Just changed my air filter on my Jag and Was curious what does the Air Filter and Cabin Air do and what are the benefits. This is my first car and I've been learning as I go on but just wanted some insight.

Why is my cabin air bent like that? And Air Filter changed at 110k previous owner must have missed that. Thank you

 

Daniel, first things first, the purpose of any filter is to remove some unwanted particle/gas from a system. So, if you think about your air filters (both engine and passenger compartment), their purpose is to keep dust/dirt out of the associated area. In the case of the engine, if you allowed just any air into the engine, some dirt/dust is going to make it into the engine. Potentially, the sucked in particle can be as hard if not harder than the cylinder components. If that particle was to get lodged between the ring and the cylinder wall, it would scratch it. This then affects the seal that the cylinder makes and then allows part of the combustion of the cylinder to leak out of the cylinder, resulting in less power and more particulate in the oil (which then leads to more things that can scratch the cylinder wall, and well, you can see where this is going).

In the case of the passenger compartment, you are simply trying to keep not only dust out of that area, but if you get the one with charcoal in it, it will help keep unwanted smells out too. As for why the filter is bent up, most likely it is due to someone either not putting the cowl on correctly and let the cowl strike the filter or they stuck their hand in under the cowl in an attempt to do something and bent the crap out of the filter in the process.

As for the engine air filter looking like it has never been changed, actually, that looks about right for one that has most likely been in for about 20K miles (30,000 KM), which is right about when you want to change the air filter for that style of filter. if you watch our mileage, you can get a feel for when the engine needs something. Normally you will see the mileage at some value and then you will see it start to taper off (get worse). If you changed your oil about 4,000 miles ago, then it is probably oil. If you just changed your oil and the mileage dips, then most likely it will be the air filter. If those two don't fix it, then you are looking at something else. Granted, in a lot of cases, you will get the check engine light first to indicate where the problem lies.

 

Thanks Thermo Always count on you when I see you post on any Thread. Cheers

 

Here is a GREEN FILTER (https://greenfilter.com/) an even higher quality than K&N, etc. installed in an over-the-radiator housing as part of a Chevy LS3 swap in a 1972 Jaguar XJ6.