Well Guys,

I just found a very good reason of not to buy a K & N filter... A buddy of mine had a newer Camaro (with all the goodies). He is running a K & N on his car. He complains about having to clean it about every 5K miles (or less). He is working construction and has to drive up a dirt road about 3 miles every day. Lots of dust!

Well, This weekend I had to do cattle branding. I had to drive up the ranch which included a 25 mile trip up a dusty road. By the time I got there my truck was no longer Maroon is was a shade or grey/brown. The dust was rolling off the back topper window like sand! I'm using a standard paper element filter in the stock box. What was nice is to just take mine out and tap it against the tire abit and watch the dust fall out of the filter. Later on today (now that I'm home) I will use a bit of compressed air to clean it up a bit more.

Is it worth it to have a K & N... I don't think so being the oil traps the dirt/dust and you MUST clean and re-oil it. Where the paper element will not hold the dirt/dust they will release it with a bit of tapping or compressed air.

Make sure you still check it for holes...!!!

So if you live in the country side and have a lot of dirt roads to travel I highly suggest you get a BHAF or use a paper element in your stock box. Light grease on the gasket too...

 

Cleaning a paper element filter with compressed air basically blows holes in the media so in effect you are reducing the filtering capability. While I'm not a fan of K&N filters in daily drivers they do have their applications. I highly doubt your "buddies" filter needs cleaned that often. Even thought they appear extremely dirty they often still flow quite well.

 

If you can still see the wire mesh it will flow fine...

 

I never blow high pressure air at close range on a paper element. I reduce my pressure to about 20-30 PSI and keep some distance on it... Just to remove lose material...

No he cannot see the wire most times... Lightly coated... It starting to deform the pleat to it...

 

All air filters are actually least effective when new, and filter better after use. With any filter it's best to go by the restriction gauge, and not disturb pleats that hold dirt by blowing out or banging filter. My K&N in stock airbox quickly got sold after restrictor gauge would pull down when towing repeatedly in mountains, even though it was properly cleaned and oiled and edges greased. Switched to BHAF and troubles were over. I've used K&N on all my gaspots, but no more on Cummins(can't flow enough air thru) and, because I also had oil film in turbo inlet.

 

I stopped using BHAF's for two reasons.

First, I drive dusty trails and dirt or gravel roads all the time. I can clog up a BHAF in a few weeks, and they're very difficult to clean. You can't use water, and you most definitely can't use compressed air. The economics of replacing a BHAF in extremely dusty conditions just doesn't make sense.

Second, I've had two Fleetgaurd BHAF's fail. The filter media tends to tear away from the rubber at the inside bottom of the housing where the filter connects to the hose to the turbo. Might be manufacturing defects, might be the added stress of sucking enough air to create 30+ lbs. of boost, might be the "weathering" and watering of the exposed filter media inside the engine compartment, might be all of these reasons, I don't know. I do know that the BHAF is not a safe filter to run on a Dodge CTD, based on my experience, and two other owners I've heard from. One owner had the filter media tear away, and chunks were ground up by his turbo impeller and shot down through at least as far as the airhorn.

Fleetgaurd makes a marine BHAF that not only has a mesh screen on the outside of the filter media, but also another mesh screen on the inside of the media. In addition, the media itself is water and weather-resistant. That's a viable option for most people, but it's much more expensive, and it still can't be cleaned very easily. I've run two of them, however, and I like them.

Right now, I'm running an AFE Progaurd 7. It seems to have all the advantages. I can clean and re-oil it easily, it's very well constructed (wire meshes inside and out), it can suck a lot of air, and the combination of cotton and poly layers (very different from a K&N) solves the filtration problem of oiled filters.

 

Where do you guys get your info??? I race dirt bikes and offroad trucks! The best filters for flow and dirt trapping are the oiled K/N and similar filters.
Oil on your turbo blades??? Oil on filter, 20-40 psi boost! I'm sure a little oil will be pushed thru! Who cares? wont hurt a thing!
Don't you think the big industrail Cummins could handle a little dirt.
Been running a K/N in mine for 230k, runs like new! Those filter minders are junk, never work properly, just a gimmick!

