Has anyone ever had a MAF damaged by oiled filter?

I had bad experiences using K&N filters on my taco. I used one for 6 months. In that time period, I had to clean the throttle body 3 times. The filter lets in more dirt, which was clogging my throttle body. The truck would actually get to the point where it would almost stall at idle. I quit using it, went back to a regular paper filter and been fine ever since.

 

I am watching this one like a hawk. Chris, I like your answers because there is prove behind them, not just opinions. I am interested also in the AFE Pro Dry and will wait on your test.


I don't intend to hijack the thread here, but you have mentioned in several posts about you being out of work. What do you do? Why is work off? PM me if you don't want to answer publically, or don't answer at all if it is none of my business.

 

Carmello before you start saying people have no brains let me ask you, how long have you had your K&N on for? Have you tried the recharger kit? Have you used the proper amount of oil like the bottles says? I did many times, I'm a f"in mechanic, i do things properly. I have had nothing but problems with my maf getting fouled up. Had to clean it at least once a month. It's so bad that when you accelerate it boggs down horribly. I cleaned the filter many times and recharged it properly many times. Everytime nothing but problems. Switched to urd TCAI and amsoil filter and never had any problems. I will never buy another K&n wet filter again.

Edit: I was not using the drop in filter, this was the K&N cone filter with there kit.

 

I've been running K&N filters on my truck for the last 18k miles or so and haven't seen any issues. I've also ran them in my quad for hundreds of hours in sand dunes and dusty trails/roads with an open air box and the cylinder still looked like new when I got the motor built last spring. My truck still runs great(noticeably more top end power with the CAI) and when cleaning the filter(every 5k miles or so) i've checked my intake tube for any residue of oil or dust and have found none. The K&N filters do look questionably thin when held up to a bright light though.

 

Yup!

 

Could I send you some samples of my oil for the AFE? I just put it in with my most recent oil change so would I need the OEM samples to compare?

 

I work at a Chevy dealer in the parts dept. I have sold at least 20 MAF sensors for Silverados that have failed due to K&N air filters. On the Chevys, the MAF sensor is very close to the airbox and oil contaminates the sensor. In fact, in the GM performance catalog, the perfomance air cleaner they sell is a dry one. What this has to do with Tacomas I don't know, but I thought I would just throw out some personal experience. If I ever put a high flow air filter in my Tacoma, I would use a dry one. Why take a chance?

 

Ran a K&N on my 79 Toyota for 20 + years, about 200,000 on that 20R and filter


Figure I got my money out of it


Ordered a K&N for my 92 4 Runner the day I ordered my truck and installed it before pulling out of the dealers lot .

Ran that for 15 + years and about a 145,000 miles

 

I had the K&N along with the deckplate mod & manual tranny. It made a noticable difference in throttle response. That was the 3.4L.

I have the AFE pro-dry in my 4.0L and removed the secondary air filter with an Auto tranny. I haven't noticed much difference. But then again, this is an Auto......I haven't played too much with it in terms of going 'all-out' or shifting it manually. I just like the fact I can clean the filter and was hoping for a little bit of gas savings too.

In terms of gas mileage....seems the 3.4L tacomas adjusted positively to different modifications to help improve gas mileage. I've already done the same mods on this 4.0L as I've done on the 3.4L and my MPG stayed the same as the day I bought it. They just arent' the same...

 

Then I got ethanol for brains.

The first time I oiled my TRD I used half the bottle in the kit. It dripped (inside and out the filter) for days. I followed the instructions pretty carefully, but they don't give a clue how much to use. The diagram shows oil pouring onto the filter.

 

On my '05 Altima, yes, and I never oiled it, only used as is from the factory. On the Tacoma, I'm intelligent enough to have learned my lesson the first time.

 

that was what I experienced with the Altima. Blackstone tests before and after showed very high silicates with the K&N as opposed to the AEM Dryflow I used after my MAF died.

 

I clean my air filter every 15k miles (every 3 oil changes). I go home and travel dirt roads. It may be overkill sometimes, but I have a clean filter.

 

Many of us have the AFE ProdryS. I haven't done any oil testing with it yet, though.

 

KN filters won't go near any of my cars. I've had a MAF go out using the FACTORY OILED K&N filter!! So if they can't oil it correctly, we sure can't!!! I've also had upper ends off of many cars running K&N's, trust me... it's not pretty. Cars run better with a Paper filter. Of course K&N is going to try and sway your opinion.... they want to sell you a filter.

 

Do you mean the Check Engine light or the Maintenance Required light? If you actually mean the Maintenance light then no the K&N would have nothing to do with it, the maint. light just counts miles since it was last reset to remind you when to change your oil. It blinks at 4500 miles and stays solid at 5000 miles.

I think you might have read his post wrong...he said Maintenance Required light not Check Engine light.

 

I'm just asking, but what about this?
http://www.knfilters.com/check_engine_light.htm
http://www.knfilters.com/common_misdiagnosis.htm
and the warranty...which states is not valid if used off-road or in ATV uses...
http://www.knfilters.com/warranty.htm

Has anyone ever tried to get reimbursement from K&N?