Hi Everyone : I have a 1994 7.3 turbo I have a K&N air filter on it an I have heard that the turbo can couse the oil to be sucked off my oil filter an make me have low oil per. Has anyone heard of this let me know pleaseI jsut put a new motor into my truck an I do not want to damage it . Thank you Rick
I have ran one on my Cummins for years but I agree with optikal illushun, they won't tell you how many microns the filter will go down too. I know A LOT of people who won't run them because of that. As far as the oil getting sucked off of the filter by the turbo, the Cummins turbos build more boost and I haven't noticed it myself.
Anyway, I'm working on getting a '94 IDI turbo and I won't be putting one on it.
[quote=Dodge/Cummins;6047132
Anyway, I'm working on getting a '94 IDI turbo and I won't be putting one on it.[/quote]
Why not Works great on mine. Last time I checked it still had oil on it
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Tony 1994 F250 XLT ext. cab,long bed,7.3 IDI factory turbo,4x4,manual hubs E4OD,4.10 gears, K&N air filter,PSD oil filter, TruxPort tonneau cover, 172,000 miles and counting. 88 Ranger 2.0, 5 speed,130,000 mi.,bought new. NC Chapter Member.
I don't know really about K&N. I read a lot of post here that were not favorable to K&N. I did research, and decided on AFE. I bought the factory replacement filter from AFE. It seems to be the same as K&N, but it really made a differnce. As far as oil being sucked into the turbo, that happens no matter... As long as your CDR is working.
I wonder if you are hearing stories about the oil being sucked in and messing with the Mass Air Flow sensor. That is only on trucks that have those fancy electronics, which ours don't. I don't think you have to worry at all about oil off the filter. The big concern is will it stop the fine dust particles.
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94 7.3L Factory Turbo
ATS Snail, 3" Down Pipe Upgrade
4" Stacks, with Rain Caps!!!
5 Speed Manual
Extended Cab, Long Bed
4" Air intake with AFE factory replacement high flow filter.
Autometer Pillar Mount Pyro, Boost, & Vacum Guage Phantom series.
SunPro Voltmeter, water temp, & oil pressure guages
If the K&N is not a good filter for a turbo, and the AFE is better should I use the oiled filter or the synthetic filter? (if thay are the ones that make one)
I have liked the K&N filters. I like the old oil bath filters too! They are really good at stopping dust. I thought K&N filters would be similar, if you keep them oiled. Also you don't want to "over service" them. I have had one on my Blazer for 8 years and I check it once a year, brush off the leaves and bugs and maybe give it a shot of fresh oil and put it back in. I have washed it out once. I check the intake and it is clean and dust free, a light residue of oil from me over oiling it a bit. The Banks air filter I have looks just like the K&N, but I suppose the media could be slightly different.
As a side note a used air filter is more effective than a new one. New filters will let more dirt through. on equipment with inner and outer filters they tell you to never change both at the same time.
__________________ 1989 F250 4X4 SuperCab 7.3L NA (for now) 5sp 4.10 LS 1984 F250 4X4 SuperCab 6.9L ATS 093 Turbo T19 3.54 1985 F350 Flatbed 6.9L NA T19 (down)
A custom K&N is what Banks supplied with my turbo (bought 20 years ago by a PO) and I figure if its good enough for Banks, its good enough for me.
As for them damaging the turbo, mine's 20 years old and will still build 1-2 psi on flat level highway at 2500 RPMs, 5 psi boost running empty up a big hill, and right at 10 psi pulling a load up the same hill. It doesn't seem to have suffered any damage from 20 years worth of sucking air through a K&N.
I also put one on my Jeep when I got it at 169K miles - 40k miles later and it still starts and runs just like it did when I bought it - and THAT K&N has seen some seriously dusty, muddy, dirty service...
I'm buying one for my 84 Benz turbodiesel here real soon.
Mine's been on a long time too and I haven't had any problems that I know of ...yet.
What makes me nervous is that K&N wouldn't tell me how many microns it will filter down to, like they are ashamed of the number or something. I'm sure there are a lot of factors involved; how dirty, last time serviced, how much it was oiled etc. BUT this kind of problem is one that sneeks up on you and wears out your motor prematurely. It's like not changing your oil regularly, your motor keeps going but it's not going to have the longevity it should have.
