Ok, don't even get me started on the K & N vs. OEM...Today I went to change my air filter and discovered my air cleaner housing covered in soot and oil with a small puddle of oil sitting in the bottom! The I discovered that it must have something to do with the fact that the big hose coming from the valve cover was sticking into the air cleaner housing but had come disconnected from the tube sticking up in the middle of the aier cleaner housing!!!
So I cleaned it up a bit, threw my new air cleaner in, made sure that the breather tube was in place, and got out! Will I be experiencing better performance or gas mileage?

IS there a difference between the K and N and the OEM air cleaners ? Do you think one is better than the other ?

Maybe I'll be able to tell you tomorrow, I haven't driven the car yet! I've never seen so much controversy except maybe regarding my Bose 901's.

I was just messing with you because of your first sentence.... ...... I guess I missed the kandn and the bose discussions.... The oil in that spot is something very specific , but can't think of what it is right now... someone will know shortly... Greg

how many miles on the engine? typically, oil in the air cleaner leads toward blowby. To check, with the engine running open up the valve cover and see how much oil comes out at idle, it should just look a little smokey with little to no oil coming out, if you get sprayed you have a blowby problem. There are more specifics out there and i'm sure someone will chime in with those
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Check all the rubber parts in the breather system and replace any that are hard.

The blow-by control system on your car routes the blowby from the engine into a cyclonic oil separator the removes most of the oil (it drains back down into the crankase via the pipe on the bottom of the air filter housing) and the blowby gases go down the intake.

If the breather line was off, the oil ended up in the housing instead of the crankcase. Check it a few days to make sure the hose stays put -- if not, replace the rubber parts.

If you continue to collect oil with the breather in place, you may have some bad o-rings or other seals, or you may be beginning to get excessive blowby.

You can check the blowby by lifting the oil filler cap with the engine idling. Don't completely remove it, as there will be oil spinning off the camshaft. If there is more than a small amount of whitish, smelly "smoke" coming out, you are getting more blowby than you should. If it blows like a steam locomotive, you are in trouble enginewise!

If your oil consumption is normal, you just have a loose breather line, nothing to worry about.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

If it is forming a black area on the inside of your air filter under the tube from your vacuum pump you can expect your diaphram is starting to leak oil..... and loss of vacuum for your power brakes and engine shut off will probably be the next symptom you experience.... Greg

Do you have the updated flat style breather hose? If not, you might consider getting one. They reduce the oil induction into the air intake greatly, supposedly