K&N High Flow Air Filter Installation

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-15-2008, 07:04 PM

I've been searching everywhere on this forum and others and I couldn't find any pictures regarding this, the closest one was the engine cover removal pics located here (which helped a lot btw). But since I'm a noob and have never done this, I decided to help out others that are wondering how to install the air filters (or maybe I'm the only one that doesn't know how to lol)

Anyways, the engine removal pics can be found here

Engine Cover Removal Procedure w/ Pictures

So I ordered the K&N Filters 33-2181 (2 of them) and decided to install it myself

Engine Cover

Remove bottom cover (just yank it)

Remove top cover (first remove the 2 air tubes on left and right, its tough, then the small rubber tube, then yank it again)

Then flip over the top cover and on both sides there are 4 torx screws per side. Unscrew them to expose the filters

OEM Filters

KN Filters

Screw them back...OH NO, one of the corners bulged out! now my question is, is this ok?? does anyone here who have installed this know whether this is normal? coz I checked and checked, this is caused by the harder rubber on the filter itself (unless i cut the corners abit but I won't do that)

Same deal here...any ideas guys?

Stuck the 2 "Beware" stickers

So my question is, anyone who installed this think the above is correct? coz I did all the above by guess work...anyone care to confirm? and what about the corner, is it normal?

please help? thanks in advance!!

benz_addict · 11-15-2008, 07:45 PM

one messed up looking air box on the C300s... I mean why does it have so many openings? Then what's the point of having a ram air setup? It's just sucking in warm air. This was the one from my engine on my C-Class: As you can see it only has one little hole to let the dirt 'escape'

My S500's Airbox had no holes at all just a straight ram air setup. I upgraded to the AMG 55 air box and it has no holes either...

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-15-2008, 09:11 PM

hmm so is it normal to have that little bulge at the corner of the cover?

C300Sport · 11-15-2008, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanjuro Makabe

hmm so is it normal to have that little bulge at the corner of the cover?

I wouldn't want to leave it set like that. Looks like it may end up cracking the case and/or leting dirty air in.

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-16-2008, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C300Sport

I wouldn't want to leave it set like that. Looks like it may end up cracking the case and/or leting dirty air in.

so what should I do? I just checked it again and it is definitely installed correctly, comparing it to the OEM one which has much software foam trim vs this one. The included instructions also said it is harder. Should I cut off a bit of the edge of the filter? I don't really want to mod it....

any suggestions?

C300Sport · 11-16-2008, 12:11 AM

I have used K&Ns in the past...Don't they have a 1-800 help line??

C300Sport · 11-16-2008, 10:08 AM

Where are you located? It looks like you have a lot of dust wherever you are...just another reason to make sure the filter fits properly.

Aggressive · 11-16-2008, 12:27 PM

Sanjuro,
I would say the you did everything correclty for your install. I think that K & N should redesign the filter to fit properly. I am pretty good with an exacto knife and I would trim it to fit............ but in the mean time being careful not to take to much off so that the seal is not lost. I do not like the idea of so much pressure being placed on the plastic. K & N is supposed to be the best at this and that design causes some concern for me. Let me know if you will or have allready contacted K & N.

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-16-2008, 02:24 PM

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm located in Vancouver, the air isn't too bad up here...

I have sent K&N an email already, i'm still not comfortable trimming the rubber off but I guess I could if necessary. I'll wait for their email first before I do anything. I don't think any air can get inside from the sides since there is so much pressure held on the rubber edges. My only concern is I'm afraid the air box will break...

I know a few of you guys have the same filter, if you guys can check yours and let me know if its the same, that would be awesome...thx

micropower99 · 11-16-2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanjuro Makabe

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm located in Vancouver, the air isn't too bad up here...

I have sent K&N an email already, i'm still not comfortable trimming the rubber off but I guess I could if necessary. I'll wait for their email first before I do anything. I don't think any air can get inside from the sides since there is so much pressure held on the rubber edges. My only concern is I'm afraid the air box will break...

I know a few of you guys have the same filter, if you guys can check yours and let me know if its the same, that would be awesome...thx

Hey Sanjuro, mine fits perfectly. Either you have the K&N's backwards or take the cover out and put it on again cause it should go in more than that. Did you just try once and that's it or did you try a few times and each time had that problem?

Regards

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-16-2008, 04:32 PM

hey micro,
I've tried so many times it just doesn't go in any more. I'll try it again tonight. There's definitely a 2-3mm rubber edge that sticks out and there's only one way that it fits so it can't be flipped maybe my air box is different? Coz looking at the pics above they seem slightly diff.

I'll try again tonight...

mac911 · 11-16-2008, 11:20 PM

So did they do anything for the car? Make it sound or perform different?

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-16-2008, 11:36 PM

no difference at all, I wish there was. But micro mentioned before that the mileage was better I think I'll need to confirm. I'm gonna check the filters again later tonight if it's still the same I'll just leave it. KN should reply tomorrow.

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-17-2008, 01:59 AM

ok I just worked on the air box again, this time I took out both filters, took out all screws and just seat the box without the filter, looks like this is a manufacturing defect from MB because the edge does bulge out slightly even without the filter. So I tried my best to reseat the filter again and now its better, but the bulge still exist. I can only blame MB. I'm not worried air would get in because the filter trim is hard and thick enough to not let any air in. Not to mention its very tight.

Its definitely better now but still bulges out, I've decided to just leave it...

micropower99 · 11-17-2008, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanjuro Makabe

ok I just worked on the air box again, this time I took out both filters, took out all screws and just seat the box without the filter, looks like this is a manufacturing defect from MB because the edge does bulge out slightly even without the filter. So I tried my best to reseat the filter again and now its better, but the bulge still exist. I can only blame MB. I'm not worried air would get in because the filter trim is hard and thick enough to not let any air in. Not to mention its very tight.

