Replacement Air Filter and Air Cleaner Elements

Your vehicle's air filter removes airborne containment's from the incoming air stream consumed by your motor. Your engines air filter removes approximately 98% of all airborne dirt, debris, and particles. The air cleaner element provides an immaculate incoming air charge so that the engine components will last to provide long term engine life. These airborne particles can destroy the piston rings that seal the pistons against the cylinder walls or worse scour the cylinders walls or even the valve seats.

KLM Performance strongly recommends a regular check of your air filter to make sure this filter is clean and free of debris. A clean air filter will your engine to run at its most efficient level. Replacing the Air Filter Element should be part of any tune-up. We recommend changing the air filter element every 15,000 miles, once a year or at your vehicle's scheduled service interval. The area you operate your vehicle in will have a significant impact on this service interval. If you live in an unusually dusty or dirty area, changing your air filter element should be done on a more frequent basis.

Before cleaning your filters, Cummins Filtration suggests these facts:

• The use of a quality air filter restriction gauge and adherence to OEM recommended air filter change guidelines will provide the maximum life out of the air filter element and the engine/equipment that the filter is protecting.

• Cleaning your air filter will reduce the dust holding capacity compared to a new air filter. Dust capacity can drop up to 25% after the first cleaning and additional air filter capacity will be lost after each subsequent cleaning. The loss of dust capacity shortens the usable service internal of the air filter. According to Cummins Filtration, on-highway air filters should not be cleaned since the contamination encountered over the road (fine particles and soot materials) is difficult to remove from the air filter media. Cleaned filters generally display a dirty color due to the retained contaminant. Such filters have marked reductions in dust capacity.

The major supplier also offered that secondary air filters should never be cleaned since it is the last barrier to contaminant before it reaches your engine. The life of a secondary air filter is equivalent to three changes of the primary air filter. Extra handling of air filters could inadvertently cause damage. Proper inspection of cleaned elements is of vital importance for the proper operation of the air cleaner system.