without buying their cleaner? soap and water?

 

At the Ace Auto and O'reiley the small recharge kit runs $10

I suppose you could use a dishwashing liquid to ge the oil and crap out. You would need to rinse it very good to get all of the soap out. You would still need to re-oil it. It will be hard to find a light weight spray oil to re-treat the filter - spend the $10.

T

 

WD40

 

I'm sure you could just clean it very thoroughly with something else, you just need to be careful what chemicals you use not to hurt/deteriorate the filter itself. Even if you can manage that, it probably wont be as clean as doin it the right way. It would be better to just get an air intake re-charge kit...any kind will probably do....doesn't have to be a K&N. Hope this helps.

 

I used simple green in the kitchen sink for both of mine. Worked fine. I'd be leery of using WD-40 just because of how thin it is... you take a chance of it staying over-oiled when you reinstall it, and that oil can cause issues with the mass air flow sensor.

-Joe

 

Since you need the oil, just buy the kit. It serves several cleanings.

 

Y do you need to oil it anyway ?

 

They call it recharge. You need to wash all the dirt off that it has collected, then spray a light coat of the oil they use on it. The dirt sticks to the oil.

 

Then y dont the dirt get by other filters with no oil on them?

 

Are you talking about the stock paper type? They are thick. The K&N drop in is made of a woven material, lets more air through(at least theoretically). It needs the oil to catch the dirt. I have about 38,000 miles on mie, have cleaned it twice.

 

Myself, I use the kit just basically for the oil. I don't screw around with other stuff just for say so, it's cheap enough so I do it. You could use soap and water, especially dish soap and it should work fine. Then the oil, not too much so not to f up the MAF or something.

 

Because other filters aren't designed to be oiled elements like a K&N. A dry K&N is just a rock-catcher. May as well use a piece of screen.

 

Because motorcraft filters have a tighter weave, and thereby can't let small particles through. They also have a very light coating of oil on them as well. And they work a lot better than a "napa/autozone/etc" brand dry filter.

Might want to think seriously about your K&N filter, especially if you stopped it up. If you're routinely in a lot of dirt/dust, I would suggest that you use a motorcraft filter. K&N's are good for catching bugs, leaves, and grass clippings, but don't do much for dirt. IMO.

 

But can as much air get in with a Motorcraft?

 

I've taken my air filter completely out, and it makes no difference in 0-60 times, or 1/4 mile times. And my filter is completely brown with dirt. (motorcrafts are white) I disconnected my muffler, and it made it slower.