Any issue after removing this filter?

Today I did some maintenance on the rig – changed the plugs (do they look like they needed changing?), cleaned the MAF, oil change and filter change. Was going to do a throttle body cleaning and fuel filter but ran out of time before my wife dragged me away to do some shopping.

The air filter in the truck was one of those K&N lifetime jobbers and I have to say I’m not at all impressed. The amount of dust that has obviously made it past the air filter is pretty astounding. So it’s gone and there is a factory air filter in it now. I noticed a filter at the top of the airbox – part number 17812-50020. Research says it’s a hydrocarbon filter. It was loaded with dust and there’s no way to clean it so it’s now gone. I had to break off the little nubs to get it out but I have no plan to put it back so I guess I don’t care. Throttle response seems improved. Anybody notice an ill effect from removing theirs?

Also, hat tip to @Professional Hand Model for the recommendation on the Autozone magnetic plug wrench which made the job so much easier. I salute you and your golden hands.

 

Wow. How many miles on the spark plugs?

 

By the look, I'd say all of them.....

Never been a fan of the K&N filters, to be honest.

 

137k

 

Yeah, they were ready to go..

 

Removal of the carbon afterfilter will not affect anything, it is to catch any fuel vapor still in the intake manifold when the engine is off. This is also why aftermarket CAI are not emissions legal, just know that if you live in cali and they do a visual inspection and pull the lid to check you will fail inspection.

Curious, I see an A on you old spark plugs, is it NGK IFR6A-11 ?

 

Fwiw, There is a .002G (iirc) acceleration benefit to removing the charcoal filter (Subaru platform).

 

.0065 G sorry , just after 9min

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F1JmOKKAgyQ

 

They were NGK BKR6EYA

 

137k miles on copper plugs, wow

 

Mine looked more or less the same as yours. The person I bought the truck from, I don't think he ever did the plugs, so I was thinking 120k on mine easily. Swapped them for the OEM plugs and was told I should change them out every 18k miles, so not bad considering the OEM plugs are fairly cheap.

K&N air filter - used to swear by these when I was younger but now that I'm older, like OP mentioned, so not impressed with them considering the amount of dirt that still gets through. I too have gone back to using OEM air filters and changing them every 9300 miles or sooner if environment is dusty.

 

didn't know Tundra has this secondary filter. Never looked.

I know one of our other cars has it and it can't be removed. How are you supposed to clean it if it can't be removed? Sounds like you can't easily replace it without breaking it off. Are they meant to be lifetime filters?

 

The electrode was just a nub on those. I have to imagine your truck will run better as a result. That air filter has been asked about in the past and everyone agreed there was no harm in removing it. I went to remove mine last year and the previous owner beat me to it.

 

Are you sure about 18K miles? That's the shortest miles I've ever heard for any car plugs.

 

https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/Shopping-Guides/how-often-to-change-spark-plugs#:~:text=Spark plugs that look worn,of car that you drive.

That article states this:

As a rule of thumb, you should replace your spark plugs in intervals of 20,000 to 40,000 miles, based on how often you use your vehicle and the kind of car that you drive. For example, if you own a high-performance car, you’ll need to change your spark plugs more frequently than you would with a vehicle featuring lower revs and more moderate performance.

Champion recommends even shorter duration of 10k to 20k miles:

https://www.championparts.ca/Parts-...air-and-maintenance/Spark-Plug-Materials.html

I was told as these plugs are just the regular conventional plugs - copper/nickel plugs, you should look at changing them out every 30k km which equates to 18k miles. Mind you, these are are also $3.95/plug in CAD, which for the folks in the US with conversion at todays rate ends up to be like $3.00/plug, but I have seen them here for $2.22:

https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toyota_2004_Tundra/Spark-Plug/63485145/9091901166.html

But yeah the overall price for me for a set of 8 in Canada was $32 CAD hahaha, and at that price, I'd happily change them out every 30k km or 18k miles. You guys in the US, this should cost you under $20 USD!!! If they were the platinum tipped plugs...then yes, they would last much longer, but for the copper/nickel plugs, recommendation is average at 20k miles.

 

@bokch0y

Good to know. Couple of our other cars recommend every 80-100K miles.

 

Yeah my IS and RX are both 100k miles for spark plug changes but they use iridium plugs. Change out your Tundra 47 V8 plugs for $20 USD...you can do as often as you like for that price

 

OEM plugs should be iridium and change every 100-120k miles per the maintenance schedule. I did mine at 120k and have no plans to change until 240k

 

so is this US vs. Canadian owner's manual? are different plugs specified?I haven't looked at my owner's manual yet.

 

Unless you believe your plugs are going to get fused in there, you don't need to change the Iridium plugs for over 100,000 miles. When I changed mine, I felt no difference from the truck with the new plugs.

 

Japan built 2UZFE installed in Tundra and Sequoia are copper plugs, Land Cruiser and LX470 had iridium as OEM. When manufacturing switched to Alabama, many of these engines got platinum plugs, iridium was reserved for lx470 and land cruiser exclusively. The maintenance schedule on these vehicles with copper plugs state 30k mile plug change

 

@bmf4069 to the white courtesy phone.

 

Well....I’m referring to my 5.7l US Tundra. I pulled the same plugs out that I put in that are iridium and noticed no change in how the truck ran, fuel mileage, or performance after. I cannot speak to any other spec tundra however, just from my personal experience

 

Many here have removed the charcoal filter if their model came with one. Most report that the char filter looks good when removed. I still have mine in place. Not sure of the condition as its hidden. I’ve always had clean air filters in place.

Per the OP: His char filter has been dirtied due to the K&N. Thankfully, he has returned back to a paper filter. It should be fine to remove and reinstall a new OR just remove it and not worry. The wurrld peas carbon credit team will deduct points for this removal if it happens.