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Cabin air filter mod installed (w/ pics)

100K views 95 replies 55 participants last post by  Kroozin329 
#1 · (Edited)
Since I couldn't get my front end alignment checked at the dealer today, I figured that I'd come home and attempt to install my Cabin air filter upgrade mod that I've been tripping over in the garage. (maybe that will help my alignment ) :disappointed:

Anyways, I did find a post here somewhere where someone offered a tip that you didn't need to replace the entire air box, just the center section. This is what I did.

The post I refer to above (which I will locate and post its' link) is pretty much accurate, but I did find a few twists to it all.

0) The "muckett" (cool name for a gizmo, isn't is?) on the passengers side has a full-size Scrivit moulded into it!, so be carefull when removing it, - you will need to re-install this muckett with a used Scrivit embedded into it (a challenge to do too). The thing they call a muckett is this little foamy piece :


1) You have to completely remove the square steel sheet metal member from the car and set it on the ground. Also, you have to pull out the scrivit-like barbed tip wire loom holder for the windshield wiper motor from the bottom of the drivers side of that square sheet metal beam:


2) Plus another one on the passengers side, plus a huge connection block also on the bottom side of the beam on the passengers side (which has 2 Scrivit-like barbs) :


3) Be careful when handling that square sheet metal beam, - its' edges are sharp, and you WILL be scraping paint with the edges, best you can hope for is to limit how much under hood paint that you do scratch. It also has a slot/fork that the windshield wiper mounting grommet slides into. You have to wrangle with it a bit to get it out. Get it out of the car, and set the damn thing down on the ground next to the plastic cowling piece that you took off :


4) The PCM on this car is HUGE!. After the beam is removed from the vehicle and set down on the ground, you have to get this PCM out of the way:


5) With everything removed as set aside, you are ready to tackle the air box. It will look like this so far :


6) Remove the nuts on the firewall studs holding the airbox to the firewall. You have to pull the box (and the center section) completely away from the firewall to get it to clear these studs. To make clearance, the PCM (and it's cables) need to be pulled away, and set up on the shock tower. This is where the fun starts. The old center section will pull (slide?) right out once the airbox has been pulled away from the firewall clearing the studs. Putting the new center section does take some futzing, and you have to see it to understand how the edges of the stationary airbox has to slide thru (past) the slots in the ramped section on the back of the new center filter section :


7) Once in, you can put the new carbon enpregnated filter in:


8) The instruction booklet says to torque the nuts on the firewall studs down to 50-63 in-lbs. When you do, it feels like it will strip the threads. Felt like WAY too much torque to me. Do it in stages. Once you do reach that torque, it will completely pull the plastic edges of the airbox against the firewall firmly seating the plastic lips to the firewall (it becomes clear once you get to that torque) :


9) When reinstalling the square sheet-metal beam, the edges WILL scratch the paint a bit, but this area gets covered my the cowling. The torque of 25 ft-lbs feels like a LOT, but this is somewhat of a structural member, so I guess this torque is Ok.

9) Reinstalling the "muckett" on the passenger side takes some work, since as mentioned above, you are reusing a Scrivit that is moulded inside, and the barbs will have got messed up some (and facing against the grain). When the cowling is replaced, you may see a gap between the windshield sealing surface. I'm not sure how to fix this, as it becomes apparently clear that this part of the cowling, together with that silly 1/4 turn hold down screw was designed by some junior high kids at a Science Fair project while on a sugar high while experimenting with 'crack' :


10) Reinstalling the actual windshield wipers is a tad of a challenge as well as you have to try to hold the spring-loaded wiper "straight" as you put it on the shaft trying to find the spline alignment that will put the wipers on the little white marks on the windshield. The Passengers side will line up, but the drivers side will be a tad above the white mark (just like it was before I started).

The torque on the nut for the stud to hold the wiper arm down seems too high. I never reached the 25 ft-lbs called for, and settled for what I "felt" was adequate.

Oh yeah, be VERY careful removing the mini Scrivits on the tapered rubber tips of the cowling that meets up with the very upper tip of the fenders near the door, - I handed up chipping the paint right on the corner of the upper tip of the fender with a small screw driver. Can't believe I did that. most of the chip is in the vertical section (inside) of the tip of the fender where you can't see it easy, but a very small portion is on the horizontal surface where you can see it if you look close enough.

