Air Filter Repair

mensoft · February 23, 2012

Hi All ,

Resonantly I saw a guy have removed the air filter paper and have covered with the sponge kind of a material . i think it just a material we used for the cushion .

I want to do same on my air filter too because its cheaper than buying a new one. and i think also its a good solution . i have seen the same kind of a one in the bike i had .

soothing like this

Is it a good thing to do for the car air filter ?

or will it worst than a older filter ?

?????

Ripper · February 23, 2012

Uni filters are a type of original foam filters. it's meant to work after soaking it with the supplied oil kit.

usually switching to these is done to attain better flow rates compared to the paper filter without compromising on air quality.

If you look at the cost of these and the recharge kit, i doubt it will be cheaper than your stock paper filter.

Out of curiosity...how costly is your present air filter?

mensoft · February 23, 2012

Uni filters are a type of original foam filters. it's meant to work after soaking it with the supplied oil kit.

usually switching to these is done to attain better flow rates compared to the paper filter without compromising on air quality.

If you look at the cost of these and the recharge kit, i doubt it will be cheaper than your stock paper filter.

Out of curiosity...how costly is your present air filter?

Before 6months back when i check it was around 1400.but still im using the same old one . (just clean with compressed air from service station)

and i also think the form will pass are more than the paper . but not sure about filtering .

Crosswind · February 23, 2012

I feel sorry for the one who will buy your car, when u sell it one day.

CARBON B4 · February 23, 2012

I did this once, the Swift sport had a foam filter, it was rather dirty but I could not find this particular filter anywhere.

So I got a cushion sponge and washed it to get rid of any small particles, dried it cut it to the correct size and applied some K&N oil on it. You need to hold it to a light to see if the sponge is too thick or has too big holes else u will have problems to ur engine

If you look closely the normal sponge is not that different from the after market foam filter material. But it was only a temporary fix, not worth trying to save Rs 1,500/= .

Bora.Mora · February 23, 2012

My advice would be not to find cheap solutions for important parts of your vehical. "Good things in life dont come cheap"

Ripper · February 23, 2012

Before 6months back when i check it was around 1400.but still im using the same old one . (just clean with compressed air from service station)

and i also think the form will pass are more than the paper . but not sure about filtering .

i hate to say this...but if you're that cheap...you shouldn't be driving a car machang!

1400 bucks for a critical part of your car is nothing much to spend isn't it?

when i had my corolla...i used to change the air filter every other service.

Never believed in "cleaning" with compressed air cos once the paper filter gets blocked, it stays blocked.

using compressed air on the outside aint gonna do that much good.

In my truck i try to change the air filter every other service if not after 2 services. Costs little over 2000 bucks.

I'm not loaded and have lotsa money throw about but i'd rather cut down on my beer, skip a few lunches than screw up my engine with a bad air filter. It just aint right.

End of the day...It's your car and your money! who are we to judge

Sylvi · February 23, 2012

Members,

When few decades ago when there was no filters one chap made air filters with banyan cloth rapped round number of turns round the filter Metal cartridge they worked satisfactory at that time.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

CARBON B4 · February 23, 2012

Members,

When few decades ago when there was no filters one chap made air filters with banyan cloth rapped round number of turns round the filter Metal cartridge they worked satisfactory at that time.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

He is now holding the patent for the K&N filters... ? )

mensoft · February 23, 2012

i hate to say this...but if you're that cheap...you shouldn't be driving a car machang! 1400 bucks for a critical part of your car is nothing much to spend isn't it? when i had my corolla...i used to change the air filter every other service. Never believed in "cleaning" with compressed air cos once the paper filter gets blocked, it stays blocked. using compressed air on the outside aint gonna do that much good. In my truck i try to change the air filter every other service if not after 2 services. Costs little over 2000 bucks. I'm not loaded and have lotsa money throw about but i'd rather cut down on my beer, skip a few lunches than screw up my engine with a bad air filter. It just aint right. End of the day...It's your car and your money! who are we to judge

Thanks for the advice.

I want to know whether doing this is good or then there will be side effetc .

not about the cost . i want to try another DYI on this. coz i saw one have done it already .

mensoft · February 23, 2012

I did this once, the Swift sport had a foam filter, it was rather dirty but I could not find this particular filter anywhere.

So I got a cushion sponge and washed it to get rid of any small particles, dried it cut it to the correct size and applied some K&N oil on it. You need to hold it to a light to see if the sponge is too thick or has too big holes else u will have problems to ur engine

If you look closely the normal sponge is not that different from the after market foam filter material. But it was only a temporary fix, not worth trying to save Rs 1,500/= .

Hi CARBON ,

may be the one i was @ service also a temp fix.

any way thaks for advice and Exp B4 i try that .

now i know wt to do

Scooter · February 23, 2012

Love ya, Sylvi! And do ya remember how before that the air-cleaner canister was full of a sort of metal foil (bit like a metal pot-scourer) and ya washed it in kero and then smothered it in oil to trap the dirt. And then too the old oil bath air-cleaners that worked a real treat. 'Course the car wallahs would rather sell us a paper or foam filter now, and I guess we really wouldn't want to be bothered with a bit of real air-filter maintenance these days?

mensoft · February 23, 2012

My advice would be not to find cheap solutions for important parts of your vehical. "Good things in life dont come cheap"

The point is more than the my i like to try something my own .

any way "Good things in life dont come cheap" I agree with this.

mensoft · February 23, 2012

Love ya, Sylvi! And do ya remember how before that the air-cleaner canister was full of a sort of metal foil (bit like a metal pot-scourer) and ya washed it in kero and then smothered it in oil to trap the dirt. And then too the old oil bath air-cleaners that worked a real treat. 'Course the car wallahs would rather sell us a paper or foam filter now, and I guess we really wouldn't want to be bothered with a bit of real air-filter maintenance these days?

