Best Replacement Air Filter

Nice truck, some front and rear Husky Liner floor mats is a good mod.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/14217030777...3:g:SaoAAOSwXeJYHJaz&vxp=mtr&autorefresh=true

 

Welcome @MandosTaco . Hide your wallet. A lot of good advice on here.

Best first mod? Stickers! Honestly if you like the looks, check out the reflective black decals that go inside the Toyota stamp on our tailgate. They look pretty sweet.

 

Sweet looking tailgate. Already ordered myself a set from Ebay on Friday! Should be here by Tuesday. I got black for the tailgate and I also got the blue ones for the stamped logo on the glove box. Definitely liked how these looked. Pretty easy install I assume??

 

Yup. The ones I had were rigid

 

Thoughts and Questions.
So I'm guessing there's no way to clean a stock filter as it appears to be covered with pretty fine particulate. Now I constantly hear people say change your air filter, makes sense as it always seems to be dirty, obviously thats because it's drawing air from under your wheel well. So I'm trying to understand how this system makes sense as it is seemingly always going to be blocked up. I know people are against the Cold air and I believe the stats that I've seen saying the filter is inferior. But I definitely had throttle response and power band width grow on my '01 XJ with a K&N cold air. I'm obviously not going to throw one on my low milage Tacoma, but there has to be some better stuff out there without getting a full snorkel. My last conw filter actually came with an nice snug very finest net that really seemed to catch a bit of particulate and kept the filter much cleaner than previously.

I was mulling over running a K&N cone with the net on the end of my stock intake tube either under the wheel well or just inside the bay, in conjunction with a K&N in the stock box placement? Thoughts? I'm not going to buy a Cold Air because it's already over half way to a snorkel.

From my last filter change I just can't imagine the filter isn't suffocating the engine with how packed it gets in so few miles. It's dirty in the real world!

Just thinking out loud.

 

Anyone have the OEM filter part number handy?

 

Well dang, after reading all the negatives about K&N filters and the oil killing your MAF sensors and coating TB's, I have to ask.

How often were you cleaning your K&N filter, in miles/time?

 

Most aftermarket type filters made by FRAM etc. are made of less quality and filtering media than the Toyota OEM. They will do the job but are not as good at trapping dirt particles as the 3 layer Toyota OEM made in USA filter does. Most all of the aftermarket filters are made in the Far East and aren't built as good as the OEM filters. The same also goes when comparing OEM oil filters to aftermarket, the OEM has more filtering media therefore does a better job at keeping dirt out of the engine and have a better all around build. Aftermarket filters can do the job, but OEM filters do the job better.

 

Sounds like it's doing its job. I'd be leery of air filters that don't get dirty. Keep it stock and keep switching it out at the recommended intervals. Get your oil analyzed (i.e. Blackstone Labs) and if you see any spikes in particulates (specifically silicone--like me, when I was running a K&N), that could mean more than usual amount of dirt getting through. I'll never, ever use K&N again. I've used OEM and Wix (NAPA Gold) with good success.

 

I cleaned mine at 10-15k miles, I believe. It's been quite a while since I had it, but I believe that's correct. I didn't have issues with oily MAF, but there were other more troubling issues (as noted above). And, may I note, cleaning was a hassle. Wash, dry, oil, repeat. No thanks. I'll gladly pay $15 per year for a fresh OEM air filter.

 

only reason I changed mine is the sound lmao... well dry flow filters are easy to clean too. but yeah whoosh whoosh

 

The reason I asked how often folks cleaned their K&N filters is this.

I had a lengthy conversation 20 some years ago with a reputable mechanic that also races off road with everything from dirt bikes and atv's to desert buggies and off road trucks.

He said for the average guy driving mostly asphalt can pretty much oil up a K&N properly just once and run it for the entire life of the vehicle (meaning 30 years or more.)

If running in dusty areas often, one just needs to pull the filter once in a while and knock the loose stuff off by holding it upside down and tap the sides to get it to drop. Slap it back in and go.

He's built, raced and been in and out of more motors than one should ever be allowed to. He explained the beauty of a properly oiled K&N filter is how the oil will wick out of the filter over time into the dust that finds it's way to the filter, then making the dust stick to dust aiding in capturing more dust. Basically multilayer filtering.

I started using K&N filters on a few of my cars 25 years ago and would wash them once a year. He said I washed them way to often. So, when I purchased my 1997 Tacoma new in 1997, I installed a K&N filter that fits the factory air box within the first 500 miles put on that truck.

Jump ahead 20 years and 218k miles, I can honestly say I have cleaned that same 20 year old K&N filter no more than 3-4 times. And only because dirt started blocking enough light when held up to the sun it may be starting to restrict flow. Oddly enough I am still using the original K&N recharge kit.

Oil changes have always been through Oil Can Harry's using there house oil filter. Intervals of 7500 miles between changes. Just checked the oil last week at 6600 miles and still golden and didn't require any oil to be added. No leaks, drips or oil burning. Spark plugs we're changed for the first and only time at 188k miles and looked lightly chocolate but well worn down. MPG's have been consistently 16-19 for the life of the truck, right where it should be. Never had any CEL codes or faults to date, MAF and TB are happy.

So, my point is....

I took the advice of a person with decades of motor building, racing and day to day use and feel my old truck has lived a very healthy life and will probably give me another 20 years, barring all of the plastic parts on it don't start breaking down on it first.

Your mileage may vary.

 

I’ve heard that several times as well. Don’t clean it often, as trapping more dirt will allow better filtration.

One thing always puzzled me. Isn’t the whole point of going K&N for supposedly more air flow? By letting the filter clog up, perhaps then a stock filter offers better air flow at that point.

The other thing: those race mechanics tear down engines after every race. It’s not like they’re running extended mileage on those engines.

Lastly, the final straw for me was an industrial mechaic who said they switched their fleet to k&n for cost savings. They worked in very dusty/dirty environment. After just one year, the engines were so contaminated with dirt and crud, they had to do full rebuilds. They switched back to OEM—for the cost savings!

 

Like everyone said keep stock filter , buy the factory bed mat its a must have or you'll have everything sliding around in the back

 

Way back then those race vehicles would also have had carburetors and been pretty forgiving along with your 97 Tacoma. Seems like a bad idea to stray from OEM on today's vehicles with so many sensors and computers.

 

Yeah, I ended up staying away from any air filter replacement. Got a bunch of other stuff instead. Loving how the Taco is coming along so far. Still need some tint and probably going to do the speaker replacement pretty soon. Had much bigger plans, but a couple of days ago, my wife backed into and scrapped the hell out of her brother's truck.

 

https://youtu.be/NJKlb61_kXU

Listen to this guy.

Get a new suspension or some Katzkin leather. Have a look at my build thread for pics and ideas. Ask questions like you are doing here. Have fun!

Welcome to the party!