Adam490
HFA Grand High Wizard
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
Didn't see one of these so I figured I'd try and document it as I swapped mine out. About a 20 minute job.
Swapping out my air filter after a little over 2k miles. It still didn't look that bad and I'd have no issue running it for another 500-1k miles... but I had a new one and I was bored.
New air filter element (comes with 2 new gaskets as well):
Tools:
5mm Allen head socket
1/4 or 3/8 socket wrench
Medium (4"-5") extension
Small flat head screwdriver (a pick or pocket knife works too)
Few shop rags
Step 1:
Pop the dump bed back using the dump lever (and open rear doors on 1k5 for better access)
Remove the four push clips that hold the airbox shroud on. There are two on the driver side and two on the passenger side. You should be able to lightly press in on the center of the clip with the small screwdriver to release them. If they are hard to depress it means they are full of mud/funk and I've found hitting them with a little WD-40 will loosen it up. These are easy to break, so take your time. Push the detent in and then use your screwdriver to get under the lip and wiggle them out.
Once those are out you'll see that there's a small peg that goes into a rubber grommet on the passenger side that holds it in place. Just pull up and the shroud will come free. Mine is filthy because this is always covered up by plastic; don't you judge me!
Step 2:
Clean the outside and remove the airbox cover. There are 10 5mm Allen head bolts holding the airbox cover on. These are made of cheese, so treat them as such. Don't use an impact and use a brand new 5mm allen head socket if you've got one. Make sure you clean out the hex heads as they'll more than likely be full of crud. Make certain you've got the Allen fully seated in the bolt before you try to loosen it. All these bolts are captured so don't worry about losing them as you loosen.
This is the bolt most people strip. The crossbar for the headrest/seat back drops down above it and if your extension is too long, it won't let you fully seat the wrench. It also seems to hold the most crud. Shine a light in there and make sure it's cleaned out before you start twisting.
Work your way along and fully loosen all 10 bolts. Slowly remove the airbox lid once they are all loose.
Step 3:
Remove airbox lid, old filter element, and both gaskets. There's a 5mm allen bolt holding the filter element into the housing that you'll need to loosen to remove it (it's captured also, so don't worry about it falling out). A lot of people don't think the gasket is even there, but it will be pressed tight in the groove and be flattened. Use your screwdriver to work it loose while being careful not to damage the channel it sits in. There is one on the airbox lid and one on the filter side of the airbox.
There's a longer gasket included with the new element that goes on the airbox lid. Don't firmly press it into the groove as you work it around or you'll end up with extra slack in the gasket and have to start over. Just lightly press it in and work your way around. Set it aside once you've got the new gasket in. I put a few shop rags in the intakes just to prevent anything from falling in while the cover is off.
Wipe out the filter side of the airbox with a damp shop rag and then make sure to wipe it all dry. Install the smaller gasket included with your new filter in the same fashion as the one you installed on the airbox lid side. I found it easiest to kneel on the middle seat and lean over the bar for most of this.
Step 4:
Reinstall the new filter element and airbox lid. Drop in your new filter and snug up the 5mm Allen bolt. Make sure to pull the rags or whatever you put over the intakes out before installing the airbox lid. I also made sure to clean out all of the Allen heads for the airbox lid with compressed air and WD-40 while I had it off because it was much easier to get to them. Clean out the airbox lid really well; it should have zero residue/dust/mud from your grubby hands in it before reinstalling.
Carefully put the airbox lid back in place and then tighten the Allen bolts by hand with the extension and 5mm Allen socket, working in a criss-cross pattern until you've got all 10 snug. Using the ratchet, tighten the bolts until you feel them bottom out. No need to Hercules these in as the gaskets will compress and do their job (remember, treat the bolts like they are made of cheese....).
Step 5:
Reinstall the airbox shroud. Grab your 4 push clips and the shroud. Push the peg into the grommet on the passenger side to hold the shroud in the correct position while you install the clips. Press the pointed/bottom side of the clip upward to make the button protrude before installing.
