Pre-mature air filter check, bad move?

[Nick.G.S]

Hey all. Recently purchased my Golf TDI. I bought the car before I knew how precious and important the correct engine oil is to this generation of TDI's. I only use the recommended 5w40 diesel spec oil. Regardless, I've been hyper vigilant about looking for and catching symptoms of cam wear.

Long story short, I pulled my intake filter out to see if had soot on the filter. Found a mouse nest, but no signs of soot (as far as I could tell). Put the filter back in, tightened my screws and closed the hood. Now I'm new to these vehicles, but upon clicking though the forums here, I guess I've made a massive mistake by taking my filter out and putting it back in.

Should I go buy and install a new filter or keep the old one in? If anyone could fill me in, I'd really appreciate it! I want to do what is best for my TDI. thank you!

 

[Mongler98]

Why would taking it out and putting it back cause extreme damage..... i have only ever heard of this for still engines that use cyclone tech for filters like concrete saws and chainsaws.... that and a few other engines that are picky but nothing that cant be solved by replacing it with a new one! Please enlighten me!
im assuming the mouse nest was NOT part of the fitler... that it was still fully intact and no chew marks or holes.

ALSO these and most TDI engines wont be damaged by a few thousand or even a few tens of thousands of miles with not correct speck oil. as long as the weight is close or correct.. its not going to kill it for one or 2 oil service events. Some people here are crazy strict with " ITS THE END OF THE WORLD" if you don't use the absolute correct oil, coolant, and filters... yea its not ideal but as long as its resolved in a timely manor... its fine. coolant is another debate all in its self and im not going into that obviously now. Just take some of those posts you read with a few grains of salt...

 

[Nick.G.S]

Why would taking it out and putting it back cause extreme damage..... i have only ever heard of this for still engines that use cyclone tech for filters like concrete saws and chainsaws.... that and a few other engines that are picky but nothing that cant be solved by replacing it with a new one! Please enlighten me!
im assuming the mouse nest was NOT part of the fitler... that it was still fully intact and no chew marks or holes.

Well, I was reading some threads that suggested that by removing my old filter, I had broken the rubber seal of the filter, and thus by putting it back in, I would expose my MAF to dust that could sneak in now that my filter's seal is supposedly broken, meaning an expensive MAF replacement down the line. Again, I don't know what I don't know, but yes your post is my thought exactly! Lol and yes the mouse nest was not an OEM part as far I was concerned.

 

[Mongler98]

Well, I was reading some threads that suggested that by removing my old filter, I had broken the rubber seal of the filter, and thus by putting it back in, I would expose my MAF to dust that could sneak in now that my filter's seal is supposedly broken, meaning an expensive MAF replacement down the line. Again, I don't know what I don't know, but yes your post is my thought exactly! Lol and yes the mouse nest was not an OEM part as far I was concerned.

100% garbage and 100% inacurate. ONly if the rubber is very old and brittle will it not reseal.... lol disreguard whatever and whoever said that... maybe lol

 

[benmarks]

Yeah, that seems extreme, though I will say it can be easy to pinch the seal when screwing down the top and creating a gap.

 

[Mongler98]

probably the truth behind this BS is that if you take it off, it was probably past due and now you realise its old and needs replacing and the dust and what not gets past a bit if its not a nice soft seal, its happend many times where the cover does not clip in all the way and its slightly off. that combined with a clogged up filter would force air to go around.. i would say you could take a new clean filter on and off 100 times with no issues with sealing. its the age and clogged up factor that might be an issue but even if this is some what of a real issue, the time to get a new filter and fix it is what, at most 300 miles if you commute an hour every day... NOTHING, dont sweat it!

 

[snakeye]

Yeah I read this on the forum as well, but putting the filter back probably won't do any harm. The real danger with the filter is not getting a good seal in the first place due to the air box not being closed properly. I remove the air box every time I put a new filter in, cause it's much easier to see that it's done right. I also like giving the bottom half a quick rinse, and wiping the seal area to make sure it's clean.

 

[irvingj]

I regularly remove & inspect my air filter, even banging and/or blowing it out, then reversing it (rotating, not flipping over) as I put it back in. Also clean out the air box while the filter's out.

Never had any issues, though I've also heard that you're not supposed to do that to diesel air filters but suspect that's a bit of hyperbole. Of course, I also make sure everything gets back in place and seals properly.

 

[hskrdu]

For newer members and those who aren't familiar with the discussion:

Air filter replacement? How often

I just looked at the service schedule and it says every 60k miles??? When should I really change the air filter? Its kind of hard to tell how dirty it is because the pre filter is glued on.

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[Mongler98]

Unless it's in the workshop manual.... I wont take it as anything other than a myth.

 

[KrashDH]

There's no harm in installing, removing, and reinstalling the air filter.
The only thing one needs to be aware of when reinstalling is putting it back in the seal groove that has been created by the box. If you're off and you're riding on a part of the seal that wasn't compressed, it' may create a small gap between the old compressed portion and it's current new location.
Though, even then I wouldn't worry too much

 

[gforce1108]

It wasn't a myth - there were used oil analysis that showed spikes in silicon associated with opening the airbox. It is really a big deal - I can't say, but certainly something measurable and tied to disturbing the airfilter seal.

 

[KrashDH]

It wasn't a myth - there were used oil analysis that showed spikes in silicon associated with opening the airbox. It is really a big deal - I can't say, but certainly something measurable and tied to disturbing the airfilter seal.

What was the sample size? Did each car have the same setup? Each car in the same health condition? Was the air filter correctly installed the second time? There are too many variables for that to be conclusive. There are probably 10's of thousands of these cars on the road that have had air filters removed and put back in with no issues. Forums are such a small sample size of anything because on a forum, all you see is problems. You don't see threads from people when everything is running fine. I'd like to see a stack up and data of vehicles that have had no issues removing and installing filters vs those that have.

If you don't pay attention and just toss it back in without ensuring you are lined up with how it came out, yes you are going to have problems. But those are issues caused by the operator, aka "operator error"

 

[Mongler98]

It wasn't a myth - there were used oil analysis that showed spikes in silicon associated with opening the airbox. It is really a big deal - I can't say, but certainly something measurable and tied to disturbing the airfilter seal.

And yet Russians with these get to 600k with burning cardboard under them to warm up and socks for filters with 8 months of road salt every year....