What is this 1 piece air filter and air intake on my 99 Ford Focus and how does it work for so long without getting plugged up? I've had the car for 3 years. A while back I read the complete unit should be replaced at 100,000 miles. Can I just wait for the indicator plunger to move from the green mark to red?
No maintenance air filter and air intake
- Thread starter jorton
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Depend on the location, dusty or not, some air filters do not need to be replaced for up to 50k miles, but I do not know of any air filter can be used for 100k miles without some kind of maintenance.
The air box is sealed and does not have a replaceable filter element.
Yes, wait until it hits red unless there is a mileage limit. I imagine its quite the expensive unit.
its not cheap. i have only sold them to body shops for vehicle damage. i didnt know they used those in 99, is this not a US focus? they weren't offered until the 2000 model year.
Dumb idea. Maybe Ford's quality control is better than others but my experience is those air filter monitors are grossly inaccurate.
I know of many vehicles (especially diesels) that were experiencing low power conditions that were solved with fresh air filters and the monitors weren't anywhere near the Red zone.
I know of many vehicles (especially diesels) that were experiencing low power conditions that were solved with fresh air filters and the monitors weren't anywhere near the Red zone.
You're right, it's a 2005. My other car is the 99.
Does Ford still use them on current year model cars?
Does Ford still use them on current year model cars?
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The Oak Ridge study referenced here:
Air Filters and Fuel Economy
showed that there was no effect on fuel economy until the air filter was very plugged and performance was highly degraded. IIRC, the FE dropped less than 2 percent at the point where the car's performance was almost totally degraded. Even the carbureted car tested was not effected as much as I would previously have thought. Unless the dirty filter of this car was pulling dirt through (which is a real possibility when the filter gets plugged) I doubt you have much to worry about. BTW, the engineers on this study artificially plugged the filters and managed to suck one down the intake of one car.
Air Filters and Fuel Economy
showed that there was no effect on fuel economy until the air filter was very plugged and performance was highly degraded. IIRC, the FE dropped less than 2 percent at the point where the car's performance was almost totally degraded. Even the carbureted car tested was not effected as much as I would previously have thought. Unless the dirty filter of this car was pulling dirt through (which is a real possibility when the filter gets plugged) I doubt you have much to worry about. BTW, the engineers on this study artificially plugged the filters and managed to suck one down the intake of one car.
100,000 miles is a long time, but so much depends on where you drive and the condition of the engine.
If they were to assume you would drive in "light dust" conditions, they should be basing it on holding 4mg of dust per Hp per hour of use at maximum power.
So if that is the 130 Hp engine, and you accelerate at maximum power for an hour, the filter is assumed to retain 520mg of dust in that hour (0.018 oz). So figure out how many of those 100,000 miles are at full throttle, where you drive, etc.
But in the real world, EVERYONE should have a restriction gauge and just change filters when it turns to orange or red. So if it comes with the indicator, do what it says. That is the first thing I added to my Grand Cherokee when I bought it.
If they were to assume you would drive in "light dust" conditions, they should be basing it on holding 4mg of dust per Hp per hour of use at maximum power.
So if that is the 130 Hp engine, and you accelerate at maximum power for an hour, the filter is assumed to retain 520mg of dust in that hour (0.018 oz). So figure out how many of those 100,000 miles are at full throttle, where you drive, etc.
But in the real world, EVERYONE should have a restriction gauge and just change filters when it turns to orange or red. So if it comes with the indicator, do what it says. That is the first thing I added to my Grand Cherokee when I bought it.
Another reason to change is when the gasket around the filter falls apart.
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