I have an old Honda, and the air filter is fairly dirty - bang it on the side and dust falls out.Would giving it a good blow over with an air compressor put some life back into it, or is this just a false economy and I should buy a new one!
Thanks!
stocky88,
Apr 6, 3:03am
Giving it a good blowout sounds good to me.
jason18,
Apr 6, 3:07am
Just buy a new one. Cheap as anyway
bjdw,
Apr 6, 3:10am
blowing them out with a compressor can open up little holes in the paper that may not be big enogh to see but are big enough to let dirt into the engine.
doriandarby,
Apr 6, 3:47am
Ah, didnt think of that.Will scope out Supersheep's finest, and cheapest, filters tomorrow.
johnf_456,
Apr 6, 3:47am
Just change it they are cheap
intrade,
Apr 6, 4:03am
you cant reuse old aircleaner unless it is a k&N washable filter. you can get sakura filters real cheap from the likes of filterHQ or superheep auto yes if they stock it.it will save you fuel you should also change your fuelfilter sparkplugs leads and distributor to avoid having the ignition module fried up.
bellky,
Apr 6, 4:07am
Must be a pricey ignition module^.
intrade,
Apr 6, 4:10am
ignition module chip are 140 to 260$ and they frie usually due to lack of maintaining sparks resist in wiring and old plugs and bounce back on to chip . so replacing the chip will last up to 2 weeks befor it is fried all over again . So you got to do the rest anyhow myght as well do it before the chip is poked.
bellky,
Apr 6, 4:14am
Oh sweet I thought you were being funny when you said distributor, but you probly meant distributor cap (and rotor probly). Thanks.
gram,
Apr 6, 4:41am
This is a fact or just your opinion.! Got any data to back this up.!
bellky,
Apr 6, 4:45am
Agree^. I can't see why giving it a good vacuum wouldn't be ok to use again.
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 4:46am
I was going to say, if the air filter is old, then blowing it out with an air compressor can open up some really big holes, up to 5mm in diameter.
pebbles61,
Apr 6, 4:50am
False economy, buy another one. But if they're like mine and hard to get locally then get a K&N so you only need to clean them.
kingfisher21,
Apr 6, 4:51am
Makes me cringe when I see people blow out air filters with compressed air, this includes "reputable" workshops, it's false economy and damages the filter media, and doesn't really "clean" them at all.
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 4:54am
Really! When I blow out air filters from turbo diesel utes, I often get a handfull of dust out of them. So, if the dust is out of the filter, then it's cleaner than before, right!
kingfisher21,
Apr 6, 4:56am
Not really, you run the risk of actually forcing dust and dirt further into the media reducing airflow even more, if you are going to blow them out at least blow them in the reverse direction that they normally flow. Filters are cheap enough, on most vehicles, for commercial stuff there's other options for cleaning them to extend their life.
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 5:00am
I wouldn't do it any other way, and I keep my air gun at a bit of a distance, so I don't blow any holes through the media.
kingfisher21,
Apr 6, 5:01am
Thats the story, at least some people do it this way.
NZTools,
Apr 6, 5:04am
The two Worst things you can do for an air filter is give it a good bang to knock the dust out ( Can tear the paer element from the end caps) And dealing to it with compressed air, which will punch small holes in the element. Sure it may get lots of the dust out, but it also allows lots to get through in the future. Also, if the filter paper is disscoloured, it is near enough to blocked anyway.
The 20 to 30 dollars it costs for most car filters, will be paid back in spades in fuel savings very quickly after your replace your dirty filter.
Even trucks and tractors etc with large primary and secondary air filters, it is an absolute no no to blow them out with compressed air.
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 5:05am
Still, not ideal, but the average farmer around here doesn't like spending money. Otherwise, it would be a $60 air filter every 6 months.
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 5:07am
I agree to a point, but a lot of factory air filters aren't made of paper, so can't blow any holes.
intrade,
Apr 6, 5:42am
i blow em out and if they are to dirty then i refit em and tell client to replace it soonest or i can do it but it be extra cost for me to organise a new one, that is for the clients whom are tight on money. a blowen out filter is better then none apart from one time where i throwen it in the bin as car would not run with it no more lol
sharchew,
Apr 6, 5:50am
Buy a new one they are cheap.
chris.f,
Apr 6, 10:05am
A lot of people mistakenly believe a filter is no good when it's dirty. Take a leaf from the book of a good truckie, where they fit restriction indicators to gauge when a filter is becoming clogged, and only then are the fliter assemblies opened up. Every time you take out a filter you risk trapped dirt going straight down into the intake pipe. Also Donaldson filters for instance, have the media factory treated, and cleaning removes or damages this treatment, and cleaning invalidates the factory warranty.
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