So I changed my Dinan AF today - (read before pics

[97tbird]

And it was not pretty...

First of all, the gunky, dark areas you see on the AF surface, imagine that twice thick and covering the WHOLE surface almost. When I took it out it was like that, and I dropped it on the floor, so I never took a pic of the REAL state it was in. NOT like in the pics below. These pics were taken AFTER most of the gunk layer has fallen off due to me dropping the old AF on the floor AND then throwing it in in the trash.

I took it out of the trash can to find some spots (see Pics) that still had a bit of gunk/dust attached, but it only gives a small idea of what it really was.

This AF i believe, has been in the car for 10 yrs / 42k miles probably. IDK why I never changed it before...

The reason I took it out again for pics is:
some of you might have seen my thread about a cyl misfire CEL on the car. Well today I pulled plugs on coil packs while car was running and determined it's NOT a coil pack. Since this started i had erased code, but car has been weak and low on power.

THEN I changed the AF. Installed a new one and went for a drive (really to get gas, for which i have to get on the hwy to get to the Shell station).
THE CAR WAS BACK ON FULL POWER LIKE BEFORE THE MISFIRE / CEL EPISODE. !!
This is NOT my imagination, I know the roads and spots so well where the car was hesitating and couldn't get uphill. Now it FLEW uphill !

Two people from BMW forums i know (and one from bitog) saw the pics and think that it could well have been the state of AF and that it could have starved car of air and screwed up the A/F ratio enough to cause a temporary misfire and cause all symptoms the car had.

Now the PICS - tell me what you think: could THIS (imagine the WHOLE AF surface like the worst area you see and multiply by 2 or 3) restrict air that much? if not, it's a really weird coincidence...

 

[4wheeldog]

Why would someone NOT look at an air filter for 10 years? Just asking. I do not believe I have ever failed to take a look for more than a year, regardless of mileage. At least check for rodent nests.

 

[97tbird]

Well I worded it incorrectly - under MY ownership it was 5 yrs only ( = 30k miles or so). Still bad, I know.

I guess I thought that A/F change intervals were exaggerated ?

 

[jacky]

i have changed out filters dirtier than that but car never ran any different. im not speaking of a certain car just in general
most people check their's at every oil change

 

[Saul]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Well I worded it incorrectly - under MY ownership it was 5 yrs only ( = 30k miles or so). Still bad, I know.

I guess I thought that A/F change intervals were exaggerated ?


Maybe for some climates/conditions. That doesn't mean you shouldn't atleast inspect your air filter once in blue moon.

 

[97tbird]

yeah I agree - I think one of the reasons (not an excuse, but more of an explanation) I put off looking at it, is that you have to remove the whole air box, (disonnect MAF and intake hoses and disconnect snorkel) to even look at this %$#$ Dinan A/filter. I know that's not a COMPLEX procedure but I am a very reluctant DIYer, and had reservations about removing all that.

Well now I know how to do it, and I will be checking it a lot more often.

I should have cleaned the MAF while I was at it, but I will get another chance to do it when i remove air box again soon, to inspect the DISA valve, which I am going to rebuild.

(Although I read somewhere that on BMWs, after shutting engine off, the MAF wires are "heated on purpose" (???) to burn off any residue on them)

But the main question: could this have caused such a restriction of air to mess with A to F ratio and cause a (temporary) misfire/CEL and power loss?
(on BMW forums I am getting a few clear YESs as answers)

 

[oliveoil]

That isn't so bad! That's what it's suppose to look like. I've got a Dinan Cone filter that gets a good cleaning and drying once every 40-50k whether it needs it or not. Not sure about the SES light. My guess is that it's unrelated. It Will take some miles before you'll know.

 

[97tbird]

Yeah I am going to keep driving it and watch.
What surprised me was that the FIRST drive I took after changing the AF, the car was back to normal with a HUGE noticeable difference.

in the coming weeks and months the car will get new VANOS, VCG, SP well gasket and Spark Plugs. (II haven't pulled and looked at them but i know at least one spark plug well gasket/seal is leaking, because when I was pulling coil packs to swap (to chase the misfire code), the CP on Cyl.1 came off without the boot, which stayed on the plug. And the lower half of THAT CP was a bit wet (with oil?).

 

[hansj3]

take a good look at your intake boots.I just worked on a BMW 330ci of about the same vintage as yours, and there was a good cut on the upper boot and where the lower boot joins a PCV line there was a rip. the replacements direct from BMW are under $100 and it is a commonly known problem.the car I was working on a day P 0 300 random multiple and a p2227 baro sensor

it worked for a part shop a concrete worker came in with his Mazda b3000 is air filter was almost a solid brick of concrete dust. he was apparently let his truck idle for a bout an hour on his lunch break and it just sucked up all that dust.the truck would barely do 55 miles an hour and that filter Had to weigh at least 30 pounds

 

[Colt45ws]

Get on this guys level.

I pulled it out of a '00 Excursion with a 7.3PSD.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Sooooo, Mr Colt45, are you showing us that the carmakers are finally giving us lifetime air filters?

97tbird, that is a beautiful filter. Looks like the puro blue but in a gauze instead of paper?

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Sooooo, Mr Colt45, are you showing us that the carmakers are finally giving us lifetime air filters?

97tbird, that is a beautiful filter. Looks like the puro blue but in a gauze instead of paper?


The Ford Focus used to have a lifetime air filter, it keeps silicon levels very low too... Not sure if the current model uses one.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3167333/all/Air_Filter_@_67K..warning,_GRA

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
97tbird, that is a beautiful filter. Looks like the puro blue but in a gauze instead of paper?


It is prety, isn't it ?

Thanks!
Yeah it's a "free flowing cotton gauze type air filter" according to Dinan. It almost feels like made of wire or something weird, and the gauze (media) is stretched over it. (comes lightly pre-oiled -

Dinan doesn't recommend re-oiling these after they realized people use way too much oil and ruin their MAFs, so now they pre-oil it with less oil and recommend replacing with a new one)