Cobb Air Filter Cleaning

[The Critic]

A family friend asked me to service their modded Subaru WRX STi. The car was purchased used with a Cobb intake system which presumably is equipped with a Cobb reusable engine air filter.

I found the engine air filter to be quite dirty so I saturated the filter using the Cobb air filter cleaner spray. After soaking for 15 min, I then rinsed the filter under warm water (faucet). There was almost no improvement in the condition of the filter.

So I got out the garden hose and blasted the filter from the clean side out. Most of the debris came out, but I repeated the process once more. After drying, I oiled the filter using the included blue oil until the filter was uniformly blue, then soaked up excess oil using a paper towel.

The filter now looks pretty good but I am wondering if I may have damaged the filter by blasting it with a garden hose. I have no experience with reusable filters so I am curious what the best practice is for cleaning a filter that is super dirty.

Thanks.

 

[billt460]

I bought a K&N Filter for my truck some years back. (Similar to what you have). It worked OK, but was a PITA, and time consuming to clean. Plus, by the time you buy the cleaner and oil you end up spending as much or more as you would on a paper pleated filter. I ended up taking it off, cleaning it, and put it back in the box. I don't even remember where it is now that we moved. I'm sure not going to bother to look for it.

 

[RooflessVW]

To my eyes, you have damaged it with the garden hose. I see holes in the media that are larger than they should be.

A 15 minute cleaner soak and faucet rinse from the inside-out should have been all that was needed to clean the filter. It has worked for me on K&N's completely caked with desert sand.

 

[Kira]

Did the family friend have any input?

Car boards (like this one) are said to be "problem bias" and we all understand that but these reusable filters seem to fall well short of perfection.

Do they offer better filtration than pleated paper in a standard velocity drop box?

 

[gathermewool]

Tell your friend that he should consider finding a stock intake.

Any other mods?

 

[Jim K]

They spelled Cobb wrong .

 

[ragtoplvr]

This cone style filter is commonly available. I bet you can get a new one pretty cheap.

Cleaning without damage is difficult when they have been neglected.

Here s a link to their universal filter by dimension.

https://www.knfilters.com/search/universal/round-tapered-universal-air-filter/

Then pretty easy to search for the K&N number cheaper

Rod

 

[UG_Passat]

At least the first cleaning, the owner waited until the filter was actually dirty.

But, cotton gauze filters, with each cleaning, filtering efficiency goes down.

Have the person check out AEM Dryflow filters, either the standard or Brute Force style.

 

[nthach]

Trash that thing. Get an AFE/AEM dryflow filter or see if a Donaldson PowerCore fits onto that CAI. K&N-type filters fall into neglect easy.

 

[eddy21]

Oxiclean mixed with club soda . works great.