Air Flow Wire Clogged -- by K&N AIR FILTER???

This is on my gasoline Jetta, at 40K put on an K&N
air filter, to do a better filtration and to save
on maintenance hassles. about 4K later, went to
service station, with previous great maintenance
for year for a recurring "check engine light" issues.
they told me that the Air flow Wire was plugged
with oil from the K&N, and needed to be replaced
at $100+. I put the same filter on my TDI, is
this a real issue with K&N or is it being blamed
for an unrelated problem???

thanks!
terry

Apparently oil has been known to migrate through the K&N filter if too much is used. It could then 'coat' the MAF with oil, causing premature failure. Do a search on K&N, and you'll get enough info to keep you reading for a while.

I put the same filter on my TDI, is this a real issue with K&N or is it being blamed for an unrelated problem???

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Terry, the problem is very real and both cars (TDI or gasser) will suffer the same failure when the air filter is not properly oiled which in itself can be difficult to determine.

It's my understanding the TDI MAF sensor is far more $$$ than the gas equivalent.

When oiling the K&N you just want the gauze to turn red on both sides. It should be a fairly deep red. Then clean off the oil that is caught in the metal screen because it's that oil that hasn't been absorbed into the filteration media that will cover the maf. Obviously if the filter drips at all it is over oiled and will need to be re-cleaned then re-oiled. I've been using my K&N for over 50000km.. Had one maf replaced before I used one. The MAFS are going to go no matter what. Just be sure you're not over oiling it. From the K&N factory though if you've not touched it yet I doubt that was the problem.

Apparently oil has been known to migrate through the K&N filter if too much is used. It could then 'coat' the MAF with oil, causing premature failure. Do a search on K&N, and you'll get enough info to keep you reading for a while.

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HELP!!!
this is "fresh from the factory." All I did was
remove the packaging applied the included gasket
grease and put in.

Do I have a Claim against K&N??? for $200.00??

Apparently oil has been known to migrate through the K&N filter if too much is used. It could then 'coat' the MAF with oil, causing premature failure. Do a search on K&N, and you'll get enough info to keep you reading for a while.

Click to expand...

HELP!!!
this is "fresh from the factory." All I did was
remove the packaging applied the included gasket
grease and put in.

Do I have a Claim against K&N??? for $200.00??

yeah i'd say you have a claim. i'd take pictures of the filter though both normal and closeups, 'cause they'll probably want you to send it in to them.

98 exploder sport
02 golf gls tdi

If you're interested in long life - take the K&Ns out of your car!!! K&N has no place on a diesel.

It's a well known fact that K&N filters flow more because they filter less. The proof for me was when we sent an oil analysis into blackstone labs - all our cars with K&N filters have significantly higher silicates in the samples. That's sand - that's beacuse a K&N filter is for racing, NOT STREET USE. They may market them this way - but it's a well known fact. Do some reading to check up. If you're truly interested in better filtration AND better flow, you'll have to increase the size of the filtration media for a given particle size (in microns). Ditch the K&Ns unless you want to lower your compression and keep running sand through them.

By the way, testing shows that the K&Ns filter better with heavier oiling... so if you use less oil, even more sand is making it into your combustion chambers...

If you're interested in long life - take the K&Ns out of your car!!! K&N has no place on a diesel.

It's a well known fact that K&N filters flow more because they filter less. The proof for me was when we sent an oil analysis into blackstone labs - all our cars with K&N filters have significantly higher silicates in the samples. That's sand - that's beacuse a K&N filter is for racing, NOT STREET USE. They may market them this way - but it's a well known fact. Do some reading to check up. If you're truly interested in better filtration AND better flow, you'll have to increase the size of the filtration media for a given particle size (in microns). Ditch the K&Ns unless you want to lower your compression and keep running sand through them.

By the way, testing shows that the K&Ns filter better with heavier oiling... so if you use less oil, even more sand is making it into your combustion chambers...

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One guy after running a Piper Cross oiled Foam filter reported the following:

have not checked compression but my favorite person in the world (Pete) did and i was above 550psi on all 4 at around 120k miles (i think that was the mileage). i do want to get a compression tester and if i ever do i will report it here.

