Gauze Type Air Filters
 

Ditch the K&N and save yourself money in the long run.

A 6637 filter from NAPA gives you better filtration and more air flow than a K&N.

Head over to the 7.3 forums to learn more about it all.

Pete:

What do you recommend for my van?

I am running with the K&N in my van, and its not like the pickup truck's.

I still have the Ford filter which is made by Racor.

I dunno what to do with the vans especially since you've got a 6.uhoh

I only know what to do with the 7.3 Stroker.

You could go up to the 6.0 diesel section and ask around for a recommendation on an intake.

I just know that some guys who were running the K&N had problems with dirt getting through the filter and messing up their turbos. Replaced the turbo and replaced the K&N with a 6637 and they had no problems.

not to totally kill the intro thread......

single layer cotton filters (K&N) are sometimes troublesome, my brother found out the hard way this season and WASTED a race motor. they are perfect and flow very well, however after EVERY cleaning they need to be inspected!!! any disturbance in the single layer filters could mean big holes for dirt to go through. the best way to inspect is by holding it up to a light and look for a new sunroof in your filter. also, if dirt is getting in the first thing to show signs of wear will be the edges of the fins on the turbo compressor wheel, they will erode away.

the dual and triple layer cotton filters are basically the same as oiled foam, and are much more "reliable". i may be wrong, but i believe AFE uses a triple layer oiled cotton. i do know that after last year we tossed 4 k&n's, and my brother lost an engine because he neglected to inspect one that had a big window in it. we are switching back to oiled foam for our race quads, the price of K&N is too much to end up in the garbage halfway through the season.

HIJACK OFF.

Guys:

As you can see I had the Moderator relocate our discussion of filters from the Introduction thread.

Was a good idea you had Aaron :-jammin

As I have a Van I seem to be limited to either the K&N filter or the Racor that Ford uses.

My K&N is a flat panel filter that fits the original air box.

I haven't found another brand flat panel gauze air filter, nor a Cold Air kit with which I could then mount a conical gauze filter.

With my old pair of 6.5's I had AMS Oil foam filters, AMS doesn't have a foam filter for my van.

Such it is.

I have read in the forum that the gauze filters only make a difference at high air flows.

Iirc, somewhere about 80% of engine design air flow does the OEM Racor filter become restrictive.

The posts, as I recall, said that for daily unload driving stay with the OEM Racor element, and only when loaded down / towing to swap out to the gauze.

Ditto for back-country graded roads, run with the OEM Racor, till you get back to civilization (pavement).

i will say that for the past 20 years of my life my father has run K&N's on the RV's including the current v-10, and they all performed beautifully.

i dont know about the vans, but i heard that the stock air filter setup for the superduties and OBS 7.3 trucks were able to sustain 300hp before you started to see negative pressure in the pre-turbo intake. this is just what i HEARD, so take it how you will. its a plausible claim i think.

dave i am surprised there isnt a larger aftermarket selection for you, i never looked but i assumed there would be more. an email to AFE or another company may get you a replacement filter that you dont see listed anywhere...maybe?

[QUOTE=Zookie400;7312421]
dave i am surprised there isnt a larger aftermarket selection for you, i never looked but i assumed there would be more. [QUOTE]

Not really that suprising, most vans sold these days are work vans (fleet) or already customized (conversion) very few are sold (plain) to customers. The van craze basicly died in the early 80's. Employees are rarely allowed to customize their work trucks and familys who buy conversion vans generaly don't touch them either. There are the die hard van people out there but they are in the minority.

:-jammin

My first pickup truck was a Ford Courier, and I had a fiberglass cap on it and so it might as well have been a van. :confused:

:-down My second pickup truck was a Dodge Dakota 4x4 standard cab because I couldn't afford a 4x4 conversion van.
:mad: I had a small job box in the back and it was always wet inside from condensing humidity and rain water seepage.

:-down My third pickup truck was a GMC Sierra 6.5 diesel 4x4 standard cab because I couldn't afford a 4x4 conversion van.
:-banghead I bought a 'weather-tight' RV box for the bed and the rain never go inside :-jammin but the snow for some reason always managed to infiltrate the box.

Now I have my van :-headbang and I discovered that the design of the lift-gate seal allows water to drip inside :mad: and so I have to stow everything that I want to keep dry forward of the drip-line :-bangheadplus when there is snow on top of the van and I open the lift-gate its like a pine tree shedding snow into the back :-banghead

Oh well, always thankful :) - but - never satisfied :-down