Put a K&N in mine, won't ever worry about buying one again.
That is the first question? How has the K&N worked out so far? I just ordered one and hoping for decent reliability and long term durability.
With the first question out of the way here are a couple of notes and can apply to pretty much all explorers and a lot of vehicles in general. Especially with the models with the filter behind the glove compartment.
The biggest part of the OEM/ Factory installed CAF, is the OEM ones are mass produced and not exactly the highest quality. Yes Made in the USA but I would rather spend a few bucks extra and get better quality with longer term durability.
With that tidbit out of the way. Here goes....
I personaly have had good luck with the FRAM Fresh Breeze CF 11176. Charcoal/carbon filtering media and Arm/Hammer Baking soda to help contain and reduce odor and mildew accumulation. I also spray a fairly liberal coating of Febreeze in the pleats. Give the interior a nice fresh scent through the vents for a few days after installation.
The OEM along with most aftermarket CAF’s are fairly cheap pleats and filtering media. Yes cheap but if they don’t last as long then more expensive overall. Fresh Breeze and some others have Charcoal activated filter bed to help prolong life but still cheap paper thin base.
The Fresh Breeze is a very big step towards longer life but still paper thin base.
Also make a note...The Fresh Breeze and STP filters at least have the part number and airflow direction indicator (Arrow). Stamped on the long side of the filter. That is of course the NON visible side so pay extremely close to the arrow when removing the OEM filter especially during the first time removal of the Factory OEM filter.
I put a cheap STP from AutoZone to replace the Factory filter but that is a temporary measure to avoid putting the dirty filter back in. I have a FRAM Fresh Breeze as a hold over from my 2014 Taurus and will replace at 10K and plan inspection and most likely replace every 10K miles after that.
The point of the arrow on the side is remember the orientation. I used a contrasting color permanent marker and marked the arrow direction on the access panel side for easy reference. I also wrote the date and mileage again as a quick reference.
I just Ordered the K&N reusable/washable should be here over the weekend. That will probably be the next one to go in and either keep th Fresh Breeze as a spare. If I have to use the vehicle while the K&N filter is drying out then some protection is better than none.
Another installation note and could help with future replacement. Tape a piece of masking, painters, or Alligator tape to the filter on the access cover side. You could also use a small ZipTie and cut a small slit in the pleats to route the ZipTie through and route the latch part either under or over the filter pleats. Cut should be about 1/8” at most just enough to slide ZipTie through and loop around to the latching teeth. This will give you a decent place to grip when you have to remove the filter in the future. Grab either with fingers or a hook removal tool. Make sure you don’t cover the airflow direction arrow but as close to center as possible. By pulling the filter from the center the sides will compress towards the center and make it much easier to remove. Yes you will have to repeat the process with new ZipTie for next filter but for only a few cents per tie shouldn’t be a major expense.
I plan to use this method when the K&N arrives and especially since it is reusaythe ZipTie should be able to stay in place for the life of the filter. I will post results after testing. I used the original filter as a test bed for the proof of concept with a approximately 2-3 inch ZipTie and worked fine. You could even leave the excess ZipTie material that extends past the buckle that in most cases gets cut off. That will give you even more of an anchor point to grab the filter.
