by Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor on October 26, 2015 I recently opened the hood on our 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 to check the engine oil level (it's fine) when I noticed the blue Mopar aftermarket cold air intake. Specifically, I noticed how dirty the air filter was. The blue fibers looked dingy and there was a lot of dust and detritus between the pleats. Figuring I'd show our Charger a little love, I took it upon myself to clean the air filter. Now I just needed to figure out how. Since we bought our Charger used from a dealer, I didn't have any instructions or install knowledge to rely on. To the Internetmobile, Robin! I started researching which air intake our car has. , I determined we likely had the Cold Air Intake for the 6.1-liter SRT V8 used in the Charger/300/Magnum/Challenger (part 77060006AB). I knew these types of filters are typically reusable, unlike the one-and-done factory OE air filters. Unfortunately, I couldn't find official instructions for installation or air filter cleaning.

On to Plan B. I searched owner forums and found a few posts on the subject. The posts varied on advice, but the consensus opinion came down to a fairly simple matter of taking off the filter and gently washing it with water and soap. When I went back to our Charger, I was initially unsure how hard it would be to get the filter off. It's snug up against a black plastic box and I wasn't sure if I could just pull it off or if I'd have to loosen or take off more of the intake pipe or bracketry. pure whole house uv air purifierThankfully, removal was just a matter of loosening the screw-based hose clamp and flexing the air filter some (its supporting structure is rubber) to pull it off.air purifiers sears appliances It was then that I discovered the Charger's previous owner had applied oil to the filter. how to use compressed air to clean a laptop

The bottom of the filter that was previously hidden from view was oily, which you can see by the darker coloring of the filter element in the photo below. There was also oil in the air intake tube. Hmm. Would I need to oil our filter, too? Some reusable aftermarket air filters require oiling. Back to the Internet. From what I could determine, the filter for our intake was not supposed to be oiled. There's even a warning on the top of the filter. Seems the previous owner goofed. I took our filter and washed it in a bucket of water with mild detergent. At first I tried using a toothbrush to remove the little bits of leaves and stems lodged between the pleats or stuck in the fiberous foam, but quickly learned that was too abrasive. After that, I just used my fingers and manually rubbed the filter to get it clean. The water quickly got dirty so I filled up a fresh bucket and repeated the process. After that, I shook out the filter and let it dry in the sunlight. It was about 90 degrees outside, but it took all day to get dry.

I let it dry overnight, too. After that, I cleaned out the oil in the intake and reinstalled the filter. I don't have any measurable way of knowing if my cleaning boosted our Charger's horsepower, but I'd like to think it's running a bit stronger now. Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor Ships from and sold by B2C Auto Parts. CRC 05078 Throttle Body and Air-Intake Cleaner - 12 Wt Oz. CRC 05110 Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner - 11 Wt Oz. FREE Shipping on orders over $49. DetailsSea Foam SF-16 Motor Treatment - 16 oz. FREE Shipping on orders over $49. #63,071 in Automotive (See top 100) #18 in Automotive > Motorcycle & ATV > Fluids & Maintenance > Cleaners > Carburetor & Throttle Body Cleaners #2,661 in Automotive > Oils & Fluids 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) See all 84 customer reviews My 2007 Ford Mustang GT Convertible was having throttle issues when the air conditioning was on: After stepping on the clutch while approaching a traffic light while still moving the throttle would go up and down from 750-1500rpm until I came to almost a complete stop and then it would go back to normal.

I did some research and found that the throttle body was most likely dirty and needed to be cleaned, and since I haven't personally cleaned the throttle body before, I figured it was time to do it. So I bought the CRC Throttle Body Cleaner, as well as the CRC 05110 Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner - 11 Wt Oz. and I went to town. Took off my AirAid CAI and AirAid Throttle Body Spacer, and took off the throttle body and gave it a good cleaning. YouTube has a great video on how to properly clean your throttle body. I followed the instructions and it worked exactly as expected. Just remember to take the throttle body OFF of your car...don't try to spray and clean it while it's attached to your engine block as you can't properly clean the opposite side thoroughly enough.I replaced the throttle body and let the car sit for a little while just in case any of the liquid was still trying to dry (even though this stuff is pretty much instant dry after wiping, but I wanted to play it safe). Took the car out, warmed it up, ran the AC and stepped on the clutch while slowing down to a stop and voila!

Highly recommend using this for cleaning your throttle body. I haven't used it on an air intake since my cold air intake has synthetic oil right in the filter and it requires no cleaning whatsoever, but for throttle bodies, this thing really works! See all 84 customer reviews (newest first) Received the item after long time of waiting and it was damaged. I don't think our jeep had ever had the throttle body cleaned. We bought used and have put over 50k miles on it and after I used this it performs so much better. The 5 oz and 12 oz are the same content. I checked the EPA materials list. I was concerned about the special throttle plate coating on Fords. I've been using CRC products for years. product does what it says Nothing better than CRC for my throttle cleaning needs. Sold by Rudy's Diesel and Fulfilled by Amazon. S&B Filters Precision II Cleaning and Oiling Kit (Red Oil) 88-0008DetailsS&B Filters KF-1035 High Performance Replacement Filter (Cleanable, 8-ply Cotton) FREE Shipping.