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Cabin Air Filter, DIY for $12 bucks

99K views 52 replies 36 participants last post by  krsna 
#1 ·
Just did mine today, went to WallMart and picked up great air filter for $12 bucks.

-Pulled out the nasty filter elements from the little plastic frames.

-Trimmed new electrostatic filter to fit.

-Popped it in. Reassembled... Done.

Took about 45 minutes, including manufacturing, and cleaning of parts. (I always clean parts before reassembling, you never know when you'll be in there again)

-And I have enough filter element left over to do it at least 2 more times :D

Glove box push pins pushed, glove box swinging


Drive 8 hours down then up I-95 just before i got here, should have taken a nap. The one plug that is circled in blue with an arrow pointing to it that says "Yes" is the only plug you need to remove. The other part of that plug which remains attached to the dash, will be a pain to work with when you try to hook it back up. Its cord is very short, you have to figure a way to prop the glove box up close enough to hook them back together when re-installing


Remove the plug from the thermostat sensor. Then pop off the 4 snap clips holding the sensor assembly in place, be careful not to shoot one into your eye. Don't ask how I know that...:mad:


Remove sensor assembly, pull the bottom out slightly, then slide it down a little until the 2 top tabs disengage. Flip that bad boy over, and clean with a stiff brush.


Pull out bottom filter element using handy anti vibe tab (Crunch, begins to wonder if dealership really did change filters like I asked (and paid!) them too)


Slide top filter element down a little, then pull it out the same way


Top filter out: Crunch REALLY wonders now how much he paid the dealership to do this, then sneaks glance at gun safe...


Simply pull out internal filter elements from frame. I thought they would be glued in or something... nope just stuffed in there. Crunch is happy he does not have to build frames from scratch. (makes a side bet that all new OEM filters come with these perfectly re-usable filter frames)


My new filter material. Filtrete 1200 electrostatic household filter 20"x25"x1" Many filters are the same price but different sizes, I simply picked the filter i wanted then selected the biggest size that did not change the price. This leaves me with extra filter material. I can probably squeeze out 2 more element changes with this single household filter. (Technically makes DIY filter change cost $4 bucks)


After some experimentation cutting the filter element to size, to include:

Sheet metal cutters- The wire mesh slid between the blades, and didn't cut the fiber element. NoGo

My new favorite toy: the Rotary Tool- The cutoff disk made short work of the wire mesh, then promptly caught up in the fiber, twisted my wrist, and managed to throw itself 15' across my concrete floor. Luckily not at me. NoGo

Simple pair of household scissors- Should have tried them first, cut easily through the fiber and the wire mesh. WiN


New filter element installed, wire mesh to the rear in proper position. I cut it slightly larger than the frame size, then trimmed it up with the scissors.

To figure out how much I should stuff inside the filter frames, I counted the folds in the old filter and added the exact same number. I then pressed all the folds together to make sharp corners (they are more rounded in the big household filters) Then inserted compressed element into the frame and stretched it to fit.

No glue was necessary, it all fit in securely.


Since you have everything out, and keeping with my belief that you should clean anything you take apart, you might as well add $8 bucks onto the cost (still keeps you under the OEM cost + shipping)

Squirt this stuff throughout your air ducts, follow directions on the bottle.

Just make sure your looking at the right bottle ;)
 
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#3 ·
Or you could hang out at a Subaru dealership and wait until someone has their cabin air filter replaced.

Recover old filter from bin, discard old elements, and keep the frames.

;)
 
#9 ·
yakfishing said:
I have an 03 OBW and have been told by an auto parts person and Subaru dealer that I DON'T have a passenger cabin filter. Are they both wrong?

Jay
^^^
I was told the same thing. Tomorrow I'm pulling it all apart myself to add a filter or replace whatever I find on my '00 OBW. Should be interesting! I'll take pics. and post back.

OP has an LL Bean so maybe that option package included a cabin filter?

T
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
Please help me...

remove the damper rod from the glove box pin without damaging either. It's a push pin, but how do you remove it. Do I use a screwdriver to pry it out with a pair of pliers squeezing the pin? I have very bad luck with plastics. I would hate to replace the glove box because of a broken plastic pin.

Thanks,

:mad:
 
#19 ·
I was in this area of the of my car, to I decided to take a look inside the filter chamber (my o2 OB didn't come with filters). It was rather clean, but then I got excited at the thought of putting filters in there, so I looked at this DYI again to see what I needed to do and noticed one thing. My resistor does not have the fins like on the picture below, jut a flat sheet of metal. Do the filtered models have this and the unfiltered not? Just wondering if it makes a difference if I decide to get some cabin filters?
Thanks

 
#22 ·
Cabin air resistor/fins

I was in this area of the of my car, to I decided to take a look inside the filter chamber (my o2 OB didn't come with filters). It was rather clean, but then I got excited at the thought of putting filters in there, so I looked at this DYI again to see what I needed to do and noticed one thing. My resistor does not have the fins like on the picture below, jut a flat sheet of metal. Do the filtered models have this and the unfiltered not? Just wondering if it makes a difference if I decide to get some cabin filters?
Thanks
I just did the cabin air filter procedure today, and I discovered also that my resistor does not have the fins, but definitely did have the filters installed. I remember that the cabin air filter system was an extra option in '01 that my mom paid extra to have put in her '02 OBW 2.5.

I found tons of leaves and twigs in there, and the filters were beyond disgusting! So glad I had this write-up to guide me through!:29:
 
#20 ·
Thank you!

Fantastic post. I knew there was a filter somewhere but couldn't find it for the life of me. Disassembled the dash a couple of times and it was right there all along. The thermostat is what threw me off. Why does it have to be behind a panel... Unlike the 2010's that have an easily accessible cartridge that you can swap out with only lowering the glovebox. Installed a fancy furnace filter and good to go. The only issue I can forsee is that the replacement is not nearly as deep as the manufacturer's one. Though, since it's only real purpose is to catch leaves and real debris it should work fine.
Again, awesome job with the post thanks.
To Ursina, does your car have the climate control console, or just the normal AC selector? That might be a reason. Maybe the 02's were just "special".
 
#21 ·
Did mine last weekend. Piece of cake with the directions. Mine had been in there almost 3 years. I am going to post the pictures this weekend. It was BLACK with tree seeds stuck in it. Surprised that it did not have something growing in there.
:cool:
 
#24 ·
Thanks

I hate to raise old posts....BUT

This OP was VERY helpful!! Thanks!

I wasn't sure how to change this filter out or where they were. Your post was very helpful.

I found the filters to be icky...yes icky...imaging that. I bought the car used with 75k mi on it and am going through all the filters and things that need to be checked. Tough to get the glove box out at first but it worked out ok.

Doing this on a sunday I had no parts store near so I cleaned the filters and will buy new ones soon!!
2003 Outback LL Bean
 
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