A lot of people don't realize the fact that they need to get their air filter changed every now and then. You have to consider that when the air filter becomes clogged or dirty, it will rob your car of power that will make it hard for your car to climb hills and even the freeway ramp. A clogged or dirty air filter will also mean poor mileage. In fact, it can take 10 minutes worth of gas. Although this doesn't seem like much, you will see that replacing the dirty or clogged air filter will be able to save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.
To change the air filter, the first thing you need to do is locate it and open the filter housing. Open your hood and locate the air filter. If your car was made in the last 20 years, the air filter will usually be a black plastic case with metal clips on the sides. You will also see a black tube going into the plastic case.
To open the filter housing, you need to flip the metal clips downward. If it is too tight to do by hand, you will need the help of a flat head screwdriver to pop it off. There are some housings that will also have a nut holding it on the top.
After removing the nuts of your filter housing, it is important that you should keep the nuts in a safe place. You can put them in your pocket or anywhere but wherever you put it, always remember that you should not forget about them or put in a place where you can easily lose them.
Now, you need to remove the old filter. The filter may be round or rectangular in shape. Whatever the shape is, you will see that the filter will have lots of folded paper that is surrounded by rubber. Before you remove the old filter, you need to observe and remember how it sits in the housing. By doing this, you will be able to place the new filter correctly. To remove the filter, you need to pull it out carefully and make sure that nothing falls into the bottom of the box.
The next step is to put the new filter in place. When installing it, you need to be sure that you are putting it in the same configuration like the one you recently removed. The great thing about it is that even if you make a mistake, you will know about it as you won't be able to get the top closed. Once you get the new filter in place, you also need to make sure to press the rubber gasket of the filter all the way into the groove of the housing.
The last step is driving off with a brand new air filter with the knowledge that you did it yourself and save a bit of money on the process. Installing a new air filter will usually take less 10 minutes. It is easy to do and you don't need a lot of tools or even a vast knowledge or experience about car repair to do it.
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