I'm wary of the K&N for the sealing & over-oiling problems i've heard about. Are aFe filters better than K&N in these areas? I've decided to keep the stock airbox, but still want an aftermarket filter so i don't have to buy paper filters over and over. I've found the aFe for about what the K&N runs for, so I'm leaning more towards the aFe since it seems to have a reputation of quality. Anybody running the drop in aFe wanna share some experience? Thanks in advance...

 

Ive used K&amp;N for 2 years without any troubles....without any kind of sealing &amp; over-oiling problems.... I never open the air box and break the seal but I do pull the turbo tube and check that for any signs of bypass leakage its always been very clean<br>If I bomb my truck any more tho then a Scotty Air II is in my furture

 

I had a K&amp;N in the stock airbox and the seal was not very good. They give you that grease to use and after using all of it and buttoning everything up I pulled it back out and the grease was not even touched. That told me the seal wasn't that great. Later I switched to the AFE mega Cannon no sealing issue with that. I have heard that the afe stock box filter has a good seal for whatever that is worth.

 

I used K&amp;N for years. Never had any trouble, but I now have the aFe in the stock box and love it. Much better design and much deeper pleats. If you're staying with the stock box, I would definitely get the aFe. I got mine from www.trucksunique.com.

 

The over oiling thing can be done with any of the filters, you just have to watch and not get heavy handed when re oiling. Remember that the oil wicks in so dont over do it.

 

Jrr i know the over oiling can occur with any oiled filter, but i've heard that the K&amp;N's often come over-oiled from the factory. I haven't heard the same of the aFe filters but then again there's a lot fewer people who use them that I have read. I'm not nearly as concerned about the oiling as I am about the seal. <br><br>Thanks for the help guys.

 

will the extra oil really hurt the engine or turbo?<br>I have n ever had any problems out of my K&amp;N

 

[quote author=BarryG link=board=7;threadid=8266;start=0#79829 date=1039788400]<br>I had a K&amp;N in the stock airbox and the seal was not very good. They give you that grease to use and after using all of it and buttoning everything up I pulled it back out and the grease was not even touched. That told me the seal wasn't that great. Later I switched to the AFE mega Cannon no sealing issue with that. I have heard that the afe stock box filter has a good seal for whatever that is worth.<br>[/quote]<br>You described my situation perfectly with the K&amp;N. Wonder what K&amp;N has to say about all this.

 

Here is a copy of the email I just sent to K&amp;N. I'll post their reply when I get one.<br><br>&quot;I have a 2002 Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel 2500 pickup truck. I replaced my stock air filter element with a K&amp;N performance filter. Since that time, it appears that the filter has much better flow than the stock paper filter. I am, however, concerned about the fact that the filter doesn't seem to seal properly in the stock air box. The filter was replaced per the included instructions using the synthetic grease included with the filter. After installing the filter and removing it a month later during a routine inspection, it is appearant that the filter is not sealing properly in the box. The grease that was applied to the top of the rubber seal on the filter has not made contact with the top cover of the air box. In other words, the grease has not been disturbed. The design of the air box has the air flow coming from the bottom of the unit. If the top of the air box is not sealing against the filter gasket, it would allow unfiltered air to enter the turbo charger and the engine. There seems to be a lot of discussion about this topic on DieselTruckResource.com. It seems that this is a well known problem and owners are being steered toward other brands because of this problem. Please advise me as to what can be done to resolve this problem.<br><br>Sincerely,&quot;

 

I've got 157,000 on my truck with about 135,000 or so with a K&amp;N - no problems. Intake ducting looks like it just came off the shelf and the turbine blades are excellant. I do an oil analysis at each oil change and my last one just came back - it looks just as good as the first one. <br><br>I just installed a BHAF mount made by &quot;Old Smokey&quot; using a K&amp;N. There is no air box around my K&amp;N so I will see if that makes a difference. ;D<br><br>Bob

 

First thing's first;<br><br>I'm not trying to start anything here just trying to help. <br><br>I had a K&amp;N filter in the stock box with holes cut in the bottom and the black duct removed from the fender. Ran it for close to a year before I had my first boost/map sensor foul out. The tech a Cummins told me to get rid of the K&amp;N and use a paper disposible filter. He said the turbo was drwing the oil off the filter and pulling it through the cold charging system and into the intake and then depositing it on the electrical sensors. I thought he was just making an excuse and went back to using the K&amp;N but only oiling one side of it. About 6 month later I had a nother boost/map sensor foul out and then took it to TST. Mark Chaple told me he wouldn't let me leave the shop until I put a paper element in the air box. : By then I new what was wrong and chucked the K&amp;N and went back to a paper element from Napa. During this period I noticed no EGT difference and no performance difference in the truck. [undecided] I still run K&amp;N's in my ATV's and my lawn mowers but not in my CTD. I've heard the aFe is a much better built filer but I'm still not convinced I'll put an oiled filter back on my truck. :<br><br>I'm now running a BHAF with a heat shield and haven't had one problem out of it. I get about 24,000 miles out of one before I pay the $40 for another. <br><br>Just be careful and check the filter and inlet to the turbo often to see how the filter's doing.<br><br>DB<br><br>

 

Darrell nailed it. Dump the box, get a BHAF and flow more air for less money than anything on the market. <br>Then save your money for the real GOFAST goodies.<br><br>Hi YA'LL!!! First post here, but many folks know me from my 600+ posts on TDR. 8)<br>

 

Welcome to the DTR Wade.

 

Don`t know what you guys are worried about. Our cummins are the only ones that don`t run the breather back to the air intake, ever take a turbo intake off a Ford, and most of the big rigs. Oil over everything.And it doesn`t hurt a thing.<br> Danny<br>Im not saying its ok, but the amout that gets sucked from the filter is nothing.

 

[quote author=danlit link=board=7;threadid=8266;start=0#80348 date=1039904972]<br>Don`t know what you guys are worried about. Our cummins are the only ones that don`t run the breather back to the air intake, ever take a turbo intake off a Ford, and most of the big rigs. Oil over everything.And it doesn`t hurt a thing.<br> Danny<br>Im not saying its ok, but the amout that gets sucked from the filter is nothing.<br>[/quote]<br><br>Tell that to the two boost/map sensors I had to replace, at a cost of $131 apeace. <br><br>DB