My 2002 6spd only has 4800 miles on the clock so far
and my mass air flow sensor is gone. The serviceman
at the Nissan dealer said he was 90% sure my K&N panel
filter is to blame. They will fix it under warranty but
I had to butt heads with them a little for them to do so.
Personally, I think the dealers are full of $hit. Wonder
if they would give me a hard time if it was a fram air
filter.

 

They're full of it. Those service managers will do anything to get out of doing warranty work. If you take a look at the new sensor they are putting in there, it is a totally different sensor. It's much bigger than the old one.

 

Bryan is right, I mean the K&N panel catches more dirt than a normal panel filter.

Dixit

 

Care to provide some evidence (not from K&N) to back up that statement? More airflow, maybe, but catching more dirt?

 

Why buy a Z rated tire, can you prove it grips better?

Common sense...blow smoke thru a dry handkercheif and a wet one...the moisture attracts more and smaller particles...it is not hard to understand the reasoning behind SO MANY aftermarket companies claims of better cleaning...K&N, Amsoil, you don't have to work hard to figure it out.

 

it's very possible that it's the k&n. it couldve been over oiled when you bought it. nissan MAF sensors are really fragile. numerous people here including myself have experienced MAF failure.

 

i had a k&n panel filter in for 40k miles...never a prob. dealers are funny

 

if they find enough of the filter oil on the MAF sensor, they have good reason to believe it's the k&n.

 

So we are NOT blaming the Intakes anymore.. Just the KN's... ?? Come on guys. Look at the ORG and all the endless threads on this. Its the Freakin pathetic MAF's that Nissan makes ! NOt the Berk, Frankencar, PR , Or Injen, its Nissan ! JUst keep your stock airbox setup handy, and ready to re install... If you have to pay for it yourself to get fixed, all you need is the sensor itself, not the entire unit. Its less than 100 bucks.

 

Right. But doesn't the new sensor require an ECU reprogramming? If it does, how much does that cost?

 

How many people with stock intakes have had a MAF failure? Hmmm...

 

i think i heard people here say prices around 400 bucks if you get a blown MAF

 

Enough for Nissan to have to issue a TSB.

 

NO you dont need it. We have had this info posted before. As far as you guys asking how many people with stock ones have had this happen, use the SEARCH feature, and you will find the answer to be MANY ! I have only been on the ORG since late FEB when I bought my 2K2 and this has been the biggest topic here. Dont be nieve and think this wont happen to you with your POS stock air box !

 

Fascinating. That's not what the TSB says.

 

Confirmed by a member who had blown MAF. Part# 22680-AD210, discription:Meter Assy. $62.50. www.courtesynissan.com. No ecu programming needed.

https://maxima.org/forums/showthread...ght=22680ad210

edit: this part will only work on 00-01s

 

I strongly disagree with this statement. Take out your K&N, hold it up to the light, and tell me then how many "holes" you see in the cotton gauze. K&N does not install enough cotton to really trap the dirt effectively . . . every hole you see will allow dust, dirt, sand, silica, etc. into your engine . . . the visable holes become even more apparent after only one washing of the filter . ..

 

Ok. Now I am tired of you . Use the search feature yourself. Some NON- Lemmings who have a decent knowledge of auto mechanics have posted that this is not needed. Stop being so busy with people adding aftermarket exhausts , and do some research. Many Org members have said its not needed.

 

Do you Honestly know how it works? Just cause you see holes dont mean dirt passes through. The key to this filtration system is how they oil the filter which traps the dirt better than a dry paper element.

Dixit

 

tsb no working..

 

was the K&N filter over-oiled? take a paper towel and wipe around the clean side of the airbox see if there is any oil. I have heard overoiling from factory pre-oiled. In that case, K&N is the cause.

 

I'm just reading what it says in the TSB, kloogy. If you want to argue with someone, go argue with Nissan. And as far as being tired of me is concerned, I'll simply say this:

It's better to give a resentment than to get a resentment!

 

plenty.

 

Yes, I understand the theory behind the K&N filter. Just so that we are all clear, the idea behind the K&N filter is that oiled cotton gauze will effectively filter particles of dirt because the dirt will "stick" to the gauze. Furthermore, as the filter traps more dirt, it's efficiency drops slowly, but its filtering capability is supposed to improve dramatically. The reason for this is that as time passes the dirt particles will fill microscopic gaps that exist in the cotton gauze and prevent other particls from passing through.

