DIY: Secondary Air Filter Removal

Wonder when you take your Tacoma in for service if tech checks to see how many have been ripped out?

 

Isn't the 3rd gen 2.7L pretty much the same as the 2nd. So this should work right. Thinking about trying this out. Also I live in CA so I'll have to figure a way to make it look like I didn't modify it when it's time for smog.

 

Will this make that much of a difference for my 97 2.7L?

 

Instead of all that crap you could replace your entire intake system with the K&N intake kit and get 10 more horses. And it sounds AMAZING when accelerating.

 

Great minds

 

I like that TRD sticker.

 

Thanks man

 

IStarted with the sharp chisel method, but, after two, I stuck a knife through it and ripped it out!Kind of like how many licks does a tootsie pop take to reach the middle!? A hundred degrees in the shop, and that was it. Two minutes on the first two rivets, and ten seconds on the rest!

 

Have any of you gotten a check engine light after removal ?

 

I haven’t yet. Only a couple of thousand miles since I did it

 

So after 1 1/2 years, I’m going to contribute. I’ve used this forum for many mods on my 2015 V6 Tacoma. I will put together a mod list later. So, here we go. I bought the truck 4/20/19. It had 32,000 miles on it. As soon as I got home, I cleaned the engine, air intake, throttle body, MAF Sensor, changed the oil to synthetic, replaced the plugs, dropped in a K&N air filter. (I’ve used them in every vehicle I have owned. Seems to make them breathe better, but that’s up for debate.) Anyway, ever since the day I bought it, the acceleration always seemed to be a little sluggish or slow. After owning Ram trucks with hemis, my whole life, and sick of the gas mileage I bought a taco. I expected a little more pep from a V6 4.0 smaller truck. It just wasn’t there. After cleaning the throttle body the other day, I noticed the secondary filter in the air box. Didn’t know what it was until coming here to this awesome forum. I read all of comments on both sides about ripping it out and came to the conclusion, more air seems better. So, I decided to remove it. Before I did I drove the truck for 15 mins around to make sure I had a good feel for what the truck felt like so I could tell if there was an actual difference after removing it. I got home, removed it, put it all back together and took it for a ride. BAM! The truck responded exactly how I felt it should. Punching it from stops, jumping on it at highway speeds, it accelerates far better than it did when the secondary filter was in there. Looking at the filter after I removed it, you couldn’t see through it at all and naturally figured it would definitely be restricting air. So this mod worked excellently for me. Whether it was because the filter was so dirty, or it in fact was restricting air flow, whatever the reason, I am super psyched about how it feels and responds now. As many have mentioned, do this at your own risk. But this mod was definitely worth it for me. I just hit 65,000 on my truck and it feels like I just pulled it off of the lot! Footnote, I didn’t do it for gas mileage, I did it for acceleration. I have 18” dueler AT’s on the truck, so that’s a gas mileage hit there. Anyway, that was my experience.

I used a 7” mini pry bar to remove it. It took all of 20 seconds.

 

Yep, it definitely made a difference in my truck . I was used to my dodge Cummins power, but, wanted something to take into tighter spots in the back country of Utah, and so far I haven’t been disappointed. Love this little truck a little more each time I’ve taken it out.

 

If anyone has done this recently, I just did it to my 2015 v6 Tacoma and I've already noticed a difference! However im kind of worried dirt might get in the engine as the originally white filter is grey... any advice? Should I be worried?

 

Thank you for the pictures! Have you had any issues with dirt getting in? I just did this mod a week ago and i noticed a difference too in acceleration!

 

I cant believe this is still a thing! If you want your 4.0 to feel more responsive just go with 91 instead of 87. That has done it for me.

 

Yeah this is my first mod from here, or me though it's actually gotten worse gas mileage, but better acceleration, I'm going to soft reset the ecm tomorrow. I use 90 octane ethanol free gas.

 

Can someone say where exactly this secondary filter is located and what needs to be pried? I have already replaced air filter w/ K&N and done the Uni filter install. But this is the 1st time I hear of this secondary filter. I feel my Taco has some delay in throttle. It only has 37k mi.

 

What tacoma do you have? (Year and v6/v4)

 

4.0

 

If you take out the engine air filter, and look to the right of it, you will see a grey cloth screen that has black boarder held in by black plastic 'rivets' for a lack of a better term. I have mine laying around somewhere, I'll post a picture once I find it.