Air Filter @ 131K miles (pic)

[CharlieJ]

This is the factory Denso air filter with 131,000 miles. Replaced with a Parts Master air filter (relabeled Wix). Vehicle is a 2002 Camry with the 2.4 four cylinder. The car is my mother's. She says gas mileage may have improved, I don't know, I don't drive it.
It's hard to tell from the pic, but the filter was quite packed with debris.

 

[Rat407]

She got her moneys worth out of that filter.

 

[Samuraidog]

Nice work. Gotta love the feeling of putting in clean/fresh filters.

Thanks for sharing the photo.

 

[kkreit01]

Oh my. OE filter with 131K!? I'm surprised the car ran at all. You might want to check everything else as well: plugs, hoses, radiator and tranny fluid, etc. If the air filter went that long, I doubt anything else was touched.

 

[Smokescreen]

Well done. I'll bet it still is not close to being fully loaded up tho.

 

[TTK]

Where else, other than BITOG, can we such amazing things.

 

[datech]

I've read that because modern FI systems monitor mixture replacing the Air Filter doesn't affect mileage like it did when carburators were common.

Still the engine can't have much output if it gets really clogged.

 

[walk23]

In a lot of instances, the seal loses its sealing properties before the filter becomes clogged and it is more about time than miles as far as replacement need.

 

[TrevorS]

I would also be worried about media integrity over time due to heat, cold and additional pressure due to loading.

 

[901Memphis]

If it gets plugged enough it will pull the media inward. This may actually have been a good run for the filter.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The car must be operated in a very low dust area, the filter looks like only 40-50k miles not 130k miles.

 

[SatinSilver]

Kind of different putting the new filter on the ground like that. May want to check/replace the cabin filter as well.

 

[SLCraig]

Impressive.
I usually go 30K before I replace mine, it just seems wrong to have an easily serviceable part in for such a long time when it's so easy to replace. Not meant to offend BTW, just my views on air filters.

I am sure zero harm was done to the car anyway!

 

[simplistic]

That filter dosen't look that bad, should've seen mine after 50k.

I'm curious what the restrcition was. Shame toyota dosen't put filter minders on the cars.

 

[Jeffs2006EvoIX]

Sounds like my uncle who had a 1980 toyota pick up that he never changed the oil in in over 180k miles.

He said when it ran low on oil he would just "add to it".

Amazingly the truck ran 380k miles before the engine basically blew up.

My sister has nissan titan with the stillen conical type k&n filter on. She went like 50k miles and her truck started running like [censored]. I popped the hood and the filter was so plugged up you couldn't see the pleats. After cleaning it she couldn't believe how "peppy" her truck became ha ha.

In the dust bowl where I live I change filters every 5-7500k miles.

Jeff

 

[ARB1977]

Nice.

 

[JerryBob]

Makes me feel better about the 3 year old original OEM filter in my Toyota. I guess I can go a bit longer before I change it.

 

[CharlieJ]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Oh my. OE filter with 131K!? I'm surprised the car ran at all. You might want to check everything else as well: plugs, hoses, radiator and tranny fluid, etc. If the air filter went that long, I doubt anything else was touched.


Surprisingly, it runs about the same. The think the most difference is when more throttle input is used. The car was bought with about 14k miles. I'm not too sure how it has been maintained from then to now, but I changed the OE (iridium) plugs when doing the air filter. The OE plugs still had gaps in spec, I could have left them in! I replaced them with NGK G-powers. Hoses still look great and are flexible. I replaced and flushed the radiator (developed a weep). Even the OE antifreeze left everything clean inside, I was very surprised! I've been doing drain and fills on ATF using Mobil 3309 ATF. Oil is G-oil 5w-30 with carquest oil filter.



Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The car must be operated in a very low dust area, the filter looks like only 40-50k miles not 130k miles.


Yep, not too dusty here in FL. The intake tubing after the filter was clean, so the filter was still doing its job.

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Kind of different putting the new filter on the ground like that. May want to check/replace the cabin filter as well.


It is on a concrete driveway, I made sure no dirt or sand was stuck to it, no worries.

I replaced the OE cabin filter over a year ago, and oh boy. That thing was... bad... really bad. Too bad I did not take pictures of that thing. A/C worked a lot better after replacing that!

 

[hattaresguy]

In the picture the seal looks dirty like it was leaking past a bit.

 

[dnewton3]

From one extreme to another ...

Most BITOGers change fluids and filters WAY too often.
Most of the rest of the world follows OEM schedules, which are typically overly conservative.
A few folks simply ignore their equipment.

It's not optimum, we'd all agree on that. I'm all for getting the value out of something; this is a bit past even my intended level.

And yet this car probably continued to run. May not have run in an ultra efficient manner, but it ran. And will continue to run another 100k miles on this next filter ...