K&N instructions PART 1

[JP422]

Hahaha naw... I didn't drive the truck hard.. but it was driven through a several snow storms, snow marshes, dirt trails, and sand dunes a few times... and towed my track car a few times back then. You're right about the silicone.. it might have been tightened a bit becuase it ripped along the hose clamp... but it also popped off a few times before too (which might have been why it was clamped down tighter). As for the box... it's only held on by 2 bolts and rubber bushings in between... and the air box is pretty heavy if you think about the way it is secured ( 2 bolts close together), and the rubber slowly fell apart (2-3 yrs?) and might have introduced some play on the bolts... which eventually over the yrs ended up shearing 1 bolt off. I'd call it wear an tear... but I still believe the overall design could have been better... however... I do love the monster filter it came with =)

As for the stock tube... it made the intake quieter than the K&N tube (I have stock exhaust too, so I'm not really after the noise on this truck)... plus now I have no problems whatsoever with anything popping off, etc... I just clean the filter when it gets dirty... that's it. Oh, and I did replace the 1 bolt and the air box is now secured.

**I also added a 1/4" thick foam rubber pad (available at OSH) to cover the bottom surface of the K&N cold air box. The filter is so big, it would rub up on the bolt heads that secure the box... so it's been padded now, and no more rubbing.

 

[JP422]

I have this kit too... it's been almost 10 yrs now...

After a couple of yrs in... one of the special rubber bushing bolts got sheared (that hold down the metal cold air box). Not a biggie. Later the orange coupler off the TB kept slipping off, and eventually ripped (perhaps from clamping too tight.. because of it slipping)... also the big rubber funnel donut (step #22) started to get deformed and the filter and MAF would slip out. I don't think this K&N system accounts well for the engine rocking back and forth. Back then, my truck was only a couple yrs old, so the engine/tranny mounts couldn't have been that worn out. The K&N Tube is plastic too, so that also doesn't allow much engine movement.

Anyway, I still use the K&N and the cold air box... but went back to the original air tube (w/ the big ugly Vortec box). The factory tube has the rubber accordian that allows flex and free engine movement. Now I mountd the MAF INSIDE the cold air box... and the stock intake tube stretches out to join it. The monster K&N filter is now attached directly onto the MAF. I've never ever had a problem w/ it this way... no more hose or filter popping off, and very reliable.

I also placed a 1/4" thick rubber mat on the floor of the air box to cover up the bolts that hold it down. The Air filter's end also rests on the rubber mat too.

One more thing I'd like to do soon is get the K&N prefilter. The have a size specifically for this filter... and it should help keep the filter clean longer, and also repels some water, w/o hurting air flow.

Oh yea.. the intake got quieter after going back to the oem intake tube... but still has a growl when I gun it.

Overall, it's ok.. but I still feel it's overpriced... oh well.

 

[jwpotts0413]

no complaints here if they want to lower the price!

i thought it was worth the money. very sturdy kit, great instructions.

 

[JP422]

If you want to cover the K&N filter...


599-RF-1024DK
(Jegs.com)


This is supposed to be a pre-filter and somewhat water repellant. I'm sure it'll help the actual filter stay cleaner longer too...

 

[mrlee727]

I bought my kit back in 1998 for my 96 Chevy Tahoe, so I've had my installed for over 12 years. This kit was poorly designed and made in my opinion. After just a few weeks the big plastic intake would slip of the throttle body, the map sensor rubber connector would slip off causing my check engine light to come on and the metal cold intake box would rattle and shake itself apart from all of the engine movement causing my MAF sensor to come off (this happen almost once a week).

This was the worst $250 I've ever spent on my truck. My biggest mistake was getting rid of all of the original intake parts when I did the swap, if not for that I would have put everything back and demanded my money back from K&N. I ended up fixing many of the issues myself by drilling three holes on the aluminum intake and plastic intake and bolting the two together with small allen bolts and locking nuts sealing it all up, this has stood the test of time it has not come apart since. Thank You ACE Hardware!

I fixed the rattling box by cutting a larger hole around the side there the intake passes through and securing with a thick rubber pad between the top of the wheel and the box and bolting it down with four SS bolts and locking nuts to keep it from falling apart again a major improvement on a bad design. I would like to replace the orange connector with a oem type rubber accordion connector that allows flex and engine movement. I would
also like to modify or replace the cold air box for a sealed one with a new filter.

If your thinking of buying this kit...don't, it's overpriced, poorly designed and a PITA to maintain! There are many better options. One would be to keep you original setup and buying just the K&N filter as a direct replacement. It would be much quieter than this growling kit and much more reliable.

 

[SuperTruck99]

I've had my K&N Air Intake Sysytem for a little under a year, and it runs great! Had a little trouble installing it though (wasn't following the directions completely), but I got it. It def increased my overal HP (by about 10-15 HP), not sure if it increased the gas mileage, I drive a lot! Cleaning & maintaining are easy. Mrlee727, if you get the new intake filter, it should come with a box (or bracket) that locks the filter into place, so you won't have to worry about movement at all. It was a little pricey ($303!), but it was well worth it! It def help my '02 'Hoe run faster. My next upgrade is a JET performance chip, follwed by an exhaust kit. I'll let you guys know how it turns out, Peace!!!

 

[mrlee727]

K&N FIPK Installation Instructions

For those who need a copy of this particular install, you can get it from here:

http://www.kandn.com/instructions/57-3013-2_inst.pdf

 

[JP422]

SuperTruck, your '02 Hoe propbably has a different K&N kit than the rest of us OBS ones. I also agree w/ MrLee in that the design of the overall kit sucked.

The orange silicone(?) couple frmo teh TB to the plastic Tube kept slipping onff, which I ended up overtightening and eventually tearing... and the end where the MAF goes... it also keep slipping off. Not to mention, the big black donut that the filter actually clamps to got distorted, and the filter would slip off that as well... I also had to check it regularly (once a week at least). That got annoying. Oh, the cold air box is also held on by 2 small bolts on rubber bushings. One of the rubber bushings got sheared off.

The biggest problem I see in this kit was the lack of flexibility for engine movement. My truck was nearly stock, and not driven hard. The K&N couldnt keep up. I do like the HUGE filter though. The cold air box is pretty primative as well. I think it could have been designed much better.

If you still want it, then Trick flow has the same intake filter kit (made by K&N) for about $50-70 less. Same thing as Summit Racing. They just don't have the K&N badge on the intake tube.. but I think they have the CARB sticker.

I also 'lost' most of my stock intake parts, but I did have the stock intake tube and accordian... so I just hooked it up to the K&N directly (w/ the MAF inside the box). This setup has been working fine for years now.

 

[jwpotts0413]

i bought an '04 silverado!! anyone want a 2 door hoe?