Oiling Holley/K&N Filter

[ArticRider]

Quick and silly question. Just cleaned my Holley powershot filter and haven't oiled it yet(person I bought it from never oiled it, just ran it as is). Do I apply the oil on the underside of the filter(side with pleats popping out, non-flat side that faces bottom of air box)? The instructions that came with the bottles aren't too clear... it would make sense to put apply the oil on the underside so that it'll actually catch the particles in the air as they are coming up right? If I apply it to the top side of the filter(faces top of air lid), it would seem to defeat the purpose and fly up in my MAF sensors and clog the whole dang thing right? I am gonna be very careful to apply a light coat of oil...don't want it ending up in the MAF. Thanks for any help in advance!

(Now I'm just waiting for my BMR STB to come in and I'll be a happy man!)

You can also email me at heybog@yahoo.com

[ArticRider]

Also, is the cotton on the filter supposed to be really white when cleaned? I don't think so right? You see some white on the cotton, but you don't/(can't?) get it really white-clean. I don't know how it's supposed to be look brand new cause this is used.

[SilverTAWS6]

When I cleaned my Holly, it really didn't become white, kinda stayed a darker color. You're supposed to do it on the side the air flows in I believe (so the side on the bottom of the airbox). Also, make sure when you do oil it, you're pretty light with the oil. The stuff really soaks in. I only did about 70% of the surface area on every other pleat and it had WAY more then enough oil. I put it over a bucket and left it for a day or two (ran a stock filter for that time) and a bunch of the oil ended up in the bucket. I'd definitely suggest letting the oil soak in and "drain" b/c you don't want it to cover the MAF sensor and screw it up.

Once you oil it, it'll turn a nice bright blue again.

Chris

[PinoyRacer]

When i cleaned my K&N filter, it turned really white. Since i have SLP CAI (2002)it did make more sense to put the oil on the underside of the filter. it has been about 3 months since i cleaned it and i have had no problems so you should be ready to go. [img]graemlins/fluffy.gif[/img]

[good2Bking]

I just cleaned my K&N for the first time two days ago and I'm getting ready to oil it today, so nice time to bring this up!

I'm only going to spray the bottom side of the filter. No need to spray both sides since the oil will soak into the element.

Also my filter didn't turn white, only a faded maroon when I cleaned. Guess it could depend on how much of the cleaning solution you use, or how long you let it soak.

[zlexiss]

I soak my K&N like crazy - I hate the little bottle of cleaner in the recharge kit (it's like half a cleaning), so I buy quart spray bottles of the K&N cleaner. The oil spray lasts at least half a dozen cleanings, so I'm not stuck wasting all the extra oil in the kit either.

My filter comes out white. I don't know if the Holleys come out white or not, depends on the gauze they use (unbleached cotton my not whiten up as much).

I've had a lot of practice spraying thin and even from the missile work I do, so I spray a thin coat on each side of the filter and it soaks in to a perfect level. Though the K&N oil isn't as easy as the applying milspec primers and paints with an HVLP gun..

-Jeff

[FloydSummerOf68]

Yeah spray the underside.
I have the FTRA set-up and it gets my filter dirty fast...I have to clean it like every month and a half or so.
I've always had the squeeze bottle of oil, but the last time I bought the kit it came with the spray stuff...thats SO much better.

[ArticRider]

OK, thanks. I think I did it correctly and everything is dry and soaked in and ready to go. I was really careful when applying the oil The squeeze bottle makes it a bit diffcult, but I went for quick and fast light strokes and then let it soak for 45 minutes and then added a little bit to the white spots left behind.

Is the filter then on the top side supposed to be colored all blue too? The bottom on mine is pretty much a light blue from the oil, but only a few of the pleats viewed from the top have a few patches of blue, not the whole thing. I didn't want to over oil the thing since it really does soak in. Thanks for all the replies.

[zlexiss]

I'd make sure the whole thing has some blue. It's the oil that really traps the fine dust coming through, and if it didn't soak to the upper edge of the pleats, dust might come up through there.

Idea for people stuck with a squeeze bottle: Get one of those empty trigger spray bottles from walmart or somewhere, dump the oil in, and use that to spray a nice even layer.

-Jeff