This ACdelco Engine air filter with 27,500 miles, 4 years old..

[BG1988]

this Ac delco air filter did a bad job installed it at 88,666 miles on 6/13/2019 currently has 116,197 miles 8/19/2023 very little light makes it through


the paper was quite brittle like a graham cracker luckily it didn't get sucked into the engine ( those tears were done by me btw)


i noticed a lot of dirt in the engine oil when i changed it, so i decided to replace the filter i bought a K&N filter installed the SA-2129 filter...


it did call for the K&N 2135 model (2500/3500 filter) But both of them are identical (besides the price being 14$ more for the sa-2135) the measurement being the same and cross ref..

 

[swathdiver]

That filter went way beyond its service life Brent. You should have been inspecting it every 6 months or so. The K&N will let more dirt into your engine than a fresh A3085C. After 30+ years of running K&Ns air filters, I quit running them for that reason.

 

[strutaeng]

I'm a member of the garage journal and it's crazy how much arguments and bickering is out there about engine oil and oil filter brands. Everyone has their "brand" and the rest of the world is absolutely wrong. It's comical.

But when it comes to air filters, there's just crickets! Which leads me to suspect most people hardly ever even look at them at all.

When I was much younger and didn't do any wrenching on my truck, often the shop I would take my truck to would remove the air filter and show me how dirty it looked if I went for an oil change.

Now what I do is create a log and write on the filter the date and mileage. Every other oil change I'll at least pop the air filter and blow off the loose dust with compressed air and vacuum the leaves and large debris from the air box.

 

[BG1988]

I'm a member of the garage journal and it's crazy how much arguments and bickering is out there about engine oil and oil filter brands. Everyone has their "brand" and the rest of the world is absolutely wrong. It's comical.

But when it comes to air filters, there's just crickets! Which leads me to suspect most people hardly ever even look at them at all.

When I was much younger and didn't do any wrenching on my truck, often the shop I would take my truck to would remove the air filter and show me how dirty it looked if I went for an oil change.

Now what I do is create a log and write on the filter the date and mileage. Every other oil change I'll at least pop the air filter and blow off the loose dust with compressed air and vacuum the leaves and large debris from the air box.

last time i checked it was about 10,000 miles ago it still looked brand new...

 

[BG1988]

That filter went way beyond its service life Brent. You should have been inspecting it every 6 months or so. The K&N will let more dirt into your engine than a fresh A3085C. After 30+ years of running K&Ns air filters, I quit running them for that reason.

this is the newer synthetic version..
the 100% cotton ones yeah...

what i really need in the cabin air filter thing i don't like it when someone in the passenger seat kicks up dust into my face.. plus i'm sure the coil needs a good cleaning after 116k miles

 

[donjetman]

Air filters become more efficient as they fillup with dirt.
The downside, if all out performance is what you're after, is they become more restrictive.
If you want to know how the air filter is doing send in an oil sample for analysis.

 

[j91z28d1]

I'm a member of the garage journal and it's crazy how much arguments and bickering is out there about engine oil and oil filter brands. Everyone has their "brand" and the rest of the world is absolutely wrong. It's comical.

But when it comes to air filters, there's just crickets! Which leads me to suspect most people hardly ever even look at them at all.

When I was much younger and didn't do any wrenching on my truck, often the shop I would take my truck to would remove the air filter and show me how dirty it looked if I went for an oil change.

Now what I do is create a log and write on the filter the date and mileage. Every other oil change I'll at least pop the air filter and blow off the loose dust with compressed air and vacuum the leaves and large debris from the air box.

I've seen a few things about airfilters. and part numbers on their board

 

[OR VietVet]

That filter went 27,531 miles and did it's job. It also depends on where you are driving and what is in the air. You live near a farming community and drive those roads all the time, there is more debris in the air. IMO, if you still see light thru it, it is doing what it is supposed to do but you don't want to keep driving it till you cannot see any light.

Oil is blood to the engine, use the best and the best filter to keep that oil clean.
Fuel runs thru the injectors and needs a good spray pattern and great ignition to create as clean of power as it can.
Coolant helps keep that hot engine as cool as it can and carries that heat away at that radiator. Give the coolant a chance with a proper radiator.
Air mixes with that fuel and that stoichiometric ratio is important to the running of your engine, so use a good filter, but IMO, that is not a K&N.

So, that old air filter did it's job and did nothing wrong. NOW!.....apologize to that filter.

 

[j91z28d1]

does it seem a little weird the filter paper cracked and broke?

 

[OR VietVet]

does it seem a little weird the filter paper cracked and broke?

No, it does not. It always depends on the temperatures that it is operated in and of course it is hotter under the hood. The humidity in that air. The debris it is filtering and the mileage and time under that hood. That filter is 50 months old after all. IMO, I would have changed it at least two years ago.