Glovebox rattle - cabin air filters

[atraudes]

So since I bought the car, I've had an annoying buzz in the glovebox area. It presents itself in certain situations, generally some combination of speed, road condition, and RPMs. I've tried tracking it down a few times and until yesterday never had any luck since it would sometimes go away for weeks at a time. However, last night on a hunch I pulled the glove box and cabin air filters out. Went for a drive, noise is gone. Put the filters back in, buzz comes back. So now I'm happy that I found the problem, but I'm not sure what to do about it. I noticed there's no foam on the far end of the filter (the end that goes into the housing) and while digging around Amazon, I saw that a few did. For reference, the filters I'm currently using are Napa branded (so I'm guessing Wix). Here's an example of some with foam wrapped around the far end:



My question: has anybody else run into this? What brands have you used and with what outcome? I'm thinking for the time being I may just glue a strip of terry cloth to the corners and see if that fixes it.

[04pathse]

Found these on eBay, they appear to have the foam.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parts-Master-94 ... df&vxp=mtr

[fueler]

I use OEM, never had a problem.

[bgruhn76]

WHat year first came with cabin air filters? I have 2000, but have not seen where it could be. Mine too old?

[rgk]

I believe all Infinitis after a certain year and some LE Pathfinders came with them. Remove your glovebox and see if behind it you have two vertical strips with a clip at the bottom as part of the vent system. These are the removable filters.

If not, you may still be able to cut the venting system and insert them. This is essentially what dealers did when someone paid the $35 to have them installed on a Pathfinder. There is a how-to thread on Nicoclub dedicated to this: how-to-replace-cabin-air-filter-t440515.html

[bgruhn76]

Nice!!! Thanks! I will look this weekend.

[attofarad]

I replaced my wife's OEM ones with these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010EEO0W

They do not have the far-end foam (at least from the product photo -- it has been a while so I don't remember), but I don't have the noise.

I rated these as "okay." They don't have as many pleats as the OEM filters, but they were cheaper.

[attofarad]

Found these on eBay, they appear to have the foam.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parts-Master-94 ... df&vxp=mtr

There is a second photo in that listing, without the foam. I guess you can ask the seller, or just order, to see what you get.

[atraudes]

As an update, I bought some filters with the extra foam at the end like I pictured and 04pathse linked to. I installed them today and while it reduced the rattling drastically, it was still there. I ended up flipping the bottom up upside down and reinstalling and clipping them to each other. It took more effort to get it in, but the rattle is completely gone! If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid, right? The quiet drive was sublime.

If anyone wants the filters I just pulled out, they're yours for the cost of shipping! They were only used for a few hundred miles and don't even have any visible dirt on them. They rattled for me, but apparently nobody else has this problem

[rgk]

Sold! I'll PM you.