Cabin Air Filter Retrofit

[kbuskill]

Do you know what size air filter it was or are they all the same size? I thought about buying the K&N cabin air filter


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This is the filter I used. It has the notched areas that allow it to fold/bend for installation as well....
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089T4ZC7...abc_0FTHRT0AXYC2PSVQSS79?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Millennium Falcon]

i dont think a rotozip will fit. they are pretty large, atleast the one i have is. I used a lighter and warmed up a razor blade and it cut right through it real easy. Gave me a nice clean cut too

dremel makes a huge mess.i tried that to start and it flung burnt plastic chunks all over and you have to go just right because too fast and it melts back together, too slow and it melts too much and gets all goopy

I used a Dremel with a small cutoff wheel. It’s too small really, the disk loaded up with hot plastic pretty quickly. I’m going to try the hot knife when I do theothertwin in a few days.

I used a Dremel with a right angle chuck and a small grinding wheel. For the areas that I could not get to with the Dremel, like making clean corner cuts, I heated up a utility knife blade and cut through it.

Yeah, that's what I figured with the Rotozip. Plus, I would have to figure out a straight edge to run the RZ along to keep me cutting in a straight line.

I wasn't real keen on the Dremel/cutoff wheel idea, either. The plastic of the HVAC housing seems like it's the sort of plastic that would be a messy PIA. Thanks for confirming that, Geoff and Rex.

I bought a hot knife a while back to try on this, but I just haven't gotten around to using it. Sounds like it might work. I think I'll do my parent's Yukon, first, and let them be the guinea pig.

Thanks, guys.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Yeah, that's what I figured with the Rotozip. Plus, I would have to figure out a straight edge to run the RZ along to keep me cutting in a straight line.

I wasn't real keen on the Dremel/cutoff wheel idea, either. The plastic of the HVAC housing seems like it's the sort of plastic that would be a messy PIA. Thanks for confirming that, Geoff and Rex.

I bought a hot knife a while back to try on this, but I just haven't gotten around to using it. Sounds like it might work. I think I'll do my parent's Yukon, first, and let them be the guinea pig.

Thanks, guys.

As I recall, the cutout lines for all 4 sides of the cutout are already visible on the plastic housing (since it was included as OEM in previous years), so there is no need to use a straight edge to guide your cut.

 

[Rocket Man]

As I recall, the cutout lines for all 4 sides of the cutout are already visible on the plastic housing (since it was included as OEM in previous years), so there is no need to use a straight edge to guide your cut.

Exactly. There’s a groove where it needs to be cut, that’s why a good utility knife works. Just don’t try to cut all the way through on the first cut, score it a few times. It’s pretty easy imo.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

As I recall, the cutout lines for all 4 sides of the cutout are already visible on the plastic housing (since it was included as OEM in previous years), so there is no need to use a straight edge to guide your cut.

I should have clarified myself a bit more. I meant that I would need a straight edge to keep my cut running in a straight line. I can't freehand a straight line with a Rotozip to save my life.

 

[swathdiver]

After two years our filter wasn't all that dirty. Mind you, she sat in the driveway for much of 2020. There was zero build up of leaves or debris on the heater core.

The Dorman screw for the cover takes a 1/4" socket. The screws to take off the cover under the dash are 7mm.

 

[Davidj281]

I bought a <$20 soldering iron sized hot knife for this and some cut up and taped hacksaw blades to do it. Hot knife is way to go as long as it’s like a soldering iron with an xacto blade tip. It’s real awkward area to get to. Use compressed air if you have to close out the area while vacuuming at the same time.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I should have clarified myself a bit more. I meant that I would need a straight edge to keep my cut running in a straight line. I can't freehand a straight line with a Rotozip to save my life.

As @Rocket Man stated above, there is already a groove molded into the plastic, so you already have this groove to guide to keep your rotozip in a straight line during its first pass.

 

[Steve Waddington]

That looks like the kit I got from Amazon. The only problem I had doing the retrofit was the awkward working position. My 03 Tahoe is a California native, so there wasn’t much in there except a few leaves. No mold, no blockage to the accumulator, so I was lucky.

 

[Sobro]

Mine was a pain in the butt. I used a razor knife and didn't know about heating it up and was making no progress. Then I used a Dremel diamond wheel to make some nice long slots. I learned my lesson about ABS and Dremel cutoff wheels when I made an armrest extension for my Focus ST. Finished with a hacksaw style jigsaw blade vise gripped as a handle.

The Dorman filter went in very nicely and the bolt under the console was omitted when I buttoned everything back up.