Ramair Filter cleaning advice

[Jons1001]

Hi all,

Need to clean and oil my ramair filter. I bought the K&N cleaning kit as it had quicker delivery but upon reading online it seems the oil may not be suitable for a foam filter like the ramair (something to do with it being too thin?)

Can i just apply a few coats or would this be risking damage? Or would there be something better to use more suited to a foam filter that i can buy in the shops?

Basically my MAF sensor has failed and i wanted to clean the air filter before fitting a new one, but going on a long journey tomorrow so don't have time to order/wait for the proper ramair cleaner.

Thanks

[ROH ECHT]

Some material is best not using any petroleum based product on. I would heed any warning regarding filter recharge products. RamAir does have a recharge/regen kit right? K&N does have a Synthetic filter cleaner, but they do not have a synthetic filter oil to my knowledge.

I hated the K&N filter on my Neuspeed P-Flo intake. I would try cleaning and recharging it with as light a coat of oil as possible and still I went through two MAF sensors. It drove fine but I would see the mass air data report, in VCDS, showing lower and lower mass air. And cleaning the MAF would not restore the mass air. I switched filters to AEM's DryFlow filter and use a synthetic cleaner...no need to recharge with oil.

[ROH ECHT]

Found this; https://ramair-filters.co.uk/ck-003-foam-air-filter-economy-cleaning-kit-polymer-treatment/

[Jons1001]

Found this; https://ramair-filters.co.uk/ck-003-foam-air-filter-economy-cleaning-kit-polymer-treatment/

Thanks mate, i was aware of this but it wouldn't have been delivered in time as i am going on a long journey and wanted to clean filter/replace faulty maf before i set off.

This is the K&N one i bought with the oil included;

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/k-n-cleaning-kit-squeeze-oil-508771461?gclid=Cj0KCQjw2tCGBhCLARIsABJGmZ4Nek729Sz__VffXp_xFmqH7RUEok1ga6YWxakClS7pafCKgHVS2LQaAnhsEALw_wcB

So just wanted to know if it would be safe to use on the foam ramair

[ROH ECHT]

The K&N Power Kleen is meant for use on cotton and probably why K&N also have a synthetic cleaner; https://www.knfilters.com/99-0624-filter-cleaner-synthetic-32oz-spray ...they just don't have foam oil.

I believe your safest bet would be to use a natural degreaser (Simple Green or Citrus), ...or warm water and Dawn Platinum dish soap for cleaning. But then there's the proper oil to select. Is PJ1 or Klotz available there? https://pj1.com/product/pj1-foam-filter-care-kit/

The K&N oil in that Power Kleen kit you linked is thinner than foam oil.
I also found this; "You should not use a cotton gauze filter oil on a foam filter. The filter will not be able to do its job properly. K&N filter oil is not thick enough or sticky enough to work properly in a foam filter."

[Jons1001]

Thanks again for the advice , much appreciated. Looks like I will be sending the K&N kit back.

Basically my MAF went and I bought a Chinese copy to replace it which went bad after 3 days. I wanted to make sure it wasn't the filter at fault before I fit a new Hitachi branded MAF. But I am going on a long journey tomorrow so won't have time to get the correct filter oil etc now.

The filter itself has done about 5k miles from new and looks clean from the outside and inside although guess it could still be bad within the foam.

Think I will just fit the new MAF and hope that the original ran its course (103k miles) and the Chinese copy failed because it's a Chinese copy!

Strange thing is on both MAF failures mpg has not been affected at all. Just poor starts on the original MAF and a fault code. And on the copy just a fault code.

[pudding]

Just wash the filter with fairy liquid and hot water and let it dry.  Run it like that until you get the proper oil.  Foam is a good dirt trap in itself.  The oil is just an extra belt and braces measure and not essential in the short term.  You can actually buy dry foam filters that don't need oiling 

As above, oil for foam filters is very different to the cotton gauze stuff.  Cotton absorbs oil but foam doesn't. The 'oil' for foam filters is actually more of a tacky glue than oil.

MAFs are completely intolerant of dirt and oil. It wrecks them basically. No amount of cleaning recovers them, but at 102K old, it's well past it anyway.  They only last 4-5 years with aftermarket filters.  Chinese ones are utter, utter, utter, to the power of 50 billion uselessness.  The MAF is the Don. The big boss, primary sensor.  He absolutely needs to be OEM, or Hitachi aftermarket.  So long as it's made in the UK and HUCO/Hitachi branded.....it's OEM.  £140ish from the dealer, £110ish aftermarket.