Its definitely better now but still bulges out, I've decided to just leave it...

That's good that you got it in a bit more, hopefully it won't cause any problems down the road. (I doubt it will) Yea the only thing I noticed is a little more mileage gain about 1 extra L/100km.

Sanjuro Makabe · 11-17-2008, 03:08 PM

yea its still too early to tell for me, it was around 12.2 - 12.6 L/100KM, and now its about 11.0 - 11.6 L/100KM, so yea bout 1L, I'm still happy tho

11-15-2008, 07:04 PM	#1
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	K&N High Air Flow Filter Installation I've been searching everywhere on this forum and others and I couldn't find any pictures regarding this, the closest one was the engine cover removal pics located here (which helped a lot btw). But since I'm a noob and have never done this, I decided to help out others that are wondering how to install the air filters (or maybe I'm the only one that doesn't know how to lol) Anyways, the engine removal pics can be found here Engine Cover Removal Procedure w/ Pictures So I ordered the K&N Filters 33-2181 (2 of them) and decided to install it myself Engine Cover Remove bottom cover (just yank it) Remove top cover (first remove the 2 air tubes on left and right, its tough, then the small rubber tube, then yank it again) Then flip over the top cover and on both sides there are 4 torx screws per side. Unscrew them to expose the filters OEM Filters KN Filters Screw them back...OH NO, one of the corners bulged out! now my question is, is this ok?? does anyone here who have installed this know whether this is normal? coz I checked and checked, this is caused by the harder rubber on the filter itself (unless i cut the corners abit but I won't do that) Same deal here...any ideas guys? Stuck the 2 "Beware" stickers So my question is, anyone who installed this think the above is correct? coz I did all the above by guess work...anyone care to confirm? and what about the corner, is it normal? please help? thanks in advance!! __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package Last edited by Sanjuro Makabe; 11-15-2008 at 07:46 PM.

11-15-2008, 07:45 PM	#2
benz_addict Super Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 728	one messed up looking air box on the C300s... I mean why does it have so many openings? Then what's the point of having a ram air setup? It's just sucking in warm air. This was the one from my engine on my C-Class: As you can see it only has one little hole to let the dirt 'escape' My S500's Airbox had no holes at all just a straight ram air setup. I upgraded to the AMG 55 air box and it has no holes either... __________________ S500 4Matic E430 4MATIC CLS550 Last edited by benz_addict; 11-15-2008 at 07:50 PM.

11-15-2008, 09:11 PM	#3
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	hmm so is it normal to have that little bulge at the corner of the cover? __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package

11-16-2008, 12:27 PM	#8
Aggressive Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 147	Sanjuro, I would say the you did everything correclty for your install. I think that K & N should redesign the filter to fit properly. I am pretty good with an exacto knife and I would trim it to fit............ but in the mean time being careful not to take to much off so that the seal is not lost. I do not like the idea of so much pressure being placed on the plastic. K & N is supposed to be the best at this and that design causes some concern for me. Let me know if you will or have allready contacted K & N. __________________ 08' Mercedes-Benz C300 4-Matic Sport

11-16-2008, 02:24 PM	#9
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	Thanks for the replies guys, I'm located in Vancouver, the air isn't too bad up here... I have sent K&N an email already, i'm still not comfortable trimming the rubber off but I guess I could if necessary. I'll wait for their email first before I do anything. I don't think any air can get inside from the sides since there is so much pressure held on the rubber edges. My only concern is I'm afraid the air box will break... I know a few of you guys have the same filter, if you guys can check yours and let me know if its the same, that would be awesome...thx __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package

11-16-2008, 12:11 AM	#6
C300Sport Super Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 550	I have used K&Ns in the past...Don't they have a 1-800 help line??

11-16-2008, 10:08 AM	#7
C300Sport Super Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 550	Where are you located? It looks like you have a lot of dust wherever you are...just another reason to make sure the filter fits properly.

11-16-2008, 04:32 PM	#11
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	hey micro, I've tried so many times it just doesn't go in any more. I'll try it again tonight. There's definitely a 2-3mm rubber edge that sticks out and there's only one way that it fits so it can't be flipped maybe my air box is different? Coz looking at the pics above they seem slightly diff. I'll try again tonight... __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package

11-16-2008, 11:20 PM	#12
mac911 Super Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 603	So did they do anything for the car? Make it sound or perform different? __________________ 2008 C300 Sport Palladium Silver, P2 Package, Auto

11-16-2008, 11:36 PM	#13
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	no difference at all, I wish there was. But micro mentioned before that the mileage was better I think I'll need to confirm. I'm gonna check the filters again later tonight if it's still the same I'll just leave it. KN should reply tomorrow. __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package

11-17-2008, 01:59 AM	#14
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	ok I just worked on the air box again, this time I took out both filters, took out all screws and just seat the box without the filter, looks like this is a manufacturing defect from MB because the edge does bulge out slightly even without the filter. So I tried my best to reseat the filter again and now its better, but the bulge still exist. I can only blame MB. I'm not worried air would get in because the filter trim is hard and thick enough to not let any air in. Not to mention its very tight. Its definitely better now but still bulges out, I've decided to just leave it... __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package

11-17-2008, 03:08 PM	#16
Sanjuro Makabe Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 103	yea its still too early to tell for me, it was around 12.2 - 12.6 L/100KM, and now its about 11.0 - 11.6 L/100KM, so yea bout 1L, I'm still happy tho __________________ C300 4matic Tenorite Grey Sports & Premium Package

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