the excess off. I have two filters so I don't have to wait. I clean the dirty one just taken off and re-oil. Doing this seems to allow the oil to saturate better and I don't end up with excess as its awhile (months) before I use the newly cleaned filter. Its wrapped in a clean trash bag for next use. I also grease both sides of the filter seal edges. I don't use K&N grease or white grease, but red high temp grease. Its messy but is better in my opinion, as moisture will not effect it and it creats a better seal. I started doing this on my sand toys ages ago and have not had a leak. Another opinion, good luck.

 

[Ted Constantine]

Thanks for the advise FMJ.



I have an Amsoil and a K&N so I might set up a system like that .



Ted

 

[cullyguy]

I oil both sides. I first oil the air in side (bottom, for the stock replacement filter) then wait about 1/2 hour. I then go back to the air out side(top) and touch up any areas that are still whiteish. I will say that I quit using the K&N filter oil long time ago. I now go to a motorcycle shop & buy a spray on for fabric filters. Kal-Guard last time, probably PJ1 or Bel-Ray next time. When I switched from the factory K&N brand to the aftermarket, my silicone readings dropped from 9-10 to 4-6 and as said before be positive the filer is DRY! before you re-oil. Don't used forced air of any kind to dry the filter, just sort of shake it out & let it dry naturally ( I set mine on end to speed things up a bit)