Line up the holes and press the button in to lock the clips in. Now you're done and can enjoy many ice cold adult beverages knowing your Pioneer will breathe easy!
Swapping out my air filter after a little over 2k miles. It still didn't look that bad and I'd have no issue running it for another 500-1k miles... but I had a new one and I was bored.
New air filter element (comes with 2 new gaskets as well):
Tools:
5mm Allen head socket
1/4 or 3/8 socket wrench
Medium (4"-5") extension
Small flat head screwdriver (a pick or pocket knife works too)
Few shop rags
Step 1:
Pop the dump bed back using the dump lever (and open rear doors on 1k5 for better access)
Remove the four push clips that hold the airbox shroud on. There are two on the driver side and two on the passenger side. You should be able to lightly press in on the center of the clip with the small screwdriver to release them. If they are hard to depress it means they are full of mud/funk and I've found hitting them with a little WD-40 will loosen it up. These are easy to break, so take your time. Push the detent in and then use your screwdriver to get under the lip and wiggle them out.
Once those are out you'll see that there's a small peg that goes into a rubber grommet on the passenger side that holds it in place. Just pull up and the shroud will come free. Mine is filthy because this is always covered up by plastic; don't you judge me!
Step 2:
Clean the outside and remove the airbox cover. There are 10 5mm Allen head bolts holding the airbox cover on. These are made of cheese, so treat them as such. Don't use an impact and use a brand new 5mm allen head socket if you've got one. Make sure you clean out the hex heads as they'll more than likely be full of crud. Make certain you've got the Allen fully seated in the bolt before you try to loosen it. All these bolts are captured so don't worry about losing them as you loosen.
This is the bolt most people strip. The crossbar for the headrest/seat back drops down above it and if your extension is too long, it won't let you fully seat the wrench. It also seems to hold the most crud. Shine a light in there and make sure it's cleaned out before you start twisting.
Work your way along and fully loosen all 10 bolts. Slowly remove the airbox lid once they are all loose.
Step 3:
Remove airbox lid, old filter element, and both gaskets. There's a 5mm allen bolt holding the filter element into the housing that you'll need to loosen to remove it (it's captured also, so don't worry about it falling out). A lot of people don't think the gasket is even there, but it will be pressed tight in the groove and be flattened. Use your screwdriver to work it loose while being careful not to damage the channel it sits in. There is one on the airbox lid and one on the filter side of the airbox.
There's a longer gasket included with the new element that goes on the airbox lid. Don't firmly press it into the groove as you work it around or you'll end up with extra slack in the gasket and have to start over. Just lightly press it in and work your way around. Set it aside once you've got the new gasket in. I put a few shop rags in the intakes just to prevent anything from falling in while the cover is off.
Wipe out the filter side of the airbox with a damp shop rag and then make sure to wipe it all dry. Install the smaller gasket included with your new filter in the same fashion as the one you installed on the airbox lid side. I found it easiest to kneel on the middle seat and lean over the bar for most of this.
Step 4:
Reinstall the new filter element and airbox lid. Drop in your new filter and snug up the 5mm Allen bolt. Make sure to pull the rags or whatever you put over the intakes out before installing the airbox lid. I also made sure to clean out all of the Allen heads for the airbox lid with compressed air and WD-40 while I had it off because it was much easier to get to them. Clean out the airbox lid really well; it should have zero residue/dust/mud from your grubby hands in it before reinstalling.
Carefully put the airbox lid back in place and then tighten the Allen bolts by hand with the extension and 5mm Allen socket, working in a criss-cross pattern until you've got all 10 snug. Using the ratchet, tighten the bolts until you feel them bottom out. No need to Hercules these in as the gaskets will compress and do their job (remember, treat the bolts like they are made of cheese....).
Step 5:
Reinstall the airbox shroud. Grab your 4 push clips and the shroud. Push the peg into the grommet on the passenger side to hold the shroud in the correct position while you install the clips. Press the pointed/bottom side of the clip upward to make the button protrude before installing.
Line up the holes and press the button in to lock the clips in. Now you're done and can enjoy many ice cold adult beverages knowing your Pioneer will breathe easy!