Hope this helps, and hopeful it will remove that dust smell when ID10T's driving in front of me drive on the white line kicking up winters' sand/crap on the side (and center medium) of the streets. Why do people DO this anyhow? - I see this EVERY day on my way to work, - people on these 2-lane roads here in Seattle can't stay between the lines. Sheese.

MM3
 
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#2 ·
Great write-up MM3. I also installed my filtration system today, although I do not have any pics. I used SFC18's write-up as my guide. The only major difference in my install was that I did not fully remove the crossbeam. I removed the bolts and slightly shifted the beam to allow me to move the plenum box enough to remove the factory plastic piece and replace it with the filter housing.
 
#4 ·
Ah, "SFC18", yeah, - he's the one that originally suggested just changing the center section, yes.

Yeah, in his instructions, he says to move the beam out of the way. I wasn't able to do that, - it just wasn't happening on this car, period. Besides, by twisting/reefing on it to get it out of the way, you are torquing that grommet-mounted windshield wiper motor. Plus the wire loom clamps, and the tension of the wiring harness attached to was just too tight on this car.

However, I still would NOT suggest this procedure of just moving it out of the way. Flipping that beam over, and in sliding it around, it's just TOO easy to hand up sliding the sharp edge of one of the ends up over the fender for a nice big scratch. Don't need that.

So can you check to see if you got that big gap in the cowl to windshield seal that I have illustrated in one of my photo's? I'll need to come up with some sort of fix for that, - it looks like hell.

Also, I don't know about you, but I was less than impressed in how all that cowling stuff was designed. But then again, outside of this, the newest vehicle I have is a 1996 Ford F-150, so maybe this is the way all new cars are designed and built.

After seeing how cheaply this is all designed, sorta makes me wonder where the 4,200 Lbs really is coming from. He, it certainly isn't coming from the cowling/windshild wiper mechanism stuff! ;)

MM3
 
#5 ·
Hey MD, wat up?

Yeah, you're right, I should clean this up (edit out typo's and such), and combine it with SFC18's original post on this, and get it posted as a sticky.

This is an important mod in my mind, as unfiltered road/gravel dust really is destructive to the interior components of an SRT. Seats, carpets are one thing, but then there's the MyGig internals, and other dash components that this dust is bad for. And that doesn't even take into account affecting the new car smell!

That's what sealed the deal for me. In Seattle, we get this time of year (now) where when the sun does come out (rare), the water on the roads dries up, but it produces this ultra fine dirt dust that will stay suspended in the air forever. After driving thru a cloud of that, you can get back in your car the next day and still smell that dirt dust. Yuk.


MM3
 
#7 · (Edited)
Nice write up. I did this install on my wife's Charger R/T. I thought the SRT's came with this from the factory. I guess I have to install one on my Challenger now.
________
DevilishMistress
 
#9 ·
Nice write-up. You're correct that this area of the car was designed by sleep deprived apes.

I didn't need to remove the bar on my R/T. Wrap the ends with a towel and you can just move it out of the way.
 
#78 ·
kinduva harsh insult for sleep-deprived apes, isn't it?
 
#10 ·
what is this mod for?
 
#11 ·
Great write up/pictorial. I wished I had waited so that I could've utilized this info......it definitely would've save me some aggravation. LOL. I found that after I removed the factory installed air box, that it was identical to the new cabin filter box.....but by then it was too late.:( Trying to wrestle that thing out then install was a "joy":brickwall: to say the least.
About the torque specs. It makes me feel better that someone else felt that these values were a little high also. I did the same as you when torquing the fasteners.....tighened them until they felt "right".
 
#12 ·
Cabin filter upgrade.

I understand what the upgrade is for, does this apply to all the Challengers or do some models (R/T) already have the upgraded cabin filter? Where do you get the upgraded filter from? I live in Northern BC and we have a lot of dust in the area all through spring summer and fall.

Great post on how to install.:bigthumb:
 
#13 ·
This option does not come with any Challenger! Nice thing to have!
 
