Anybody have a K&N Air Filter on their ranger

[Bob Ayers]

How did K&N "disprove" it?

And define "over-oiling," since K&N never bothered.

And I certainly cleaned pink oil out of the inside of my 2.9L throttle body (though it had no MAF to foul), as well as out of the intake manifold and carburetor for my 250 I-6. So, maybe I'm "overoiling" it, though I would assert that claim is inherently circular. I believe I've disproven K&N's claim that overoiling a filter and subjecting it to 1000 CFM dislodges no oil. A 2.9L doesn't generate anywhere near that airflow.

K&N has a vested interest in lying about this issue.

Just like they lied about the performance gains!!

 

[4x4junkie]

Wait a minute....have any of you actually had a gummed up MAF? I've been running mine for a year with no problem, and my MAF looks fine. This is a rumor that's been going around for a while now. K&N disproved it. I'd think the only thing that'd really mess it up would be way over oiling it.

Yep.
I ran a K&N in my '94 for 8 years, and have dealt with all the problems because of it (I now run a paper filter again).

MAF sensor would get full of crud about every 2 years, and had to replace the o2 sensors after 7 years (symptoms of the o2 began to appear after about 4 years, but I didn't make the connection until about 3 years later).
Cruddied-up IAC valve that began sticking after about 4 years.
Inside of entire intake plenum had a thin grayish-black coating on it (same color as the crud on the MAF sensor).


Give it time... (especially if you go offroad with it where it's dusty real often), you'll start to see the same issues.

 

[dogboy]

I haven't gotten one for my Ranger yet, but my dad has had one in his Suzuki XL-7 for about 6 years now (since the first filter change) and he has had NO problems with it doing things to the engine... I am not sure it did anything for power and what not I have never asked him, but it defentaly hasn't done anything to the engine. But he also didn't buy it for power/ MPG, he bought it becuase it is reusable.

 

[mikhail]

i bought a cheap high flow kit from advance auto parts, they had a sale on this kit for $40. came with the filter and universal tube. I just did it because it raised my intake from up front at the grille to by the cowl and it opened up some space in the engine compartment.

the filter tends to get muddy though since its exposed and it makes a whistling noise you can hear at idle

 

[Ranger5.0]

hmm, you know, i never thought about it untill now. When i put my new engine in, i found a LOT of goo in my intake plenum ...I never put two and two togeather till now, it makes sense tho. Not to jus focus on K&N tho cuz there are a lotta other oiled filters out there.

 

[Ranger44]

Ok, I just wanted to hear it from guys who have had it happen to them, it hasn't done anything to me yet, and I've heard it does ruin things, and it doesn't. I just wanted a reusable filter, the thought of never having to buy another filter is attractive to a consumer. I knew when I bought it there would be no gains. I guess dry filters are on the menu from now on. I'm gonna check my air intake tube and see if there is any gunk. My MAF looks fine as I have it off, along with a bunch of other things, changing out lash adjusters/lifters.....

 

[freebird]

my father has been running a K&N filter on his early 90's Ford f350 with an international diesel motor. He has had no problems and bought the filter about 4-5 years ago. he cleans it out and re oils it every 3k miles. but now that i think of it.... ive had one in my 99 ranger for about a year now, went through a MAF and have idling problems where the truck does not want to idle somtimes.

 

[Kona]

I used a K&N in my old 68 Oldsmobile with the factory stock 375 (gross) hp carburetor equipped car, no sensors and no problems. I noticed what felt like a seat of the pants improvement but I never dyno' d or raced it so I do not have proof one way or the other. I do not over oil mine and I let it dry before re-installing (on the Ranger ) but there is one heck of a difference between a torque monster big block and a anemic v6. The difference was small on the Olds, so not going to do much for a Ranger for power.

 

[PaleBlue90]

The only thing the K&N will pass more than the OEM paper filter is dirt and oil.
As previoously mentioned, the K&N will contaminate your MAF sensor, and gum-up your IAC valve, and throttle body.

whoot i was right

 

[rickcdewitt]

so now that most of you agree about k&n,what brand of OILLESS filter do you recommend?who's got one?

 

[MAKG]

It really doesn't matter.

Your air filter simply is not determining your performance. Fram is fine. So is Motocraft. Both are easily available and cheap.

Use what is at hand.

 

[88mudder]

if you have the stock air box, dont waste your money on a K&N. Get whats cheap, they all do the same thing.

If your do have the K&N, dont oil it too much. It will clog your intake and could make your truck have rough start ups.

 

[gw33gp]

I am amazed at the diversity of opinions on K&N air filters. Apparently some people put too much oil on them.

I have about 75,000 miles on my current Ranger with a K&N air filter and have encountered zero problems from it. I have also checked the intake tube (clean side) after being in very dust off-road conditions and could find no evidence of dust when wiping with a clean white cloth.

I also used a K&N drop in filter on my 89 Ranger for over 190,000 miles without any problems due to the filter. I had the oil analyzed each oil change and there was no evidence oil dust by-passing the filter. I think I did change an O2 sensor during its 200,000 mile life but I consider that normal maintenance. The cats were still the originals when I sold it and it passed the smog test with ease. The truck is still being driven by a co-worker and it still runs well with well over 200,000 miles on it now.

You can slam K&N filters all you want but I will keep using them in all my vehicles and have been since the early 80s. I don't use them for performance or gas mileage, I use them because I am lazy. My normal cleaning interval is 25,000 to 50,000 miles.

 

[rickcdewitt]

It really doesn't matter.

Your air filter simply is not determining your performance. Fram is fine. So is Motocraft. Both are easily available and cheap.

Use what is at hand.

i guess i should clarify,what brand of aftermarket reusable non paper,no oil filter would you guys recommend?i'm not interested in hp #'s just reusability and increased flow.

 

[PaleBlue90]

Fram or Motorcraft