I just bought the "K&N Filter" cleaner and oil kit today... I want to clean my CAI because ive had it for a while... Im not anxious to do it, because i have to take off the front bumper to clean it... Any tips on cleaning it??? After you spray the cleaner and wash it off, how long usually does it take to dry... Also, what do you do if you have to crank the car before the filter dries??? I have a bypass valve, so could I just clamp on a plastic bag to the bottom end of the intake and let the valve do the rest??? Shyne...

 

First use like a old toothbrush to gently brush off any big pieces of junk like seeds or something. i recommend using the K&N oil from the spray can...not the squit bottle. The squirt bottle doesn't apply evenly at all. Also, try to not overuse the oil cuz if you do it leaks like ****. I had a big oil mark in my garage cuz i used too much and it all dripped down. Other than that you should be fine.

 

my old K&N filter took about 4 hours to dry (the rectangular ones not the cone ones) I use the spray can also, it is easier to apply.

 

The cone type filter usually take less than a hour to clean.

You just have to take it off, rinse it (from the inside), let it dry and oil. What I usually did was to let it dry overnight after oiling the filter before installing it back on so it won't drip.

CAI... that's why I still don't have it. Cleaning it is a bi*ch. You probably don't have to take off the bumper to clean it though... you can jack up the front, pry open the bottom plastic cover (sheild thing) and acccess the filter from there?? THat's probably a lot easier than taking off the bumper. I dunno... it's just an idea. I'm afraid if you take off the bumper too often, those two lil holes on the side that the bumper clips onto the body might get damaged. And that won't be good.

 

I know that sucks, the bumper just feels like it would break... Thanks for the tips guys, im gonna try to attempt it today... Since winter is around the corner, i might use the Shortram, and use the CAI for the summer... The kit I bought has the spray can oil, they said something about tha squirt bottle, and I knew that would cause problems...Aight, wish me luck...Shyne

 

good luck

 

well I just finished cleaning my CAI... It took a good while to take the bumper off and clean it, I would say it was very well worth it considering what I found in the filter... There was sand, grass, and all kinds of stuff imbedded in the filter!!! I drove at least 10,000 miles on the CAI, I would recommend cleaning it at this interval every 10K or 6 months... KandN say you should "let the dirt build up" to do the work for you and clean it at 50-100K, I wouldnt do this because your car could have trouble breathing... I was thinking very hard about just taking off my bypass valve and just using the short ram... I think this would be less of a pain in the a$$!!! If you break any little piece of plastic on your bumper, you would be fu@ked... I think I would use the short ram, but I would think in a hard rain, the filter itself would get pretty wet... At any rate, the next time I do clean it, i have to buy some more of those little plastic clips that you have to pry open with a screw driver because most of mine are done with...Good luck to anyone who does take the time tackle this job...Shyne