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i have a Viper so i must be surging like crazy. maybe i have one of those sruge free turbo's

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178,000 now

i am at Greg's house right now and we checked the compression;

#1- 510
#2- 515
#3- 505
#4- 510

not to bad for running a foam filter for over 150,000 miles

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For the record cars running an OEM paper filter are routinely seeing 550 PSI with the odometer reading in excess of 200,000 miles. Follow the advice above and get rid of the K&N ASAP. A European magaizine "CAR" had an article about 6 months ago and mentioned the contamination issues with oiled filter elements in modern MAF controlled cars. The fact is the K&N will not add any power to a TDI, It CANNOT filter better or longer when compared to the 40K service interval on the OEM VW filter.

If you were running a carburated Chevy or other vehicle go for it...then again you'd never see 200K anyway

DB

OK fine... <disclaimer> The following is neither an endorsement nor condemnation of products and/or the suitability for use by TDI owners </disclaimer> <translation> No Flames Pleeze </translation>

After reading this thread, and others in the past, I finally just gave up and pulled my K&N figuring... what the heck, better to error on the side of safety... I have used these filters in countless cars and never found or had any problems with them. Upon removing it, I decided to snap a few pics to document the results. You decide... Is there a problem?

The filter on the intake side looked like this...



It looks as though the air is concentrating in a few spots and not drawing perfectly evenly through the entire surface of the filter. My guess is this is more a function of the airbox design than the filter.

here is the engine side of the filter...



There is no evidence of the dirt concentration on this side. The color is even throughout and showed/left no dirt to the touch.

As for the engine side of the box...



Hmmm... Can you say, "Dinner's served"?

Finally, here is the inside of the horn leading to the MAF



For the record, I have 18,000 miles on the filter, never cleaned, factory oil, running desnorkled. There was literally NO dirt anywhere on the engine side of things. Everything was clean and dry. Just shy of the white glove test, wiping the surfaces w/a clean finger left no oily residue, grime, dirt or dust.

I will offer that I DON'T like the gasketing scheme of the K&N. The filter itself uses a hard rubber-like foam and asks you to install additional 'stick-on' gasketing on the mating surface. To top it off, you must apply a next-to-impossible 1/8" bead of grease using a small (supplied) squeeze tube which refuses to leave a consistent bead. Proper installation isn't easy with this filter.

All things considered, it appears a PROPERLY installed K&N should perform consistent with the results I found. Whether that's good enough, I'll leave up to you people to decide. For now, I'm back to paper...

A European magaizine "CAR" had an article about 6 months ago and mentioned the contamination issues with oiled filter elements in modern MAF controlled cars. The fact is the K&N will not add any power to a TDI, It CANNOT filter better or longer when compared to the 40K service interval on the OEM VW filter.

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The majority of aftermarket air filters are a total downer. K&N may top the list.

What's the deal with all the "sealing greases" and supplemental gaskets. What do I need that crap for if the gasket is properly designed for the air box. It is, isn't it Well, isn't it

I agree the filter seems to be doing a great job. Inspect your seal, there appears to be a very small amount of air getting past the seal other than that there is no dust or debris coating the airbox.

DB

I have been in repeated correspondence with
K&N on the problem I reported at the top of
this thread. All they do is say that somehow
I "overoiled" the filter when I took it out of
the box and installed it without oiling it.

That is enough for me...
The K&N and all that "sealing gunk" came
out an hour ago. Back to OEM paper for me.

I wish that K&N was more forthcoming.

Wow - your airbox is cleaner than the one in my gitrlfriend's TDI with factory air filter after 500 miles. Are you sure you didn't clean that after using a K&N? All the guys who run them on their Cummins trucks talk about the 1/8" of slimy coating in their intake tracts and on the turbine blades... your case is a rare one indeed - behind the filter looks immaculate in those pics!

Are you sure you didn't clean that after using a K&N?

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Nah... what would be the point? I have no incentive to endorse or discredit K&N. These photos are not retouched and the parts shown were NOT cleaned or prepared in any way. The only sign I had of migrating oil was a VERY slight smudging on the fingertip when rubbing the MAF screen. Everything was just as shown.

P.S. If your girlfriends car had more dirt than mine after only 500 miles, I'd suspect a leak somewhere. Look for streaking up the sides of the airbox (engine side).