Why you should change your microfilter

[brodee]

Finally got around to changing out the cabin filter on the touring. It was barely blowing air anymore even on high blower. After pulling it out I could see why.

http://www.tmdnet.com/album/albums/Cars/525iT/Microfilter/normal_PICT6869.JPG

http://www.tmdnet.com/album/albums/Cars/525iT/Microfilter/normal_PICT6878.JPG

It's not as bad a job as I was expecting. I'd read they can be nasty (part of the reason I kept putting it off). Wish now I would have done it much sooner. Took about an hour.

http://www.tmdnet.com/album/albums/Cars/525iT/Microfilter/normal_PICT6876.JPG

[Qube]

I thought you did yours already... this seems like a rerun... wonder who it was. Do we get better performance running a K&N there? :)

[brodee]

First one I've done. It had been needing it for a while. Clogged filter + Houston heat makes for unhappy wife :D

[winfred]

if you look it you will see the date on the side and that will give you a good idea how old, they look fairly nasty after a couple years, seen a few at work that were the orignal 12 year old filter, sorta like a hunk of plywood as far as the blower is conserned

[brodee]

if you look it you will see the date on the side

Ya, this one was dated '95 so it's been in there for a while.

[saluki540i]

Well, I know what I'm doing this weekend. I've had the filter - that gave me the incentive to change it out. I'll be real curious to see when mine was changed, because up till I bought it from my dad, the BMW dealer maintained it. Were they changed at the inspections or by customer request only?

[KenB]

Changed mine this spring, it was nasty. Severely restricted air flow and it was starting to stink...hardly any AC was getting thru, now it's like a deep freezer...quite nice with 100 degree heat we've has this week.:D

[Ross]

Hallelujah!
I found mine to be "only" 3 years old but nearly as filthy.
It's not my favorite job to do nor do I enjoy shelling out for the filter but will do so annually after seeing what collects in there.

[dbals]

where is this filter located? how do you change it? sorry for the newbie question

NEVERMIND. I FOUND THE INFO NEEDED. I'M A DUMBASS.

[ILoveMPower]

Hey brodee how about some fresh pics of the touring while your at it! :P

[ray364]

where in the name of God is this filter??? has strip most of pasenger side and cannot find it!!

[ray364]

i will apreciate all the help i can get!!. Iam a newbee, but has always follow your forum.

[KenB]

I think there may be a couple early e34's that DON'T have a filter.

Here is how if you have one.

http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/maintenance/gen_maintenance/filters.htm

[brodee]

Ray, what year is your car? The early ones don't have a filter.

[Yiorgos]

What's all that **** on the carpet?

I'm gonna have fun trying to find my filter -- I'm RHD here :(

[brodee]

What's all that **** on the carpet?

I'm gonna have fun trying to find my filter -- I'm RHD here :(
That's all the stuff that was packed up against the filter in there. Cleaned it out and then used the shop vac to get it all.

Check Ken's link above, there is info on the RHD cars there.

[ska-texas]

Great info. This Saturday's project.

[ThoreauHD]

After the Indy changed mine, I had leaves blowing out the vents for a week. I don't know what the filter looked like, but judging by the replacement debri it was probably a rectangular turd.

[shogun]

Ray364

please complete you profile with exact data on your car
otherwise we cannot help you.
In your registration, please fill out all fields. Members of this board will be better able to assist you if they know the year and model of your car, the number of miles or kilometers, where you are located (some issues are country specific), and any prior modifications done to your car.

[Nick.Hay]

Any RHD peeps done this one?? Its more difficult in some models I hear. How abot RHD??

[saluki540i]

At least I know they were actually being changed - mine wasn't too bad - filter was MF'd in late 02 - but in all fairness the car doesn't have alot of miles

[blee]

I heartily, HEARTILY HEARTILY second the recommendation that you look at the microfilter if you haven't done so in a while! I bought my car about a week ago, and one of the issues I noticed was that the A/C didn't blow very strong. The air was cold (R12 knock on wood) but it would take high speed driving and the fan set to 4 before I'd actually feel cool.

Well, now I know why. The intake side of my microfilter was COMPLETELY clogged. It looked like a family of mice had all shaved themselves bare and stuffed the clippings into the ductwork! What's worse, the manufacture date stamped on the filter was 1996. If it had actually ben TEN YEARS since this thing was changed, I can see why it might be a little plugged.

