I did the Kwik mod anout 18 months ago and have had no complaints.
Yesterday, a diesel mechanic friend of mine saw that and said, "GET RID OF THAT PIECE OF S!@# BEFORE YOU HAVE TO BUY A NEW TURBO!"
He thinks the Ford factory/designers gets it right and you can do more damage changing things like that.

Has anyone had a problem with the blades wearing out and having to replace the turbo?

I forget, how many miles should the 6637 filter last?

 

The Ford factory designers are responsible for the factory air box.

Enough said.

Your 6637 Kwik mod is far and above the better set up than the factory air box.

 

He must be at the local ford dealership who grows Marijuana out back in the woods, because he was high on "something". It's proven that the 6637 filter can filter better than the stock filter in it's crappy box that leaks. I do however think Ford got the filtration correct with the AIS, which you can get and is Ford approved, comes stock on the 6.0, and probably the 6.4 as well. As long as you have the filter secured on the inlet pipe correctly, then you will have no dusting issues, do not blow the filter out with compressed air, use a vacuum cleaner.

 

Can anyone say Pinto? Ford designers have made some horrific errors in the past.

 

The mechanic needs kicked in the ***** for that one. He has obviously never seen the damage from a dusted stock air box.

 

like the rest have said the factory air box is notorious for leaking (hence the need for the A.I.S.) you are much better of with the 6637 filter providing its installed correctly and sealed

 

My short answer is YES! As is customary for me, I'll give a dissenting opinion, which is based on personal experience along with some theories I've developed since my turbo blew. Since I just posted here about my blown turbo https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/635676-family-vacation-turbo.html I'll reference it for starters. Leading up to this event, I had a new Aircharger cone installed at a performance shop in Atlanta, GA, and I immediately starting hearing "new noises" from the turbo. I was assured by "the performance experts" that installed the unit that these noises were a "normal" thing to hear with the new air filter. So during the next 30K miles, the noises get progressively louder, and then the turbo blows!

Now for some theories. I've concluded that a very free flowing, symmetrical type filter, can under certain conditions, cause a tornado like vortex to form at the turbo inlet just in front of the compressor wheel. This in turn results in a heterogeneous supply of intake air density, which in turn causes impulsive loads on the turbo bearing, which increases bearing wear and tear. This vortex effect can also result in full blown repetitive surge when pulling grades, which causes even more damaging shock loads on the bearing.

After I replaced my turbo, I installed a TAG 2, and switched to an AIS, and after more than 30K miles the turbo bearing is as tight as when new. I recently installed an air flow gauge, which measures the CFM into the turbo, and acts as a sensitive detector of any back flow indicating turbo surge, and so far everything looks good with my current set up. Look in my gallery under recent mods for pics. I don't think anyone can go wrong with an AIS, but I'm not so sure about many of the other air filter setup's I've seen.

 

Gene,
Far too many people have run the 6637 for many, many more miles than 30k without problems. Personally, I think your turbo was probably going to go anyway. To put in your own terms, you're one data point...

Joe

 

If i get time i will Take a pic of my dusted wheel that i just replaced when i rebuilt my turbo 2 weeks ago. I bought the truck used about 2 months ago for a great price. So i didnt care if the turbo was dusted or not so i never looked until i got it home.... 200,000 miles of work truck duty(power lines/gas line work) Every leading edge of the wheel is bent backwards,small pieces missing Dust ALL THROUGH the intake tubes. First mod was the 6637 and CCV mod. the new wheel looks brand new still has the sharpie mark on it from when it was balanced. I could tap the factory air box and dust would fly out everywhere. I would have to go with most everyone else on this subject and say that the 6637 is far superior to the factory box. plus it flows more and sounds better thats enough reason to keep it just on that alone.

 

Gene, i think that the air filter they gave you.. was it a cotton gauze? Those DO suck, just like the K&N's, if they are not cleaned and oiled correctly, then they won't work well. The pleated paper or the filter design in the AIS is the best way to go.

 

Ran a 6637 filter for over 2 years, and now running an AFE Stage II. Both are conical open filters, and with the combination of the two I've put nearly 60K on the truck. Last year I removed the stock turbo to upgrade and it was in perfect shape, so I sold it on Ebay. The 6637 filter setup doesn't cause any damage.

 

Exactly what I was thinking, Joe.

 

1) I don't see where I used those words in my post, but the question that asked by live2hunt was... "Has anyone had a problem with the blades wearing out and having to replace the turbo?". The question was not "who hasn't had a problem?". Since live2hunt posted that he hasn't had a problem with his, 18 months and counting, but was told he might, I decided to answer his question and stay on point. I think I made it perfectly clear which part of my answer is "my personal experience" and which part is "my theory".

2) At least 25K of those 30K miles with the cone filter before my turbo failure were towing at an average boost of 10-12 psi (cruising on the flat), along with prolong periods of pulling steep grades at 20+ psi. I figure that's closer to 100K of running around empty. So I consider my experience with a cone filter to be kind of like an accelerated wear test bed, compared to normal driving around town wear and tear.

3) At almost 65 years, one of my favorite sayings is that "just because I'm not dead yet doesn't mean I'm doing everything right!", and I'm always on the lookout for things I might be doing wrong. For modifications to our trucks, as with lifestyle choices in general, only time will tell what detrimental effects they might have. That's why I measure my blood pressure as well as my CC pressure (and now also turbo inlet pressure) on a regular basis, so I can find potential problems early on and hopefully correct them before major damage results.

 

Do you have any idea what condition your turbo was in before you installed this filter. Did you look at it yourself? Any mod has some draw back. A free flowing air filter can cause a stock turbo to surge. This in turn can cause turbo failure. Did the filter cause the failure? I can say with out a doubt I abuse my truck. It has had a 6637 for 40k+ miles. Here's an example. Note the dust and dirt, not to mention the sled (truck).

 

I think your diesel mechanic friend is as full of S**t as a Christmas Goose!
Warren