 

K&N filters don't flow enough air through them and micron rating of media is not as good as AFE or similiar. Industrial engines and hiway tractors, and our trucks have them for the reasons given. The best way to know is not by guessing,but by using gauge to know how much filter is getting plugged whether it is oiled type or paper. The dirt that can go through is very fine and acts like sandpaper scoring cyl. walls, called dusting. I have rebuilt a couple of diesels Cat 3406 B and E engines that had this done, from guys blowing out paper elements or banging them to loosen dirt, when I was a H.D.Journeyman Mechanic. It happens without you knowing until it's too late. Overcleaning/Underoiling oiled elements have same effect as above. That's what is great about this site is other peoples input and experiences, then making up your own mind what works best for your rig.

 

What does BHAF stand for?
And how does one go about hooking up a cone type filter directly to the turbo.. i took a k&n out of the box from advance auto parts and there seems to be no place to clamp it down? with a hose clamp or whatever.. thanks!

 

It stands for Big Honkin' Air Filter. I don't believe there is room in front of the turbo for a filter directly on it, it should be attatched to some sort of tube attached to the turbo

 

How could the BHAF fail like that? These are Big rig air filters....

I finally decided on BHAF after debating between Proguard 7 and now I hear this...

 

I listed several reasons why this might have happened in my post above. I have nothing else to offer except those guesses - but if I had to bet, I'd bet on a combination, with water and weathering being the chief agent of failure. The rigs that run BHAF's seal them inside cannisters, I believe, and there's no such "tight" arrangement when you fit one to a Dodge CTD.

I'm not saying that BHAF's are bad filters. I'm saying that based on my own experience, and the experiences of two others, I'd feel better about buying a marine BHAF - but given the dusty conditions I drive in, and the cost, that's not an economical answer.

IMO, AFE filters are far superior to K&N's, again, from my own experiences with six different off-road vehicles. Far less oily grit and fines in barrels, throats, hoses, and on turbo impellers, etc. With the PG-7 I put on my CTD a year ago, I haven't seen anymore junk "down the throat" than with the BHAF's I was running before.

 

My mechanic buddies at Cummins NW cringe when they see a BHAF. They have come across several that have come apart but more often they find BHAFs that have become disconnected from the tube.
Their feeling is it a funky setup, not supported well and prone to vibration damage.
The BHAF type filters are mainly used on stationary engines that aren't subjected to the bumps and potholes found on most roads.

 

I have seen a few standard BHAF's that have taken some water damage...as soon as it gets wet and then is dried by its function and some added heat, the paper becomes weak, or brittle...keep an eye on that. I went the K&N route, then AFE and now UNI two stage foam for the exact same concerns and comments on here. I know there are several people that prefer a paper element over an oiled element. Part of the reason for that is because the oiled filters can be over oiled...the oil can weep and then you see the film on the turbo blades.

All filters have their pros and cons. I am aware that certain manufacturers will not endorse anything that they do not make or sell themselves and therefore will tell people all these stories of the filters failing and 'dusting' the engines. I am sure they are telling a mostly factual statement but what I have seen over the years is more often the not is a poor fit that allows unfiltered air to bypass. I have seen this with all brands of filters. What really surprises me is how a person will put a bhaf or a cone k&n or afe on their truck without any kind of support for the filter or where it clamps on with the turbo inlet hose.

On my 96 Ram [before I came up with the Psychotty Air], I had dust whisps on the inside of my factory air box with the factory filter. The dealer said its not uncommon for the air box to be slightly out of spec. Then DC added a thicker gasket on the filters.

I strongly suggest that if you are going to change the air intake on your truck, make sure its sealed and if its paper it must be very well protected from moisture. The choice is your as to what you would like to use.

Since changing to the UNI filter we have had zero defects or problems with these filters, other then some arrived over oiled...easy fix is to wipe the excess off or clean the outer layer.

I have ran two single layer 9" UNI filters on my shaker hood for well over 20K miles and that was with rain, snow, dirt, bugs etc hammering those filters. The highest silicon reading I got was 7PPM. I am good with that. I just had the filters off the truck yesterday and I took the entire shaker kit apart and the inside of the custom turbo inlet hose and plumbing was dust free and clean. I fully expected to see water trails as I was in a very heavy rain storm here on Saturday that I was driving straight into at 70 mph. I also expected to see residue transfered to the turbo blades...there was nothing. I also expected the filters to be under oiled because of the baths they have taken...they were in excellent shape. The filters that UNI makes have a metal internal mesh on the two stage filters and the single stage have an external and internal cage. Very nice.

Whoops I got off topic and started my UNI filter is better commercial...

Sorry bout dat.

Scotty

 

why bother... just replace it!!!!!