K&N drop in filter question
 

i got a K&N drop in filter from a junkyard 3rd gen last summer, good deal since all air filters there are 99 cents. i grabbed the K&N filter recharge kit as well and cleaned it up and have been using it since July

question is i havent used the grease K&N says to use around the rubber edging, is that a issue? i searched and people say yes use it, some say no it doesnt do anything and screws up stuff, and some people say theyve used K&N's for 30 years without using the grease.

i ordered some grease now to use when i clean the K&N in a few months, but does the grease really do anything? i looked at my old paper filter and the rubber edging looks the same as the K&N and you dont need to grease it

I had a couple different K&N filters and never greased the rubber around the outside. I did always use the K&N oil on the filter material and often times it got to the rubber.

Maybe it is supposed to help with fitment? Some of the airboxes are maybe slightly smaller than others.

i read and it supposedly keeps fine particles from getting around the seal, it comes in a tube and i guess you spread it where the rubber on the filter comes in contact with your airbox. the K&N site says it helps to maintain a seal on an uneven air box surface

could there have been any harm from me not using the grease? i never drive on dusty roads or really outside of conditions of a big city

you won't harm the engine any more than using the filter with it.
k&n filters aren't known for their filtration, rather their flow and their ability to be cleaned.

never used the stuff on my maxima, don't have a problem (and I have had it for about two years)

Don't waste your time with that grease unless fitment is off.

ANyone ever used those No name brand cone filters like I have? Someone told me that they had to be replaced and could not be cleaned like the K&N filters, is this tru? Ive had mine for nearly 3 years and havent really cleaned it with nothing but water.

FFFFFUuuuuuuuu and i ordered a $20 big tube of the grease :facepalm:

i'll probably try the grease the next time i clean it but good thing its not a issue that i havent used it, thanks for the info

hate to make this a 2 question thread but here goes :facepalm:

so my radiator had some hair cracks at the top near the black part during the summer, last night looking at the K&N i noticed a bit of coolant pooling around the black top of the radiator

it looks like theres 2 3" thin cracks seeping on the drivers side and one near the neck of the radiator cap, crappy time to happen since everyone is closed today and for the weekend because of new years and Monday is the soonest anything can get done. i cant replace it myself because i only have the weekend off and work long hours all next week so the best i can do is drop it off at a garage where i know the owner well

i taped up the cracks and will only need to drive it for about 10 minutes Monday to the garage, is anything going to be harmed sitting in the garage until then? and will the radiator refill itself with coolant from the reservoir even though its barely leaking? thanks again

lol. tape, really? that will be worthless once the rad gets hot.
why take it to a shop? it takes 30 minutes (1hr tops) to swap out the radiator.
run it until the temp needle gets to the first bar (or finally points to C, just trying to get the fluid from freezing your hands), shut it off, and start ripping it apart.

or be weak, and take it to the shop :yeahright

:p

(to answer your question, yeah, it'll be fine. depending on the severity of the cracks/leaks, it probably won't pull from the resivoir, but you have been driving it with no real issue, so :gotme:)

i dont really know how long its been leaking really, for winter i usually only drive it for a hour every 2-3 nights and thats it. i bandaged it up a bit better, i put some paper towel against the cracks and taped it so theres some pressure at least

i wont have time to do it myself :( so for the 10 minutes i need to drive it just rip off my ghetto bandages and drive it right? my original plan was when this rad would crap out i would try one of the universal Mishimoto radiators and install it but i didnt think this one would crap out so fast

thanks for the info BTW

I would try to glue it up somehow. I know JB Weld won't hold.. but I would bet one of those two part "plastic welds" would actually work. It actually creates new plastic and causes the old plastic to actually kind of "melt" into it

If you drive it so infrequently in the winter, why the big rush to pay a shop to fix it? :gotme:

i need it fairly soon hence the rush lol

is coolant going to really spew when i drive it or just drop out a bit? i can take a vid of the cracks tomorrow

again, depends on the cracks. as long as you had coolant in there before "fixing" it, you will be fine. I doubt a 10 minute drive will do any worse damage than those hour long drives.

alrighty tomorrow i'm going to remove the ghetto bandages and do them up a bit better and take a vid

could this have caused any damage? the radiator/reservoir are still full of coolant

there is a good chance that if they are both full (or relatively full), there will be no damage. especially with as cold as it's been up there. I doubt the coolant has gotten to a point where it would boil off, and drain the radiator.
as long as you haven't noticed a performance drop, it should be fine.

yeah ive noticed no problems, its just lucky i went out and checked my air filter and noticed the green

thanks for all the info

i was going to take a vid but i'm not going to undo the bandage job, its actually holding up really well and the coolant isnt getting out anymore

tape and paper towels FTW :chuckle:

but towards the summer i most likely will try the universal Mishimoto radiator and install it myself

Poxy seems to have worked good on my friends radiator. Been holding up for months with a minor need for re-application.

yeah i got a new radiator, my bandage job held awesome for the few days and i got to the garage with no problems

Glad that worked out for you lol.

Regarding the grease. The only thing I see it helping is to keep the rubber from drying out. Put some vaseline on it if your concerned. The idea of stuff getting by the rubber seal is insane to me.

But, as a user of a k&n filter, I most likely won't get another.