However, I would argue that the whole design is flawed. In my experience, (and it was very noticable after washing and re-oiling the filter) I was able to see pin sized holes in the gauze. These holes are too big to be filled by the dirt trapped by the filter gauze or the oil. Ultimately, these holes will allow statistically significant quantities of dirt through the filter and, in my opinion, will ultimately cause excessive engine wear. In fact, I saw just this occur in my Honda . . .

Here are some links you might choose to review:


This one is K&N's own test results for their filter efficiency. By the way, they never tell you how many grams of dirt the filter can hold and the information is somewhat misleading since they first discuss the SAE test (J726) but then give results based on an ISO standard which is totally different. Even worse, never tell us what paper filter they are comparing themselves to . . .
K&N FAQ #10

The reputable filter manufacturer, Hastings, describes, in detail how to test filters. They are focusing on oil filters in this article, but the concepts for air filters are identical:
Hastings


Just for comparison, I have included a reference for test results from a Baldwin manufactured foam filter. Take careful note of three key items: 1 - the J726 test used "fine" (not coarse) particulate matter, 2 - the filters are more efficient than the K&N, and 3 - the "pressure drop in water" was taken at 30" of water on the meter.
Baldwin Filter

Now, please note K&N's own test results:
K&N Test1
K&N Test 2

It is very clear that K&N is using less pressure in their test, is using only large particulate matter to test with, and even despite these facts, does not filter as well as the Baldwin foam filter example above.

How anyone can really believe that K&N filters do a good job filtering is beyond me. In my opinion, K&N filters are only good for letting both more air and dirt into engines which will utilimately ruin engines. To my way of thinking, it is crystal clear that K&N is intentionally misleading a consumer population that is underinformed to begin with.

 

Very interesting, informative post. Anyone know where Amsoil foam filters come into this equation? Who are they made by?

 

Uh, your complaining about a .24 difference in filtering. Funny how people aren't as worried about their oil filters filtering .24 less than others. It seems as though some people are just a little to quick to think things through. The benefits of the K&N far outway the negatives if there are any. Amsoils filters capture more dirt than either paper or K&N's. They also have good air flow. I personally use my Berk Intake with my K&N cone. I usually trade my car in every 3 to 4 years. I'm quite sure the engine will last that long with my crappy K&N

 

Without a doubt, Virus. Without a doubt.

 

Virus,

Please read the links I included in the previous post carefully. The variance you describe (.24) is, in most probability, far greater than that for one simple reason. K&N only posts test results using the large sized particulate matter in their testing. The other manufacturer listed is performing a similar test using smaller particles. Dare I say that this difference is significant? Also, K&N never tests under the full 30" of pressure described. The comparison you made in your note above is like comparing apples and oranges . . . and, I should add, this is EXACTLY what K&N expects you to do, even though it is clearly on incorrect comparison . . .

 

Isn't Hastings one of the worst oil filters? I've seen many comparative reviews on Hastings all showing them to be 1 step above Fram. Unfortunately, I don't have any bookmarks to the comparisons so you would have to take my word on it.

I have no doubt that there are other filter manufacturers that make superior filters to K&N. Some people choose to run dino oil knowing full well that synthetics are far superior in every way. To each his own.

 

Back in the day when we were ghetto and had no money,

For track:

we would take off our stock air boxes and put a pantyhose over the rubber intake tube. That's the high performance track setup.

For street:

Take off lower portion of the stock air box leaving the stock filter panel exposed. Take 4 large rubber bands and secure it.

(Done on an EK Civic, will work with many other cars)

 

What TSB are you talking about? There's one for MAF failure? Since when?

 

Oh, damn...that's old skool ghetto! I remember those days!!!

 

I took your street setup one step further on my Civic - I cut open the entire bottom of the plastic air box to let more air into the filter . . . it worked really well and cost nothing.

 

NTB01-036a, MIL "ON" WITH DTC P0100 (MASS AIRFLOW SENSOR - MAFS) STORED.

Unfortunately, the TSB only applies to 2K-2K1 Maximas. Nissan hasn't gotten around to admitting how screwed up the MAF sensors are on 2K2s yet.