Pwnin O’Brien wrote:
Nope, when I first bought my car I bought replacement filters and realized I would have to cut the holes out and just decided against it and I returned the filters to the dealer.

take it we have to be very precise in the cutting huh?

edit:: i cut the holes and put the filters intoday,alot easier theni expected
Modified by Innovazn at 4:48 PM 3/30/2010

First installed filters about 2 years ago, after reading about the process here on this forum. My Pathy didn't have them as OEM.Decided this weekend to pull them out and replace them again.Amazing how dirty they get, and I don't drive on back roads or anything.Here's a pic of the old and new side by side.Guess which ones are the new ones? LOL.Took me less than 15 minutes BTW.

I am gonna make a wild guess and say the white ones on the right are the new ones....

That is nasty, I guess it is safe to assume without the filters, I have inhaled that much dirt thu the vents x5 (since Path is now 10 years old)....

I think it is time for me to install some!!

I knew you'd guess right...LOL.One other side effect of having these filters that hasn't been discussed (that I know of anyway.):Since I installed them, I've noticed that the inside of my windshield stays a lot cleaner than before.I use my defrost a lot (cold climate), and the inside of the glass always got hazy. Sort of like if I was a smoker (which I'm not).I'd have to clean it almost on a monthly basis. Now I clean it maybe twice a year. Big difference.I also have a 2006 Altima, and it gets hazy pretty quick.I think I'll check this weekend if it has, or can be fitted, with cabin filters.Cheers.

Buzz,That is something that always drives me crazy, the windows are always hazy & I dont smoke. Hope to check it out tomorrow when I replace caliper. Thanks for added info/incentive.

Hey all, finally reved glovebox etc, broke a tab where it would not remove from the clip. Be careful as stated guys. Hopefully I epoxy the plastic back together. Does anyone have some pics of what exactly to cut out? From Qxxx4's pic it looks like the rightmost tabs. In the courtesy parts how to diagram it looks like middle tabs-their picture is really vague. Picked up some Fram "Fresh Breeze" filters, pricey $35. If anyone has a closeup of what exactly they cut it would be appreciated. Thanks Much

Wasnt rocket science. Only right most tabs will work. Cut them out with a utility knife. The Fram filters didnt fit in the opening "perfectly" but were close. Thanks again to Qxxx4 for the pics and everyone else who chimed in as well. Looking forward to cleaner windows.

Thank you so much for this!!! Always wondered why my air smelt bad. lol I don't think the previous owner ever changed it. 2001 qx4 and i got this 2006.

Check it out:

Ouch! That's just plain gross.
If those pics don't motivate others to replace them, then nothing will.

FYI, after my last post in April (this thread), I checked my 2006 Altima.
It had the factory filter installed already. It was pretty nasty as well. (but not as bad as Yakabod).
I changed it out pronto.

It was gross. That's why i decided to share it because people need to realize theres more to replace than your usual air or oil filter. Lol

I feel so much healthier now that i have a new cabin air filter. Thx again!!!

I bought my 2001 pathfinder in 2001 brand new and never changed these filters... I did not even know they were there... here is what they look like... pretty nasty looking

I got my new filters at a local AutoZone for 18.95 plus tax for the pair. STP brand


Just to add my two cents if it helps anyone, since I have found all kinds of information from the people in this forum I would like to give some back. I found to remove the old ones it is easier to hold the top filter up and to your right then slide the bottom one out 1st then remove the top one... and when inserting the new filters same thing put the top one in 1st and hold it to the right and then slide the bottom one in. The instructions that came with the filter states to insert the filter and hold it to the right not saying to do the top or bottom first and I tried to naturally put the bottom one in first and then slide the top one in... does not work... the top one has to go in first and be held to the right then slide the bottom one in. Both filters are identical so they can go in either top or bottom just the clip notch has to be towards the bottom on both the top and bottom. Replace the bottom clip and you are good to go. The filters are the two vertical white things in the center of the picture below.


And as 2Coupes has already pointed out there are 9 screws that have to be removed... one is hidden behind the small panel 2Coupes panel was wood grain mine was not as seen in the top picture below and the second picture at the top right hand corner of the glovebox frame you can see I was not aware of the ninth screw and i broke the screw hole.




Again thanks for this forum and the information posted up in here...

So I took a look at my filters (NAPA Gold) which were in use for about a year now. Sorry about the poorly lit photos, forgot to turn on flash:





I don't think they're awful, and I'm not noticing any bad odors when using the fan. A couple leaves fell out when I removed the filter. I tapped the filters to remove any loose debris and put them back in. I'll continue running them for 6 months, then replace them.

This was the contents of the uh, airbox?