#14 ·
Hi all, So let me get this straight. Challengers have no cabin air filter. So If you want one you need just the center piece of the air box and the filter. There is no need to change the whole box, just the center that holds the filter in place. Is there a part number for center and # for filter??? or do you need to buy the whole kit/what # is that? Is this chry part or after market. Is this parts from Chry 300 or other car. I know the 300 ,charger ,and challenger share alot of parts.
My challengerSRT 6 sp is not a daily driver but clean air vent air might be nice. Ive got the window open most of the time to listen to the corsica exhaust sound:bigthumb:
 
#16 ·
Hi all, So let me get this straight. Challengers have no cabin air filter. So If you want one you need just the center piece of the air box and the filter. There is no need to change the whole box, just the center that holds the filter in place. Is there a part number for center and # for filter??? or do you need to buy the whole kit/what # is that? Is this chry part or after market. Is this parts from Chry 300 or other car. I know the 300 ,charger ,and challenger share alot of parts.
My challengerSRT 6 sp is not a daily driver but clean air vent air might be nice. Ive got the window open most of the time to listen to the corsica exhaust sound:bigthumb:
I bought the whole kit P/N 82209548. It was around 50.00. I decided to not do it myself, and have the dealer put it in.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Its a Chrysler part. You already have the box, but you will need the insert and the filter itself. I don't know if the insert is sold sepparately. The instruction manual that came with the kit listed the 300, SRT8 Magnum and Charger
 
#22 ·
My wife's Toyota and my daughter's Civic have cabin air filters that I have changed every couple of years. They do get dirty. My question is: How do you change the filter referenced in this mod. I hope you don't have to follow this procedure to do it. Considering where the filter goes, I don't see whey Chrysler didn't just have a rectangular hole with waterproof cover that could be removed to allow installation and replacement of the filter.
 
#25 ·
Great info. A quick question... I don't know if any of you feel the same, but the Challenger air conditioning/blower is not the best. Does the filter further restrict airflow which in turn decreases airflow into the cabin?
 
#26 ·
I didn't notice any difference in airflow.
 
#27 ·
Thanks, just installed mine yesterday and also didn't notice a decrease in air flow into the cabin. (Although the install was a little more difficult than I had expected)
 
#28 ·
Can anyone near the Raleigh area recommend a shop to do this install? I'm waiting to hear back from Hendrick Dodge in Cary at the moment... if not, I may attempt this one myself.
 
#30 ·
rjs - Nope... there's a small "door" with a couple of tabs above the firewall on the passenger side that you simply pop open... should be less than a minute to change the filter...
 
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#31 ·
I just installed mine yesterday. With the tips you guys had mentioned I was able to avoid the problems I had when I installed one in my last car. One thing I wanted to mention. I decided to use my torque wrench to see what torque setting the factory had the windshield wiper nuts and the engine compartment crossmember bolts tightened at. I had set my torque wrench to 12 ft.lbs and every one of the bolts and nuts loosened before hitting that setting.:jawdrop: These were supposed to be at 20 and 25 ft lbs, right? I don't know if they just werent tightened enough to begin with or that is what they are supposed to be and the directions are wrong:scratchhead: I remembered from the last install that when I tried to get to the torque settings in the directions (someone else mentioned this as well) it seemed too tight and I never had gotten it tightened to that torque value. This time, I ended up tightening everything up to 12 ft lbs (not the air filter insert obviously:)) which was tighter than when I started. If anyone else does this mod and has a torque wrench, I'm curious as to what you find the factory tightened nuts and bolts are on these parts.
 
#35 ·
I recently installed mine and I was able to do it without completely removing the cross-bar from the vehicle. I also used only the insert that holds the filter instead of pulling out the whole box.
Here is how you can prevent the cross-car brace from scratching the paint when you shift it around:

Un-bolt it and then lift up one end at a time and slip one of your old socks over the end. Add a bit of tape so it doesn't pull off and Presto!
 
#38 ·
Well, I just put in my air filter and it was one of the most frusterating and annoying things I've ever done on a car. Still, it's done - only took about 3 hours of futzing and general irritation at the bizarre design practices of automotive engineers.
Cliff
 
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