Scooter can you explain more about this .

Even i doubt if this kind of filter work fine on a bike , in car when it covers with air filter cover why cant we apply this ?

Ripper · February 23, 2012

Thanks for the advice.

I want to know whether doing this is good or then there will be side effetc .

not about the cost . i want to try another DYI on this. coz i saw one have done it already .

there are certain things you can't really do DIY mate! Especially critical components like this that are already available for a decent price.

If you really want to do the filter up yourself...buying the filter paper from a panchi shop, folding and glueing it to the existing filter cage might be a better option.

Considering the amount of work involved and the quality of the end result...it still might not make sense.

I wouldn't try the cushion foam thing cos with the suction power of the intake stroke...there is a good chance the foam can tear and get sucked into the engine.

Cushion foam were never meant to be used in a hot environment like an engine bay and be subjected to constant stress. Those foam filters have different materials that were designed to that particular job.

Why go through all this hassle when you can buy a filter for less that 2000 bucks!

Edited February 23, 2012 by Ripper

mensoft · February 23, 2012

there are certain things you can't really do DIY mate! Especially critical components like this that are already available for a decent price.

If you really want to do the filter up yourself...buying the filter paper from a panchi shop, folding and glueing it to the existing filter cage might be a better option.

Considering the amount of work involved and the quality of the end result...it still might not make sense.

I wouldn't try the cushion foam thing cos with the suction power of the intake stroke...there is a good chance the foam can tear and get sucked into the engine.

Cushion foam were never meant to be used in a hot environment like an engine bay and be subjected to constant stress. Those foam filters have different materials that were designed to that particular job.

Why go through all this hassle when you can buy a filter for less that 2000 bucks!

YES YES your correct .

I never thought about highlighted arias . thanks for the remind.

The Don · February 23, 2012

I did this once, the Swift sport had a foam filter, it was rather dirty but I could not find this particular filter anywhere.

So I got a cushion sponge and washed it to get rid of any small particles, dried it cut it to the correct size and applied some K&N oil on it. You need to hold it to a light to see if the sponge is too thick or has too big holes else u will have problems to ur engine

If you look closely the normal sponge is not that different from the after market foam filter material. But it was only a temporary fix, not worth trying to save Rs 1,500/= .

The material used in air foam air filters is not the same as cushion foam or any other type of foam that might look like it. I don't think cushion foam can deal with fine dust particles that normal filters are expected to deal with. You will end up with a fine layer of dust in your throttle body at best and at worst .... well lets not go there.

Sylvi · February 23, 2012

He is now holding the patent for the K&N filters... ? )

Can you give his name(reference) because I too did number of them for some cars early days as well as industrial engine air filters.

Oil filters were pushed through compressed felt have to experiment number of times to get the correct pressure. Some or other thanks to our innovative technicians during the 1962 to 77 dark era industry got going. Automobiles ran on the road.

I was not aware until that you enlightened this forum that patent for the K&N filters are based on cloth.

Thanks for that valuable historical information.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

Scooter · February 23, 2012

Hi Memsoft, yeh, the idea with these old airfilter technologies was that the air would pass over the mesh and stuff and get caught/trapped on the oil. Fair bit of maintenance needed though and often a bit dirty. Here's a link to a data sheet on one of the bigger oil bath types u find on tractors and stuff like that - shows you all the inside bits:

http://www.cj3a.info/tech/donaldson.pdf

Older motorbikes sometimes used a simple oil-saturated mesh attached to the carbie intake as a rudimentary air-filter. Here's a pic on ebay of a BSA Bantam setup:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=bsa+bantam+air+filter

...that sort of thing worked "fairly" ok on engines without tight tolerances.

You can also pick up special airfilter foam sheet on ebay. I think the correct name for the material is "reticulated polyurethane foam" but you need to be sure of the pore size you need (to ensure appropriate airflow) before you buy! I wonder if Richard Pieris Foams in Biyagama make the stuff?

jdnet · February 23, 2012

Wow........ just........ wow..... people can spend upwards of a million oln an old car, yet can't afford to buy a filter? A cruel world we live in.

CARBON B4 · February 24, 2012

I wouldn't try the cushion foam thing cos with the suction power of the intake stroke...there is a good chance the foam can tear and get sucked into the engine.

The after market foam filters has a steel mesh to support the foam from not breaking.

Can you give his name(reference) because I too did number of them for some cars early days as well as industrial engine air filters.

I was not aware until that you enlightened this forum that patent for the K&N filters are based on cloth.

Thanks for that valuable historical information.

It was just a joke.... but the K&N filter is based on nylon type material put between steel mesh. So if in the past guys were using vest material which has some portion of nylon its kind of the same thing.