jtmvt Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Has anybody else have issues with re-oiling their Cobb air filter or any other oil air filter for that matter? This is the second time I've cleaned and oiled this thing, and its nearly impossible to control the amount of oil that sprays out of the oil bottle while trying to cover the filter. After spending extra time sopping up the excess oil with lots of paper towels, when I put everything back together, the car stuttered horribly while driving. The filter is so sensitive to the oil, that even if there is a little too much, it suffocates the air flow. Clearly, I over oiled the filter for what it could handle, but again, there's no way to spray on less and get coverage. In addition to this, when I pushed the car a little harder and drove more air to flow through it, some of the oil got sucked into my MAF tube. I've literally taken the filter out 3 times since cleaning and re-oiling it and spent numerous hours and paper towels trying to sop up as much of the blue oil as possible. I've also cleaned my MAF sensor multiple times thoroughly with CRC MAF cleaner. I think I've got about as much of the excess oil off as possible, but I still don't know why the filter is so sensitive to oil. I've never heard of K&N air filters behaving this way, but Cobb says their materials are basically the same, except for blue tinted oil instead of pink. My car is still stuttering at light throttle, almost bucking sometimes at very light throttle in 3rd gear like its not getting enough fuel or air....?...and this is with a new MAF sensor that has been cleaned multiple times since this last air filter cleaning and after re-setting my ECU multiple times...doesn't seem to make a difference. The same thing happened to me last time I tried to clean the filter. I ended up buying a new MAF sensor because I thought I damaged the old one due to the stutter that wouldn't go away no matter how much I cleaned it. Now I appear to be in the same boat with the new one....god forbid I fried this one too... Interestingly enough, the stutter was still there after I installed the new MAF sensor and re-set the ECU before this last cleaning. I figured that since my filter was dirty, maybe a cleaning was necessary to improve the intake airflow...now the stutter is worse.... I've searched for a dry flow air filter, but there are none out there that have all the same dimensions as the Cobb SF filter, and it has to be pretty much the same size in top and bottom width, and exactly the same in flange width and length because the fit is so tight in my car. The only solution I could come up with is to buy a spare air filter from Cobb so I could allow plenty of time for oil absorption in between cleanings. Also, I'm going to try painting on the oil with a foam brush next time instead of spraying. If anybody else has had similar woes, I'd be interested to hear what you came up with for a solution as well as any other input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I've dealt mostly with K&Ns in the past. The finger-pump recharge bottle was really difficult to use. The aerosol one was easier, but I could still tell that it was over oiled. I'd always blot it with a towel and set it on newspaper overnight before re-installing. I never had any problems with them, but I think I'm just going to stick with paper filters for any daily driven car from now on. Just drop the new one in and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmvt Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I've dealt mostly with K&Ns in the past. The finger-pump recharge bottle was really difficult to use. The aerosol one was easier, but I could still tell that it was over oiled. I'd always blot it with a towel and set it on newspaper overnight before re-installing. I never had any problems with them, but I think I'm just going to stick with paper filters for any daily driven car from now on. Just drop the new one in and done. I hear ya. I wish I could find a dry filter that fit my car. Stock airbox and filter is out of the question for my stage-3 car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrSpeed Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I hear ya. I wish I could find a dry filter that fit my car. Stock airbox and filter is out of the question for my stage-3 car. NO! No dry filters! Let's too many particles by. Check here: http://www.thetruthaboutfilters.com/ BANNED FROM THE TIKI FORUM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 lol of course a company that sells oiled filters is going to tell you dry ones let stuff by. they want you to buy their shit, and spend more money on re-oiling. many people have done used oil analyses on dry filtered cars and they show no excess intake of particles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It's really not that hard to oil the filter and it takes quite a bit to over oil it. You may have an actual issue with the car not related to the MAF or air filter. My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmvt Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 It's really not that hard to oil the filter and it takes quite a bit to over oil it. You may have an actual issue with the car not related to the MAF or air filter. I'm beginning to think I may have a separate issue as well. I'm wondering if this light throttle stutter, almost like a misfire, is fuel system related. I just filled up my gas tank from a little under a 1/4 tank to a full tank and it seems to be less noticeable right now for some reason.....I also recall it was hardly noticeable for a short period after I put some Redline Fuel System Cleaner in the tank, but then regressed back again. I'm hoping I'm on to something. This has been very difficult to diagnose..... I know it shouldn't be that hard to oil a filter. I never had this problem with my drop in K&N on my last car. It just seems like Cobb's filter is extremely sensitive to over oiling...and it wasn't as if I drenched it. Oil definitely did get sucked into the MAF tube. But from what others have told me, getting some air filter oil on a MAF sensor shouldn't fry it and it should be cleanable after this occurs.....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Your fuel pump could be dying My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmvt Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Your fuel pump could be dying Could that be the case if I only notice the stutter/misfire at light throttle? I was thinking it may be a weak fuel pressure regulator or leaky injector(s) as possibilities too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 At lower loads the ECU only runs the fuel pump at partial duty. If the pump is dying, it may not be strong enough at partial duty to keep the fuel pressure up. But at 100% duty it may have the power to keep the pressure up... for now. but that's just one possibility My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexjapan Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 The AVO power air is dry... Regards, Paul Hansen http://www.avoturboworld.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmvt Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 The AVO power air is dry... Regards, Paul Hansen www.avoturboworld.com Yes, but do you have a dry filter that is the same dimensions as the Cobb SF? It has to be the same size or it won't fit my car. If AVO makes one, I may be interested, but I'm not going to buy a whole new intake because then I'd need to get a re-tune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFromPA Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 FYI, I've been using the AVO dry panel filter for 20,000 miles or so. About 15,000 miles in, I performed an oil analysis that helps to show how much dirt it was letting by....it showed great air filtration. I don't think it gives any performance gains, but it does let alot more turbo sounds out than the stock filter did. The difference in sounds at 4000-4500 rpms and throttle lift-off is quite prominent Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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