Not full of leaves, so I'll vacuum it when I replace the filter. I've seen much worse. I tried unsuccessfully to remove the bottom airbox assembly to better access the area to vacuum, but failed. I removed the front clip and the 4 visible screws, but it didn't come off with a little force so I gave up and buttoned it back up.

I then removed the blower motor to check if there were any leaves, etc caught in the squirrel cage:



None. It is quite dusty, however:



Here is its housing:


What's all the red stuff? Hope it's not rust... (damn, I should've wiped the plastic clean while it was out)

I removed the blower motor to check for debris build up. I found this TSB that speaks of some blower motor noise (ticking, humming) at lower speeds (1 or 2). Looks like I'll be needing the cover. I recorded a video of the noise:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts-OoRFLSrw[/youtube]

I have a question.

I have a pre-99 QX4 and I notice the intake air having some odor when the AC first turn on.

What choices do I have to eliminate the odor if the filter doesn't exist ? cut an opening and clean out the box ?

You can cut an opening following these instructions and install a cabin air filter. You should also vacuum the box after cutting an opening.

Took the advice and changed mine also. Like everyone else never been changed and definitely needed.

Hello! This is a picture of my 2001 path. I found no cabin air filters. Does somebody know how to remove what I have and install new filters? Thank you

Can't see your pic but if you scroll up, take a look where the filters go. If you don't have slots there you have to cut them out with a utility knife and the clips to hold the filters in place are to the right of the slots. I remember seeing a how-to for those that don't have the cabin filters from the factory. I cut mine last year and it was pretty easy.

I used a cut-off disk with a dremel to cut out the opening a couple of months ago. It took maybe 5 min. It kind of melted the shavings as I went along, but it cleaned up well.

Hey Towncivilian, I have the exact same noise! Did you manage to get it fixed yet? Also, Do I need two cabin filters, or is it a kit of two?

DAiNiUS wrote:Hey Towncivilian, I have the exact same noise! Did you manage to get it fixed yet? Also, Do I need two cabin filters, or is it a kit of two?

I did fix the ticking. Read this thread. Any cabin filter you buy should include both "halves".

Towncivilian wrote:

Towncivilian wrote:You can cut an opening following these instructions and install a cabin air filter. You should also vacuum the box after cutting an opening.

Thanks for that.

I added cabin filters to my Pathfinder earlier this week. Pretty easy to do, but I used a dremmel type tool. I don't think I could have completely cut the opening with just a utility knife.

Allready a very noticeable difference in air quality. NICE!

I'm the original owner, and OH MY was there a mess of leaves and such in the black box where the filters go (before the ?heater core). I cleaned out most of them with a vaccum.

The ?heater core still seems to have a bunch of finer debri.

?How to get better access to the heater core to carefully give it a good cleaning. -I had to pries apart that black box, and it would only give a little bit.

Thanks.

I also tried to access the evaporator to clean it more thoroughly (but mine had almost nothing in the box, a perk of being garaged for 9 years, so there was no pressing need). I removed a few obvious screws and some clips and tried prying off one half, but I stopped and reassembled in fear of breaking something.

Maybe use some compressed air to blow the dirt away and then vacuum it out - the available space to do this is so small

I have not removed the fan so I don't know if that will give you better access to blow things around - mine was fairly clean and I was able to remove the small stuff on the bottom through the filter slot.


Also - most blower fans are balanced ..........so make sure if you remove the blower wheel you install it on the shaft the same way and don't move any of the balance clips. I normally just blow them off.

yeldogt wrote:Maybe use some compressed air to blow the dirt away and then vacuum it out - the available space to do this is so small

I have not removed the fan so I don't know if that will give you better access to blow things around - mine was fairly clean and I was able to remove the small stuff on the bottom through the filter slot.


Also - most blower fans are balanced ..........so make sure if you remove the blower wheel you install it on the shaft the same way and don't move any of the balance clips. I normally just blow them off.

I don't have a compressor...

Great idea though! Compressed air would do the trick. One could likely fashion a wand to nicely clean out the fins.

BACK TO LIFE, well sort of lol

Hey i just realize i dont have any filters in my 96 QX, if there is no filters then what is in there to trap all the dirt?

See here for installation instructions. Dirt may be caught in the evaporator core. If it's real bad, it would look something like this:



Albeit that's from a WD21/D21 and such build up can be a fire hazard on those vehicles.

Thanks TC amma go check it out right now.

Well sadly, I just went out and removed the glove box and panel where the air filters are supposed to be. However, they are not there. I figured that my 2000 Nissan Pathfinder SE would have them. However, it did not...

They're there, you just need to cut the hole out with an X-Acto knife. See here for installation instructions.