As if I didn't learn my lesson the first time...

I was having an engine issue last week which is another story. I had reinstalled the stock intake to take the car to the dealer. I decided to just throw in the K&N filter I had. I thought that the K&N had blown the MAF sensor the second time(the first time was just a defective sensor), but i wasn't sure.

I now know for sure that the K&N blows the MAF. Only 45min of driving around with the K&N and the SES light comes on and i can't rev above 2200 rpms. I had no problems with the dry filter that comes with the Firm Fabrications Intake for about 5 months. It has to be the oil of the K&N.

Does anyone know if it's possible to just clean the sensor or does it have to be replaced? Thanks

 

Surprised to hear this. Have been driving around with my drop in filter for over 30,000 miles with no ill effects. Even serviced it once and reoiled it.

I recall reading that some people had successfully cleaned them, but don't remember the exact procedure.

 

same exact problem with mine!!!! I replaced 1 time already

 

well mine blew within 2 days after installing the apexi filter. I had the k&n on for 8k miles with no problems. There goes that logic reguarding the oiled filters.

 

I don't think the logic goes out the window...I just had a different experience than you.

 

There are alot of people on here, myself included for about 3,000 miles so far, who use a K&N drop-in and have had no ill-effects so I don't see how you can jump to that conclusion.

 

If you had two sensors replaced after using a K&N filter what would you tend to believe? How many people here have had ill effects from something and others who haven't? Nothing is impossible.

 

Hey I don't disagree with you, I'm just saying that making a blanket statement like "I know for sure that the K&N blows the MAF" isn't necessarily correct when so many people here use them and have no problems whatsoever. That's all I was saying.

 

I have a Stillen intake (K&N) on my 2k3 for about 3,000 miles and I drive it at WOT every chance I get with no issues....

 

Well, since you're gonna have to open that sucker up anyway. I think you should try cleaning it first. If it still doesn't work call Dave B.

 

OK, i hear you. I should have said "I know for sure the K&N blew MY MAF..

I understand that the majority of people have no issues. I seem to be prone to them. The dealership has a seat with a plaque of my name behind it.

 

No two cars are alike. Cars are machines built by humans. We are surely not perfect nor are the machines we build. There are many factors to consider, location, climate, driving conditions, etc... What may happen to one car under the same conditions may not to another in the same situation. My .02

 

So..what do you guys recommend to try to clean this bad boy? Thanks

 

Mabye rubbing alcohol and some Q-tips??? I wouldn't use anything to harsh. Anyone else???

 

These mafs are so senstive, even sneezing on them breaks them. On my 3-gen, I've had a blown seal on a turbo blow engine oil all over mine and it still works. Point being there are alot of varibles to conclude that it was the K&N. ie.. it could have been an OVEROILED K&N. Yes they do come overoiled from the factory sometimes.

 

tb cleaner or degreaser in a spray bottle seems to work. don't spray directly on it. spray it onto the tubing and let it run down onto the sensor then rinse.

btw, i've had k&n cone filters on my car for over 50k with no maf problems.

 

I have to agree with you that it came overoiled. When i pulled out the filter, the inside of the filter box had oil in it.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I will try and let you know.

 

Stillen w/K&N on my 99' for 46k no probs. Cleaned & re-oiled 3 times.
Stillen w/K&N in my 02; 1st to the stock accordion for 3k then to a Frank for 6k now to a Firm for 4k. 12k total no probs. Cleaned and re-oiled once.

I dodn't like the end of the filter that comes with the Firm but the pipe is sweet!

Try using 100% rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip.

 

Does the end of the firb fab filter serve a purpose? Does the Apexi filter have the same screen filter on the end?

 

K&N drop in for 3K now and no probs.

 

I've never seen an Apexi. With the Firm I have no idea why it was made that way, you can't see through the side of the filter but you can see through the screen on the end. Also the sides of this filter IS oiled.

 

i put in a stillen intake in my 2k2 after 300 miles, now i have 12000 miles on it w/o any problem , the only maintenance i do is just brush the filter (inside and out) to take out the debris and reoil the filter and let it stand for 24 hours to drain the excess oil. so far no problem yet and i do this every 4000 miles

 

Sorry to hear about the prob's...

I've been runnin w/ k&n's ever since I've been driving. I just recently re-oiled mine on my 2k2 at 25k (now about 27k)... no prob's.

