and that's ingenuous, as this counts as my first real automotive maintenance as long as refilling fluids doesn't count.

Thanks for the photos and the description in the "DIY: Replacing Cabin Air Filter 3G Garage DIY F-130" thread, though the diagrams looked far too complex and the pictures with the plastic cut was scary (and cutting unnecessary). While my experience didn't exactly mirror the descriptions, it kept me on the right track. The instructions sheet which came with the filter were too superficial to be of help.

For the newbie, the trickiest parts were:

• The amount of force necessary to remove the plastic cover behind the glove box. I feared breaking something, but with the screws out it required some hard pulling to get all the clips out of their housing and get it off.
• Putting the plastic clips back in the holes at the top. Getting them off by pressing in the middle section was easy, but to put them back you have to pull apart the "arms" so the inner part goes from sticking in to sticking out, then put them back in the holes and press the middle part in until it's flush.
• Disengaging the black clip on the right which limits how far out the glove box extends. Again this was a question of how much force was needed. Pushing back on it eventually disengaged it on the glove box.

I didn't take photos of the process, not least because I let the light of day almost pass by before getting out to do this job, however I do have a photo of what might be the dirtiest cabin air filter!



This was after about 52k miles with me driving the last 20k, almost all in the (sub)urban Washinton DC Metro area. I park outside and get tree droppings on the vents which I try to clean off before driving.

I replaced it with an activated carbon (on recommendation from my mechanic) ATP HA5 "Interior Ventilation Filter" from Rock Auto where it's described as a "ATP Part # HA5 {Vent Filter}" in the "Cabin Air Filter" category.



Rock Auto was the only place I found for activated carbon cabin air filters for the TL and for the decent price of $15.87 each I got two which, strangely, had cheaper shipping at $7.82 than one at $8.24 or three or more at $8.35 and up. Finding and ordering was easy, they take PayPal and confirmed the order with tracking info, shipping was quick and the product arrived quickly and was well packaged with the biggest air pillow I've ever seen. Unfortunately they spoiled the whole experience by spamming me with their "Newsletter" advertising. I recommended they not do that any more.

Since I've not driven since replacing the filter I can't say how much difference it makes to the quantity or quality of air flow, but I suspect it'll be worth the cost in money and effort.

 

 

does the charcoal activated filter have any smell to it? does it really eliminate odors? I was going to buy one, but didn't know if it did those... I'll call up some people and see if we can get some good pricing on this stuff...

 

I still haven't driven the car, but since I have two Hunter HEPA air purifiers with activated carbon pre-filters, I can confidently say no and yes.

The real question is how long they are effective and in what environments.

BTW, I strongly recommend Hunter for both their products and customer service and not because they pay me (though I'd happily take their money).

 

yes it does have a smell to it but in a good way. when u run the ac the smell is clean and fresh air tinted with...uhhh...a bit of charcoal i guess. u can definitely tell the difference than with a non-charcoal oem filter which seems more susceptible to having that slight mildewy smell to it, even though there's no mildew. highly recommended and definitely worth the money.

 

put mines in yesterday with a air freshner and dam it smells good

 

Does any one know the part number the plastic/rubber washer for the glove box hinge screw? When I replaced my cabin filter I found that i was missing one of the washers but I cant find a part number to order a new one.