I'm not telling anyone else not to do it as I have the 14" K&N on a lot of my gas rigs too but I have a pre-filter on most of them as well. I'm just not sure they filter as well as they should.
Cheaper Jeeper,
One of these days I need to pick you brain about the MB diesels, I'm interested in educating myself on them too. Right now I know nothing about them. I'm in no hurry yet but, someday.
Mine's been on a long time too and I haven't had any problems that I know of ...yet.
What makes me nervous is that K&N wouldn't tell me how many microns it will filter down to, like they are ashamed of the number or something. I'm sure there are a lot of factors involved; how dirty, last time serviced, how much it was oiled etc. BUT this kind of problem is one that sneeks up on you and wears out your motor prematurely. It's like not changing your oil regularly, your motor keeps going but it's not going to have the longevity it should have.
I'm not telling anyone else not to do it as I have the 14" K&N on a lot of my gas rigs too but I have a pre-filter on most of them as well. I'm just not sure they filter as well as they should.
True they don't state the microns, but few filter manufacturers will. (I like the wix filter lookup site because they give you all the specs) I have had a K&N on my Blazer since I bought it and replaced the engine with one from a wrecker with 30K on it. I have drove it all over inspecting construction sites, driven on many dirt roads, put over 30K miles in one year. And as I said I only washed it once since.. actually since 1998. When I was in for a smog check a couple months ago the tech was certain I must have recently changed the engine. (over 150K on it) I am not worried about it. Those that wash them out often to maximize air flow is where I would be concerned. Pre-filters are always a good idea, especially when it is new or freshly washed. (although I don't have one) I had a K&N on my Sentra, which had over 360K miles on it when I finally sold it, and still had good compression and drove over 500miles on a single tank of fuel. When I get around to installing this Banks Sidewinder, I will use the K&N that it came with no worries.
The problem with a dirty filter isn't that it lets dirt into your engine, the problem is that it can restrict the air flow. Replacing your filter often means you are letting more dirt pass into your motor. If it isn't restriciting air flow there really isn't any reason to change it.. unless it is really old and the rubber is hard and it wont seal or it is physically damaged, obviously. I have a problem with all those quick lube places, they always say you should change your air filter, it is just for making a sale but most people believe them and buy it.
__________________ 1989 F250 4X4 SuperCab 7.3L NA (for now) 5sp 4.10 LS 1984 F250 4X4 SuperCab 6.9L ATS 093 Turbo T19 3.54 1985 F350 Flatbed 6.9L NA T19 (down)
Anyway...I used to run K&N's all the time, but I found that whenever I had my intakes apart there was always a fine coating of dust on the inside of the tubing.
I figure if there's that much sticking to the inside of the tubing, how much is getting into the engine?
I run AEM Dryflow filters now, on my Thunderbird and on my truck.
__________________ 1994 F250 XLT-Reg cab, 4x4, 5 speed, 7.3 IDI Turbo, manual hubs, ATS upgrade, 4" exhaust w/Hooker MaxFlow, custom intake, pyrometer & boost gauge, turned up fuel http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3055099 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe-Lots of fun stuff to make it go fast & take corners http://www.cardomain.com/ride/306349
I went to the Wix filtration school 1 year ago. they told us that they tested k&n filters on there air filter test system. after the third cleaning it pulled twice the resriction of a new one.
they let more dirt past.
they don't have the capacity of a paper element.
as far as inner and outter element systems go the only reason for the inner element is to keep dirt from going in the motor when you change the primary element.
you change the inner element for every 3 outer elements or 2 years
and the best way to know when to change a air filter is by using a resriction indicator.
i use one even on my explorer. 2 years on the same filter and it is just now pulled the gauge up alittle
also a air filter filters best after it has a little dirt on it know as a "cake"
at the dealership we call the engines dusted when the turbo blades are erroded and the cylinder walls and pistons are worn so badly they have lost compression
i have two k&n,s for powerstrokes that i cant give away at the store because we have seen the results
those aftermarket filters give the impression of increased performance due to increased intake noise
Works great on mine. Last time I checked it still had oil on it
1994 F250 XLT ext. cab,long bed,7.3 IDI factory turbo,4x4,manual hubs E4OD,4.10 gears, K&N air filter,PSD oil filter, TruxPort tonneau cover, 172,000 miles and counting. 88 Ranger 2.0, 5 speed,130,000 mi.,bought new. 
NC Chapter Member.
