ok guys i bought this Camaro 95 Z28 that the guy before me had that K and N air filter FIPK i think its called, anyways i was looking under the hood and wanted to check the filter to see how dirty it was, i went underneath the car to remove the tray and to my surprise i find the cone air filter laying there with the metal ring also, it had fallen off i guess sometime before but not sure how long this guy been driving without knowing that it had fallen off ( what a stupid stupid design) , im going back to stock.....so anyways the air filter was very very dirty ( which is good that means it was on there for a bit) second how much damage you think was done to my car??? i took out the mass air hose to see and the mass air had a piece of small leafe on it but otherwise seemed clean....the honeycomb filter maybe on the mass air traped some particles such as the leaf but please let me know what should i do, and should i be worried about this, the car seems to run just fine...please let me know what you think.

 

If any damage was done, it is too late to worry about it. A few leaves won't hurt the engine, but a lot of dirt & dust will. If the engine runs good, oil pressure is good, and does not burn oil, don't worry about it. Just put a filter on it and call it a day.

 

Do you think if i go to an oil and lube place and ask them to change my oil and then do the internal engine shampoo they call it , would that help any ? thanks

 

DO NOT get one of those internal engine cleanings. Believe it or not the gunk that has built up in the engine will not cause any harm unless it becomes dislodged and then run through the bearings. This is what the "shampoo" treatments do. If it is done on a new engine every now and then it is good but to do it on an older engine that has never had it done... well you get the idea. Also sometimes that sludge keeps the oil in where it belongs.

A little driving around with the air filter off usually does not cause any damage unless you are in really dusty dirty areas like the desert.

Massey

 

Thank you very much for your input, great help.

 

i would say the air filter was not put on properly. never had that happen with the k&n that i had. if me i would clean it and put it back on.

 

you know thats exactly what i did, i was gonna go back to stock but i went out and bought another filter for 40 bucks....it took me over an hour to get it on properly cause i had to remove the undertray,, i made sure everything was tight now....and i only did that cause it seems like everyone that has it was happy with it and it it does actually work, i also picked up an air foil and installed it, not sure if it does anything but i gotta a deal on it...