K&N Filter - told oil may damage sensors...

[ManOnTheMoor]

Hi,

Just been enquiring about remap, stage 2, stated got big exhaust and K&N Filter, but the guy said need to watch out for oil contamination in the air flow and this could cause potential failure of a sensor. (can't remember name of sensor DPF ?)

He advised use Green Cotton, it this a sales blag or a concern to think about as sensor would be £70 to replace.

Cheers

 

[fl1nty360]

they are correct...some oily filters can damage the MAF sensor the green cotton ones are known to be less oily so not as much chance of the sensor failing.

i have a green panel filter on mine

 

[ManOnTheMoor]

I guess there is nothing i can do regards the MAF sensor..is it a servicable part or buy replacement once fails.

have K&N on the bike but its not too sophisticated .....may look at alternatives/what others using

 

[S3 AKR]

Green cotton will be the most popular panel filter because of the oiling issue. I have the green cotton one and its fine, but oily stuff still coats the inside of the intake hoses although its only a very slight greasy coating on the inside of the hoses. Its been on the car for about 10k miles and its not given any grief....... yet!

The MAF can be cleaned using alcohol.

 

[ManOnTheMoor]

Haven't got a Haynes book of lies yet and vagcat not helping - where is the MAF so i can keep an eye on it, clean regularly.

 

[Hobbiniho]

the maf is between the airbox and inlet manifold, there will be wires coming from it

 

[mymorph]

im opting for the dry pipercross filter - just to be on the safe side. no oiling required. I contacted pipercross and they confirmed its oil free.

 

[lil3520]

i have a pipercross filter, no problems.

had one on my old leon for 2 yrs, no problems.

 

[muddyboots]

Interesting views on this. It's a long-held belief that oil from filters can damage the MAF. I think it's one of those ideas that gets repeated across forums & therefore gets accepted as truth. I myself thought this was the case with certain fiters too.

But having read some interesting other posts, I believe what's more likely to happen is hot oil vapour from the CCV system rising up through the air inlet & coating the MAF sensor when the engine is shutdown.

 

[muddyboots]

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103578

 

[S3 AKR]

Interesting read. The testing was based around ensuring that the K&N oil didn't kill a MAF but as someone else pointed out, its a shame it didn't go further to find out what "dirt" actually consists of.

My TIP from airbox to MAF and beyond is lightly coated in oily stuff (you can feel it but not see it) and my car seems fine. Its clean when you run a finger into the coating (on the pipe, not the MAF).

 

[BigDave34]

I ran a K&N on a Passat Tdi and had the MAF sensor fail twice! not sure if it's the oil itself that causes the problems or the dirt that it catches once it has coated the sensor. I ran a green panel filter on my Ibiza with no problems.

 

[mymorph]

im gonna have a look and feel the inside of the pipe today (when twirly returns) using bog standard air filter at the moment. then check some time after ive had the pipercross fitted.

is it possible that more hot oil vapour is released on a remapped car?
which may be causing the trouble

 

[Mark300zx]

Am I right in presuming the green cotton filters don't use oil?

 

[mymorph]

no, they are oiled

 

[RossIBIZATDI]

I've got a k&n on my ibiza fr tdi and haven't had any probs. Done about 7k miles and "think" it's Remapped. Got me worrying now!

 

[dannyFR+tdi]

How would you know if the MAF failed, do you get a warning light on the dash or something worse?? As im using a K&N i got from awesome and dont want a MAF

 

[BigDave34]

You'll know if your MAF fails mate. I've had 2 go on different cars, one lost power under hard acceleration (feels like your turbo's blown but you can still hear it spinning) but it rectified itself if you turned the ignition on and off. The other was just flat all the time, very frustrating to drive. The are no scientific links that suggest that the K&N's cause problems, i'm just offering my observations. (it may be that the oil does cause dirt particules to stick to the MAF and so this gives the ECU an incorrect reading) MAF's are easy to change and not too expensive (model dependant).

 

[S3 AKR]

....... and they can be cleaned.

clicky

 

[dannyFR+tdi]

Think ill have a look at cleaning it over the weekend then just incase.