So i went to clean my K&N filter on my K&N cold air intake. Theres that shield that blocks the filter off from the rest of the engine compartment and it looks like its held on by only one hex nut.. well i went in and started loosening and the bolt never moved.. it just turned and never loosened.. going the other way it never tightened either. is there a nut on the other side i have to get to or is it stripped?

 

There is probably a metal clip nut on the bumper cover on the inside. It probably just broke. You might have to get someone to put there are down throught the hole where your K&N air intake will go threw and hold a pair of pliars on the broken nut. Just look down into that hole with a flashlight and have someone turn the bolt in question. It should be that big of a setback. Hope that helps.

Jeremy

 

thats wut i thought but to get to the underside of that shield to where the filter is it seems like you have to remove this huge piece of the underside of the car.. it looks like it goes all the way down the front...guess ill get to work

 

Oh! Sorry my bad. I thought you were installing a cold air intake. You should be able to pull that plastic piece down far enough to get the filter out so you can get a pair of pliars on that clip nut. It will take alot of contorting of your arm, but Im sure you will get it.

Jeremy

 

OK if I get what you are doing, you are trying to take that small circular piece thats on the inner fender area held on there with one bolt.. [Don't waste your time with that the filter won't fit up thru that hole anyway.. ]And no, it probably isn't stripped, but just the nut is spinning..
What you need to do, is take off the lower valance, that's under the drivers side fender..
If I recall, you drop the first few bolts off the 'air dam', then the small bolts off the valance, to get to the K&N..

 

yep.. i got down there dropped the valence thing and looked up.. no filter! just as i was about to call the guy i bought the car from and absolutely flip ****.. i realized that the filter was in the compartment.. not on the intake but at least it was there. Dirty as a mother ****er too. So now im cleaning it.. how bad was this for my engine?

 

Glad you got it out. It probably wants good for your cars performance, but I doubt it hurt anything. What would have been bad is for all that carp on the fulter to have made it into the engine. Just remember not to spray the filter itself with a hard stream of water it will destroy the fibers in the filter. Just run it under the faucet and rub it with an old paint brush or tooth brush to get the dirt loose.

Jeremy

 

so after cleaning i went to put the filter back on.. how the hell do you do that?!?!?! i sat there for an hour and could not get the thing on.. if the clamp is around the filter at all it wont fit onto the tube and even when the clamp is off and i get the filter around the tube it still doesnt seem to fit on right. ANd then theres no way i can get anything in there to put the clamp around it or tighten the clamp. how do you get this thing to stay on im about to gorilla glue it!

 

Ahhhhh
The joys of DIY hot rodding.

 

You will have to remove that large plastic piece that covers the filter from road dirt and water. That is about the only way your going to be able to work with it and get it onto the tube. The plastic piece has 6-8 10mm bolts its really not bad to remove. If you dont live in an area that gets TONS of rain or has alot of dirt like the southwest Id just leave it off. Good luck and hope you get it fixed.

Jeremy

 

yea i remvoed that in the beginning of the whole ordeal.. i just couldnt figure out how to get the filter on because it didnt seem to fit. i didnt realize there was a lip in the filter that only lets it go on the tube 3/4" or so. and then the second challenge was tightening the clamp but i managed to find a good spot to do that.. so its all good now