I just picked up a K&N filter and want to replace the stock panel filter. But I'm not much of a mechanic and need step by step instructions.. I see the two hex bolts in front of the air box, but don't know how the battery terminal detaches or what the required procedure is for doing this. Can anyone help? I know it cannot be too difficult. This is for my 2005 MCS that's totally stock.

Thanks.

 

Battery thinger detaches by slowly pulling up on it (it will unclip). Most difficult air box I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

 

Yep... battery detaches by just pulling up and pushing it off to the left (as you are looking down on it. Loosen the 2 hex bolts and pull the top half of the clamshell up. It shouldn't be too hard to get in there... just use the location of the old filter as a guide to drop in the new one.

 

Not bad compared to the Nissan 300ZX. That you had to disassemble part of the nose and then disassemble two air boxes. What a pain.

The MINI is not easy but not really that bad.

 

The best possible source:

http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Cooper-Se...9402654&sr=8-2

 

I ended up doing the following: (this being my first and only under bonnet adjustment to date, it is painfully detailed)
- unscrew torx screws
- un-clip battery terminal (takes a little bit if pulling up and pushing to the left
- un-clip the intake tube (uses flat-head screwdriver to loosen hose clamp) from top of filter housing. Pull hose off filter housing top.
- lift up front of lid a bit, push back to un-hook from "hinges", lift off
- remove old filter, marvel at dirt
- drop in new filter
- reverse process. (re-clip back, connect hose, screw screws
(use regular pliers to pull hose clamp closed once hose is back in place)
- await enormous HP gain
- settle for satisfaction that engine in "breathing easier" and you don't have to discard used filters anymore.

have fun.

-

 

Thanks folks.. GREAT help.. really! I don't expect any HP boost but since I did the one ball and added some cool tips, I want the Blue Meanie to breath easier and you've all helped to that end!!

 

Great info. This is my first Euro car and I am not sure, as well, how to loosen the matel clapse that secure the plastic tube. Will the metal get weaken after bending it up and down for tightening?

 

Dont remove the clasp on the tubing, just take the four large torx bit bolts off the cover for the intercooler and remove the intercooler cover. You can then manuever the lid out without any issues. Why they didnt shape that intercooler cover with the top right corner slanted or curved is beyond me.

 

Or just as easy replace the stock clamp with a metal hose clamp.

 

Removing the intercooler cover like lordgrinz said made things much easier. (No mods necessary...extremely simple Thanks lordgrinz!) Just don't do what I (and apparently others) have done...drop a screw into the engine bay. My mistake was leaving the screws in the cover and trying to put it on with the screws in the cover. (Ironically, this was in an attempt to prevent myself from losing the a screw) So, it's best to carefully take the screws out and set them someplace safe.

Once you get the intercooler cover and the battery terminal out of the way, push the top of the airbox forward and manuver it out. It's really a piece of cake. If I hadn't lost a screw, I could have installed the filter and had everything put away in about 10 minutes or less.

 

that metal clamp is a POS - still fighting with it.

In any case, is the KN filter much better than stock or light a purolator one? I am not really looking for a HP boost - ideally just a better quality filter, and ideally a HP boost.

 

The trick to getting the stock hose clamp back together is grabbing across the crimped section with a pair of pliers. This pulls the clamp back tight, and the little hooked end will climb up over the tab and snap into place. All of this assumes that you didn't deform the clamp when removing it, of course.
Alternatively, there's a cheap tool for pinching these types of clamps shut that you can get at an auto parts store which works perfectly.

 

Not really, no. The only real benefit to a K&N is that it can last the lifetime of the car because it's washable. You can pick-up a K&N recharge kit at most Autozone's, Pep Boys, Advanced, etc...

 

i might just beg that one crimping clamp and buy a straightforward screw-driven clamp - that would work, no? I must've damaged the existing one, as it will not clamp, even if I take it off of the inlet.

 

btw - xymox, I bought your exact same car, used, like 2 weeks ago -

dark silver, white roof, white bonnet stripes, sport and premium packages, and I think convenience, rear backup, etc. I installed the XM Direct as well

 

Yeah, that was a real PITA the first time I did that.

The solution (which is somewhere here on NAM) provided by Randy Webb, is to use the smallest Craftsman channel lock pliers available at Sears.



The type on the far right---get the smallest version.

Those pliers were made like they were for putting that clamp back on!

 

Oh, and when you put back the two screws in the front of the box, do not overtighten them. Just use light hand tightening. They screw into the lower plastic part of the box and you can easily strip the plastic.

 

ok, here's a thought - I realize that it isn't a BMW-certified part, but wouldn't this work -

Stainless steel, < $2.

http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/...se-clamps.aspx

 

The stock clamp sits in a groove on the hose, so unless these clamps are the proper width, you won't have a nice finished look to the intake.

 

I didn't think I'd have a problem putting the metal hose clamp back on... is this the only solution? I'd rather not have to buy another tool, but I will if that's the only way to get the metal hose clamp back on...

What else have you NAMers done to get the hose clamp back on?

 

Thanks, your instructions really helped with my first filter change. The clip re-attach had me stuck for a while but wire nosed pliers helped to cinch it back togeather.

 

Just did the new worm drive clamp method. But then again I was going to the M7 cai box on one car and a 1/3 price homemade copy of it on another.