Engine Air Filter
 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I'm stumped.

I just bought a 2004 S Type 4.2L and wanted to change the engine air filter, but I can't get the top of the box off.

I undo the latches on the right of it, but it hinges up only a little. On the left of the box, under the intake, it looks like there are more, but the intake won't let me move the top much.

Do I need to remove the intake from the top, or is there some other trick to getting the top off?

It is always much easier to remove the entire air filter box from the vehicle in order to pop the latches and remove the top. One 10mm nut holds the air filter box in place. The nut is easy to spot between the side of the air filter box and the inside of the fender....

As Jon mentioned, it's really better to pull the entire air box out of vehicle to replace air filter. Be aware that most big box air filters may say they fit the S Type but they are slightly larger and will cause lean codes down the road. You csn search here for many owners who purchased the incorrect filters and their related headaches.

I'm putting in a K&N Filter. I have used them in all my cars, including the 88 XJ6 I owned.

Glad to know that you have experience with the K&N filters.

What is the matter with the paper air filter element?

Search this forum for comments about aftermarket air filters and MAF issues.

Cost. A good paper filter is $15 to $20. A K&N is a one time investment of $45. You just need to clean it every couple of years.

Good luck with saving every last $ that way...

YouTube can be useful with "How to" do DIY jobs on cars.
This is for a 2005 3 litre V6 but it might give you a few pointers for the V8 which will be a slightly different config.

I thought this was a forum for fellow Jaguar owners to share tips and help others. Not indulge in uncalled for sarcasm to a new member.

Jeez, after watching that video, the idea of installing a K&N seems like a perfect choice. I shudder at the idea of having to go through that every 4- 6 months.

Thank you for that Busa

I cant help but feel that this was all to do with Ford's culture when they took over at Jaguar for a while.
Ford's philosophy I believe was to make sure that no matter how simple the job, it required at least several hours labour and extensive
dismantling using a comprehensive tool collection.
I remember when I needed to change the windscreen washer motor on my Mondeo GhiaX with the 2 litre Zetech engine.
The motor was at the bottom of the front washer bottle behind the front offside inner wheel arch.
However it was about a 3 hour job for me without removing the entire front bumper as recommended by the workshop manual.
Crazy designers at Ford, but its all about main dealer income.

Back to your K&N, the Jaguar's fueling may need some setting up for that.

A drop in filter in the original airbox is one thing, but a full K&N induction kit is another animal.

There's no need to change the OE filter anything like so often even in severe/harsh environments - and Chicago isn't one. Maybe follow what the OE say?

I think you misinterpret jagv8...I have been a member a short time and have been ribbed by him myself....all in fun...he is one of the best with knowledge and going the extra mile...just saying

I think you have misinterpreted jagv8...I am a fairly new member and he has ribbed me too...all in fun...he is one of the most knowledgeable and upfront members I have seen and will go the extra mile...just my take

sorry folks for the double reply..got computer dumb for a few minutes

Arelem,

The dude in the video is a bit of a gorilla. No need to separate the hose from the top of the air box. Just undo the clamp at the aluminum air horn (throttle body) and pull the hard-plastic tube out of the back of it just inboard of the resonator and take the entire mess out. Another thing, based on what's shown in the film, I can almost guarantee the gorilla spent awhile on his hands and knees searching under the car for the base of his scrivit. Get both pieces out of there before you lift out the assembly. (2003's have 2 of these)

Once removed, sit down somewhere close to the ground and brace the lower half of the box between your legs to open it. The bottom is nowhere near flat and is designed to slip out from under you as you work with it. One slip in the wrong direction and you'll crack or break it and be hounded by P0171/0174 until you fit a replacement air box. Once you disengage the clips on the outboard end, the top needs to pivot (clip end up) a significant angle to allow the tabs to slide out of the keepers on the inboard end. This is why you want to remove the whole box from the car for this evolution. In situ, even if you detach the hose from the top of the box, the hose-nipple crashes into the engine (at least on the 3.0L) before you get where you need to be for full disengagement. But it is close....just close enough to tempt the ham-fisted, who end up breaking their air box getting that last little bit of tilt needed.....

I've used K&N's on both X202's and 2 of 3 X300's (1 of 3 is a garage queen/project car) for 5-10 years and several hundreds of thousands of miles, depending when I obtained which car with nary a problem. Don't over-oil and you should be fine.

I finally tackled the air filter a couple weekends ago. I followed the video as far as I could but, being mine is a V8, this diverged quickly. Especially since loosening the second hose clamp would have entailed taking the plastic top on the engine off to get to it.

What I ended up doing was taking the one bolt holding the air box to the frame out, loosening the first hose clamp, removing the sensor and removing both screws on either side of the air intake behind the grille. This allowed me to pull the box up enough that I could pop it open and pull the old filter out and drop the K&N in.

No problems so far, mechanically or digitally.

Thank you all for the input. :icon_biggrin:

Glad to hear you worked it out, I'm of the same school of working it out myself and not using manuals except when necessary.
Sometimes a little encouragement works.

Decided to fit the new air filter on mine today. It's been sat on the garage shelf for long enough.
The car is the late 2002 model. Early body shape but some parts shared with the revamped model.
Its on the cusp.
Easy enough job but fiddly.
I disconnected the intake tube at the filter housing and at the alloy intake manifold. I unplugged the multi pin connector to the intake tube near the filter end. The filter housing top needs to be angled upwards at the bolt end to slide off the 3 hooks at the intake end. Removing the bolt was obviously necessary. Them I had full access to the filter and housing.
The filter was nasty. Hands up I should have changed it sooner. Not the dirtiest filter I've seen.
I spent some time cleaning out the inside of the filter housing when clean cloth, spray cleaner and a small vacuum cleaner. That was very mucky too. Might as well do the job properly.
Problem is the new filter doesn't fit. It's 1cm less on the width and 1.5cm over on the length. That's the actual filter element size. So I'll have to buy another in town tomorrow morning.