Air filters?

[328dabi]

It seems there are no air filters available for these vehicles any longer. I currently have a Mahle LX 76 air filter which has plenty of life. Mann filter c36221 shows as being for this vehicle. I was able to source a single one and bought it but it is to thick and the air box cannot clamp shut with this filter in place. I’ve checked all over and no one seems to stock any filters anymore. What is everyone using for an air filter? 

[gadget73]

I was able to find a very old Purolator NOS, and I have gotten my hands on an NOS Fram for a spare but after those are used up I have no idea.  I was thinking that maybe this winter I'll pull the air box and see if I can make an adapter to use some commonly available filter. Haven't worked out the fine points but probably some hard plastic sheet material with foam rubber around the outside to seal in the air box, and a cutout in the middle that takes the biggest available air filter I can lay my hands on. 

I think my air filter may be slightly different than the BMW one. I'd have to check my cross-reference list which is not handy right now. Either way I can't get the filters so at some point I need to come up with some solution to the issue. 

[328dabi]

I was able to find a very old Purolator NOS, and I have gotten my hands on an NOS Fram for a spare but after those are used up I have no idea.  I was thinking that maybe this winter I'll pull the air box and see if I can make an adapter to use some commonly available filter. Haven't worked out the fine points but probably some hard plastic sheet material with foam rubber around the outside to seal in the air box, and a cutout in the middle that takes the biggest available air filter I can lay my hands on. 

I think my air filter may be slightly different than the BMW one. I'd have to check my cross-reference list which is not handy right now. Either way I can't get the filters so at some point I need to come up with some solution to the issue. 

I’ve cross referenced and checked all over. Found one fram filter on eBay and bought it. Found a couple more knecht (spelling) from Austria but they are about 90 bucks shipped. 

another guy In one of the diesel fb groups mentioned he uses 524 td filters in his m5 because they are cheaper. M5 filters seem to be available but are costly. I wonder if they are a near direct fit. 

[Aldo525]

Original measures of LX76 is about 365 x 260 x 43 mm. There are few Air filters with that dimensions but it is not impossible to find. A quick search on this shows:

Knecht AG244 (maybe you already saw this)

Mann C36172.  This filter is 365 x 264 x 59 mm but those 59 mm have the paper filter plus a "sponge", so I presume you can remove that sponge and this way the height should be close to 43 - 45 mm. 

[328dabi]

Original measures of LX76 is about 365 x 260 x 43 mm. There are few Air filters with that dimensions but it is not impossible to find. A quick search on this shows:

Knecht AG244 (maybe you already saw this)

Mann C36172.  This filter is 365 x 264 x 59 mm but those 59 mm have the paper filter plus a "sponge", so I presume you can remove that sponge and this way the height should be close to 43 - 45 mm. 

I did see the Knecht filter on eBay. Expensive to get here. About 90 dollars shipped.

i currently have a Mahle filter in there which is still good. And I was able to find a Fram new old stock filter so I ordered it as a spare. I’m hoping to find at least one more to keep on reserve. I may end up ordering a Knecht if I can’t find anything else, just to have one more spare before those disappear as well. 

thank you for the information. 

[gadget73]

 

I did some poking and it looks like Ford calls for an E45y-9691-A, which is a Motorcraft FA-1005.  This is the full cross-reference chart that I found.  AF228 is the one that I believe was most recently available but last I spent any time looking for any of these, none of them actually led me to a filter that I could buy reliably. The Fram filters I have are actually something else in the box. Mann I think, but it might be Mahle.  Its definitely made in Germany though. 

 

[328dabi]

 

I did some poking and it looks like Ford calls for an …



 

great info. I was able to source 2 oem filters, so I have 2 factory spares. Both came in bmw boxes and had bmw logos and part numbers printed on them. However, it seems one is made by purolator and the other by Mahle and are labeled with either manufacturers part # in addition to the roundel and bmw part #. 

[Kerrvillian]

Keep an eye on Scamazon too.  That's where I scored mine from.  They were Mann filters and came from Canada in very faded boxes (clearly sitting for a LONG time), but they were cheap and delivered with free shipping.

Something else to hoard while available:  Fuel filter.  The correct Mann filter (far as I know nobody else makes the correct one) is sold as a Champ/Luber-Finer on RockAuto.  Once these are gone, you will have to figure out a new fuel filter setup.  The later filter requires a different water sensor cap from the E34s and late E30's that is very NLA and nearly impossible to find.

[Foonfer]

Funny to see this topic pop up, as I've recently gotten some ads from well known vendors (Turner, Garagistic) for "performance air filters" from a brand called Pipercross.   Does anyone have experience or an opinion about them?  They are about $70 for the E28, shipped.

[Kerrvillian]

Funny to see this topic pop up, as I've recently gotten some ads from well known vendors (Turner, Garagistic) for "performance air filters" from a brand called Pipercross.   Does anyone have experience or an opinion about them?  They are about $70 for the E28, shipped.

For the 524TD?  Share a link if it's for the diesels, everything else is NLA.  I'm gonna assume you're talking about gas cars.  As a rule of thumb, any "performance" air filter isn't going to filter as good as the OEM one.  K&N is well known for being a terrible air filter while flowing slightly better than stock.

[Foonfer]

According to this it fits the 528e, many E30s, an E34, an E32 and 3 E31s...  but not any M30s I think.

https://pipercrossusa.com/products/bmw- ... r-pp-1213b

[Foonfer]

Also there's this original BMW air filter for a variety of M30 and M20-powered BMWs....

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-ai ... 38#fitment
 

[Kerrvillian]

Also there's this original BMW air filter for a variety of M30 and M20-powered BMWs....

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-ai ... 38#fitment

These are M21 powered cars.  You're in the diesel sub-forum.  Other than a loose basis on the M20 block, the drivetrain in these cars shares little in common with their gas counterparts.  The filter for these is a huge panel compared to the gas cars and is pretty much out of production.  Few diesels were sold in comparison to the gas cars, so it's not a huge surprise parts are rapidly drying up for them with so few left on the road.

[Foonfer]

Also there's this original BMW air filter for a variety of M30 and M20-powered BMWs....

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-ai ... 38#fitment

These are M21 powered cars.  You're in the diesel sub-forum.  Other than a loose basis on the M20 block, the drivetrain in these cars shares little in common with their gas counterparts.  The filter for these is a huge panel compared to the gas cars and is pretty much out of production.  Few diesels were sold in comparison to the gas cars, so it's not a huge surprise parts are rapidly drying up for them with so few left on the road.

ooooooh sorry sorry I wasn't paying attention, I thought this was the Tech Talk forum...  

[328dabi]

These are the two oem filters I was able to source. One is made by purolator and the other by Mahle. Other than the additional purolator/Mahle part number, they are identical.