With the new microfilter, the fan blows as hard at 1 as it used to at 4. Thank goodness.

[mitch2k]

When my dad still had my car, he removed the filter, because it was getting filthy verry fast.
So at the moment, i'm still runing without microfilter. Should I do an effort to place a new one?

[mikell]

If all that crap doesn't get caught in the filter, it's going to wind up in your car. You decide.

[winfred]

the crap then gets caught in the ac evaporator reducing it's performance, anything that makes it's way though the evap gets caught in the heater core, thinking like that is along the same lines of taking the engines airfilter out because you live on a dirt road, although slightly less destructive it will still cost you money, it will be something of a bitch to get all of the crud out of the evap but a worthy quest imho to get as much as possible out


When my dad still had my car, he removed the filter, because it was getting filthy verry fast.
So at the moment, i'm still runing without microfilter. Should I do an effort to place a new one?

[Qube]

When my dad still had my car, he removed the filter, because it was getting filthy verry fast.
So at the moment, i'm still runing without microfilter. Should I do an effort to place a new one?

Well... it's the filter or your lungs :)

[Alexlind123]

Well... it's the filter or your lungs :)

Im filterless :( *coughs up tar*

[blee]

Even with my ten-year-old microfilter, the exhaust side was still white. It may get clogged quickly, but that thing sure does a good job keeping the crud out.

[NovceGuru]

So with all this commotion about changing your cabin filter, and since my glove compartment has been broken for quite some time now, I decided to partake in this endeavor. Armed with my trusty shake flashlight, t20 torx driver, and a phillips head screwdriver, I went out and started. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated, only refering back to bmwe34.net's article a few times. The fun began once the green cover plate was removed....

http://jsreedinc.com/~novceguru/BMW_CABIN_FILTER/IM000396.jpg

Thats interesting, those are the exact same colors of a blanket I have over my backseats keeping them from baking in the sun...hmmf.

I held my breath and grabbed up the wet pile of filth and threw it on the ground:

http://jsreedinc.com/~novceguru/BMW_CABIN_FILTER/IM000397.jpg

I then peer into the hole and see this:

http://jsreedinc.com/~novceguru/BMW_CABIN_FILTER/IM000398.jpg

Not much to see, shouldn't the filter be there? Its obvious to me that there should be mice in my car, but it doesn't have the trademark odor of mice? I occasionaly get a wiff of some mildew or something, which could be what you see in the picture above. Of course, that could also be something mildewing after about 6 months I went through the starbrite carwash and came out, went down a hill, and had water pouring out of my driverside map light :-( (oddly enough, it still works, but the passanger side never has) My dad says "well if it hasn't been in there all these years, why put one in now? I think i'll ignore his wishes ;)

[bfd]

Not all E34s had micro filters. Brett Anderson, BMW Master Tech and owner of KoalaMotorsport has stated that microfilters didn't appear in E32 or E34 in the US until 11/90.

My car was made 7/90, and does NOT have one.

[NovceGuru]

9/92 :\

[Qube]

hmmm So does this make it a worthwhile endeavor even for those without a filter? :)

[Jehu]

Hey if you like laying halfway into your passenger compartment with the middle of your back splayed over the door sill ready to fracture and gawking at your interiour styling pieces . go for it . I just took everthing out to get to my filter and remembered i hadn't bought the filter and didn't have a torx driver.. gnarley dude.

[NovceGuru]

Well, if there are any mice in my car they better leave, i'm not sure if I want to poison them then have dead mice smell in my car (if I even have any) and I can get in there with some bleach and spray around and get rid of the musty smell. Then I can put a filter in and be happy i'm not breathing other peoples dirt, it IS a 525i :P

NovceGuru

[NovceGuru]

Hey if you like laying halfway into your passenger compartment with the middle of your back splayed over the door sill ready to fracture and gawking at your interiour styling pieces . go for it . I just took everthing out to get to my filter and remembered i hadn't bought the filter and didn't have a torx driver.. gnarley dude.


lol yeah....I haven't bought the filter either, but it doesn't really matter since there hasn't been one for god knows how long. Now on to the tranny/fuel/intake filter....god knows how long those have been in there also...weeeeee

NovceGuru

[mikell]

Time to decide - do you want this car to take care of you? If so, you take care of it.

[fclake]

Time to decide - do you want this car to take care of you? If so, you take care of it.


You guys inspired me so I did it also, WOW best 20bucks I ever spent. THANX!! 200% improvement