Has anybody used a cleaner and oil other than K&N,s? I'm sure there is a similar product out there but I wanted some input from the experts. What has worked and what should I stay away from. I have had my truck for 19 years and never used anything else.

 

i would stay away from oiled filters.

 

How so? It is factory recommended to clean it and then re-oil it. It has lasted for years this way. Is there another way?

 

No i ment all oiled filters. I used to run the K&N. Diesels suck a lot of air and they tend to suck the oil out of the filters and into the intake. dont take my word for it. it is just how i feel.

 

They also let more dirt in.

 

Look, Diesel lover

most members have modified their engines in that way to deliver huge hp.
I mean really huge hp in relation to engine size and seen with my european eyes.

To make power you need air- lots of air! I never heard of a BHAF before coming to this site.
A bigger filter does offer a lot more filtration surface. more surface means less backpressure for the turbo to work against.
A cotton based filter does offer more flow- but there is a huge disadvantage with those filters. They are not fine enough. To much dirt can pass into the intake.
But dirt is the biggest enemy of your engine and your turbo- it acts as an ultra fine sandblaster on those extrem high turning blades and of course between the rings and cylinder walls.

A standard paper filter still does offer very good filtration abilities, but it cloggs relative quick. So Bombers use an oversized filter made of paper and/or synthetic fiber to combine both worlds. Flow+ filtration equals in clean air for huge hp numbers.

Just ask or look what Bombers use in your truck model. Maybe you ask a sponsor about a price- they will be happy to assist you in getting the right one.

In my personal opinion K&N is good for race use- if you don't have to look on engine wear -because they rebuild it anyway after each race.
But for the daily dusty use- just stick with fibers or paper.

 

I was using the K&N's too for 5 or 7 years and I always found a fine layer of dust in the intake, thinking that the rubber seal was not sealing thight enough- no, it was dirt, extreme fine dirt...
Today I'm back to paper/fiber filters, buying them in a bunch makes them cheaper and I do change more often, because I know we (humans) have the nasty habit to squezze the most out of everything.

 

Thats good info. All this truck does is pull. Boats, equipment trailers and a travel trailer. It is a lot of wear and it works hard. It has over 200,000 miles on it and I don't want it to work harder than it has to. Thats why I come here, Thanks for the help. BHAF?

 

Big Honkin Air Filter...= BHAF

Napa 2790 is the part number.

IMHO, oiled filters are ok, as long as they are serviced properly. That being said, I would stay far away from a K&N - there are MUCH better options (both oiled and dry).

Heatshield:



BHAF and prefilter:

 

I'm the oddball here. Hate the K&N drop in replacement filters but love my K&N Cone Type replacement filter. I've got over 200,000 miles on it. Clean it, bah humbug. They filter better when they look dirty. If that filter minder isn't movin then that filter is flowin, no matter what it looks like.

I've cleaned mine twice in all these miles and this is a farm truck runnin hay fields an pastures for a livin.