Check those stock air filters

[MorePower]

While poking around under the hood yesterday, I decided to check out the air box. The FILTER MINDER said everything is good... The FILTER didn't agree !!

[ISX]

You must drive your truck very smoothly. The turbo having to draw in a lot of air is what sucks that filter minder thing down, so if you never get over 10psi, it might not get pulled down. Nevertheless, with that filter, it wouldn't have taken much If you go from that clogged one to a BHAF you will notice a big difference, especially in turbo spool up. Did you just get the truck? Maybe I missed your posting about buying one.Alright I'm caught up now. If the air filter looked like that, you should probably be checking out everything else, along with changing every single fluid. Write down everything you changed and the mileage on a piece of paper or something and throw it in the glove box so when you have any doubts a couple thousand miles from now, you can look and see.

Edited January 24, 2010 by ISX

[Mopar1973Man]

I was never very fond of the stock air filter box. The fact is the sealing abiliity of the box is poor at best. I seen several includding miy own leak dirt past the filter.As for the filter minder it does work well and is very sensitive to vacuum.

But as for using a BHAF I've gone a long ways now without a need to change filters... 6 years now and 111K miles and still going... No dust in the tube, no movement of the filter minder, no problems...

[gassernomore]

My dad worked on Cummins big rigs all his life. I remember him telling me when I asked what one of those filter minders was for "he said for the truck drivers that wanted to ruin their engines early". Visual inspection is the best way to prevent problems.

[Wild and Free]

I had a Donaldson air filter training class years ago and it proved how plugged a filter can get before it causes a restriction, We had a 1680 CaseIH combine Hooked to a PTO dyno and we taped the filter up 1 inch at a time and we were down to about 1 inch of filter pleats showing before it started to smoke and affect power on the dyno. Overservicing of filters has long been proven to be the biggest culprit of dirt in the engiine. Every time a filter is removed a small amount of dirt is present somewheres that will get into the intake, maybe not as bad in automotive apps but still has potential.

[Mopar1973Man]

Like a few article I've read that a dirt filter can actually filter better than a clean one... But this is without distorting the filter or blowing it out...Like with the BHAF... That you can visually see sitting under the hood and can use the filter minder to monitor filter life. As with the stock filter housing its poor at best. Even with a new filter I found you need to grease the rubber seal to keep dirt and dust from leaking though... Why? Because over time the engine heat would allow the plastic box to distort and the seal would be compromised. So to fix this problem just put a bead of grease all the way around the rubber lip...Myself since I drive more dirt than paved roads it was best to switch to a BHAF...

[MorePower]

Alright I'm caught up now. If the air filter looked like that, you should probably be checking out everything else, along with changing every single fluid. Write down everything you changed and the mileage on a piece of paper or something and throw it in the glove box so when you have any doubts a couple thousand miles from now, you can look and see.

I bought it from a dealer and assumed thet since the engine oil was clean, they must have performed all the required maintenance. Maybe they just looked at the filter minder like I did. I have started changing fluids, started with the rear LS, big improvement. Not knowing its history, should I replace the automatic transmission fluid? A GM mechanic once advised me not to change AT fluid at 100K if that was going to be its first. That was another vehicle I bought used and had no history on. I did end up changing the fluid and filter at 100K and it lasted to 205K.

[MorePower]

Because over time the engine heat would allow the plastic box to distort and the seal would be compromised. So to fix this problem just put a bead of grease all the way around the rubber lip...

I ended up getting a K&N filter (only 3x the cost) and it came with grease to help seal it. I pulled the air box top off after installing it and it looks like the K&N provides a better seal than the NAPA filter that was in there. And there is a noticable increase in performance. I'm thinking the FILTER MINDER might have been reset after the original filter clogged up and the engine has just been sucking air between the old filter and the top of the air box. Couldn't have been much getting through the old one.

[Mopar1973Man]

Now hold the K&N filter up to the light if you see light passing through it time to send it back to the part store... (99% of them are like this)These light holes are prefect holes to let dirt and dust pass through... Personally I won't touch them...

[cmns2500]

you should get these two things bud http://www.vulcanperformance.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=BHAF&Search.x=0&Search.y=0 :thumbsup: on a side note...i'm glad i bought my BHAF when i did, vulcan is steadily raising the prices of em....

[ISX]

I bought it from a dealer and assumed thet since the engine oil was clean, they must have performed all the required maintenance. Maybe they just looked at the filter minder like I did. I have started changing fluids, started with the rear LS, big improvement. Not knowing its history, should I replace the automatic transmission fluid? A GM mechanic once advised me not to change AT fluid at 100K if that was going to be its first. That was another vehicle I bought used and had no history on. I did end up changing the fluid and filter at 100K and it lasted to 205K.

I'd change it if I were you. The fluid could be burnt and you can't really tell unless you got a good nose.

[Mopar1973Man]

you should get these two things bud http://www.vulcanperformance.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=BHAF&Search.x=0&Search.y=0 :thumbsup: on a side note...i'm glad i bought my BHAF when i did, vulcan is steadily raising the prices of em....

http://www.vulcanperformance.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=bhaf Holy C__p! I got mine at $39.99... But still a good price compare to locally at $85

[cmns2500]

http://www.vulcanperformance.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=bhaf Holy C__p! I got mine at $39.99... But still a good price compare to locally at $85

haha i think i got mine right before they jumped up from the 40 bucks....and when i went to napa w/ the part number they said it'd be 90 bucks and they had to order it

[guesswho512]

A GM mechanic once advised me not to change AT fluid at 100K if that was going to be its first. That was another vehicle I bought used and had no history on. I did end up changing the fluid and filter at 100K and it lasted to 205K.

my buddy bought a 94 gmc 2500 with a 4l60e. it had ~170k at purchase. doing routine maintenance he drained a filled the trans. it started slipping right away! BAD!(maybe 210k) it didn't ever slip before. after a couple failed rebuilds...he got a different trans all together! side note: i think the k&n's are crap and would rather put a fram in the box(if i didn't already have a BHAF). i think i paid $80 for my filter at the corner orielly's

[cmns2500]

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new.php?partno=30-80011&diesel=true&searchtype=engine&engineid=D4&groupid=D4&brandID=59 here's a good one to go in the stock box