I just always remember 3 golden rules when re-oiling:

1) Give adequate time to dry between each cleaning stage (at least 20 minutes IMO, which is more than back of box recommends).
2) After re-oiling and letting it adequately dry, gently wipe off w/ clean cloth to remove all exceess oil.
3) Let car sit overnight.

Never any prob's...

 

I've had a problem with the k&n drop in on my 2000. After about 8k miles of use, my car started to have problems starting. It would start, but the rpm's would drop and the engine would die. After going back to the stock filter and cleaning the throttle body, I haven't had a problem since. I am pretty sure my problem was related to the k&n.

 

You say "after 8k" but you didn't say how many miles were on the car prior to that. If you had a good number of miles on the car it could have been the TB that was giving you the problem. No matter what kind of filter you use the TB will get dirty again and it will hurt preformance.

 

If it's just a drop in can't you switch back in the crap stock filter and have the thing replaced under warranty? I was gonna go GAB, but the extra few ponies aren't worth the trouble in my opinion

 

All the dealer needs to do is see any oil in the area and they will know you were not running the stock filter the whole time.

 

This is true. The dealership called me out on this the second time it blew. I told them i did use the filter, but that i had bought if from a nissan dealership website. He understood and replaced under warranty, but advised me to not use it again. Should have heed his advice.

This time i wiped down the inside of the filter box. They shouldn't see anything. Starr Nissan in Queens is pretty good with not asking questions.

Btw, I cleaned the sensor last night, but it didn't do any good.

 

Damn, this is the first vehicle that i might consider NOT buying a K&N for.

Does the drop in change the sound at all?

 

Not really...thank God!! I prefer the low 'replacement' rate, the somehwat better flow, and the butt-dyno slightly better throttle response to stock...but it does keep a low profile sound level which I like.

 

Well she it 42k miles last night and I installed the K&N dropin in the car at around 600 miles. No probs here. I had the same dropin in the 99 SE we owned prior to the 2k for 24k miles and it was fine.
Travis

 

Had K&N drop-in for 20k+ miles no problem. MAF went out after having the Frankenar a/b 2 weeks. I didn't brace the intake until after the failure. I suspect the vibrations & not the filter caused the failure. Its been over a month now all seems well.

 

A neighbor of mine had recently installed a factory K & N filter on his Ford truck (run for 2k miles) and it spoilt the MAF according to the dealer.

It was creating problems when he tried to start his truck.

I just bought the K & N air filter...now I don't know if I should install it or not. Probably not worth the hassle. Because it will be more painful to ask the dealer to replace the MAF at that time if it ever spoil.

 

Call Dave Burnette and order just the MAF sensor. It runs about $75. Most dealers will try and sell you the whole unit including the tubing which you do not need. The whole unit is much more expensive.

You can try intake cleaner to clean the sensor. Not the carbuerator cleaner!

 

If you are concerned...lay the filter on a few layers of paper towels to 'leach' off excess oil overnight, wipe the filter frame of any excess, and you should be fine...

however, I take NO responsibility should anything go wrong.

 

Thanks for the advices given by jjs & foodmanry.

My neighbor spoke to K & N customer support & he was told that they fully cover any parts that are caused damage by a K&N.

If the dealer says they won't fix something, he can send the claim ticket to K&N and they will replace it for him.

So my neighbor is putting the K & N filter back to his truck. I will wait & see if the problem comes back again.

I will call my local Nissan dealer to see if they have anything to say abt this. The funny thing is the Nissan dealer at Texas is selling the K & N filter with Maxima's accessories. So I suppose it should be alright.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchan...Code=33-2031-1

 

foodmanry:

Just a curious/ignorant question here.
Is Dave Burnette the "go-to" guy for nissan genuine parts ? I am still new to the forum.

 

If I may jump in here...

some members have found parts at a better price on occasion than Dave Burnette has quoted, HOWEVER he has always been extremely helpful and informative when I have called him and I would not consider going anywhere else for parts and/or knowledge.

As probably anyone on this forum can tell you, praise from me is a rather rare thing...take that as a good sign.

 

jjs:

Thanks for the info. How would I get a hold of Dave in case I need parts in future ?

 

You can send him a PM at his user namw of DaveB (no spaces) or his number is in the FAQ's at the top of this forum...I think on the last page of the FAQ's.