Got My KKM!

[jpoprock]

Got my KKM today and got it installed. However, the screw that the mounting bracket fits on to (which is the bottom left hole for me), stripped as I put it in! I dont' know how it happened cuz it seemed to be going in just fine. So, I can't tell if the screw is stripped or the metal thingy that attaches to my sensor housing (sorry, I can't remember the right word!). I'm hoping that Kurt can will send me a new metal attachment piece and some more screws. I'm assuming that the reason it stripped was my fault, but I sure was careful and didn't expect it to strip.

So, this means that my filter is not braketed to the wheel well. Does it matter if it is?? I don't do any off roading, etc. Do I have to mount it w/ the bracket?

Also, this means my seal isn't so great on that corner, and I too experienced a whistle somewhere between 4500-5300 RPM's and only sometimes. And usually only when it was on the down slope of shifting into the last gear. I bet that once I get a proper seal, it won't whistle. The whistle doesn't totally bother me though.

Thanks!
Jason

 

[jpoprock]

The guys at KKM had a great suggestion: To buy a longer screw with a nut on the end, and just go THRU the stripped hole and put the nut on to secure it! Great idea.

The only thing they didn't answer was: Does it need to be anchored to the wheel well, and just what the whistle might be.

Thanks!
Jason

 

[misconceived]

You sure your installing it correctly?

I have a KKM, it mounts to your alternator not the wheel well.

The whistle is what you get with the new intake....get used to it.

 

[jpoprock]

You know, I don't see how it would ever reach to the alternator. The reason I chose the wheel well was because I read somewhere else where a guy mounted it to the fender well by drilling a hole. It looked like the obvious position to me too. I drilled the first hole closet to the engine, but didn't like the position. So, I drilled another to the left of the first one and it's just right.

Warren at KKM told me it mounts to the front mast. But from the pix he sent, there is NO WAY that this filter on my car will mount there either. See the pix I've taken and please let me know. Thanks!

http://www.jasonsheroan.com/uploads/ford/kkm/

Jason

 

[jpoprock]

Wow, I sent Warren these pix, and would you believe that the KKM isn't supported for 02-03 Explorers! I guess I see now on the site that it doesn't, but I think it may have been corrected by now. I could have swore the date ranges said 98-03, but now it says 98-01. So, it looks like I'll be sending this back.

It's a bummer because it WORKS and my mileage has improved even! I'm not sure why it's not supported though? I emailed them and asked. It fits just fine. The only thing is the mount doesn't mount to anything that it should, which is why I drilled a hole in my wheel well. It works fine (but I lost the mount and they were going to send me another before realizing the error).

I just wish I knew the reason it's not "supposed" to work? Or if I can damage my engine by leaving it on anyway? Guess this means I'll have to see if K&N makes one for the 2002 Explorer 4.0L.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

j

 

[blitzk]

dude, get the K&N FIPK kit... its MUCH better anyways!

Always check K&N first, and go with others as a second choice...

 

[sledneck9]

agreed! go k&n

 

[DMacLennan14]

does anyone have a part number for the K&N FIPK kit? i am looking on the k&n site and i am not seeing it anywhere. thanks. by the way, i have an '04 4.0L eddie bauer.

 

[blitzk]

There isn't one for the 04+ v6's.

I used the one from the 02's, and then took the MAFS metal tube from the KKM kit....

I wish K&N would make one!

 

[jpoprock]

Amazing KKM!

Boy... That Warren Kurtz is a genius! The filter I bought was not supported by KKM for 02-03 4.0L Fords, and I didn't realize that until after the fact. The only thing that's not "supported" is the mounting system. The reason being simply that KKM hasn't had the chance to measure an 02-03 Ford to make one, so he said. However the filter itself works fine.

I could get the factory mount to work, but had to drill a hole thru my fender well and mount it to that. However, in screwing around with all of this, I somehow LOST the original bracket. He said he'd send me another one. But just for kicks, I sent him these pix so he could see what I was talking about on how I was going to mount it:

http://www.jasonsheroan.com/uploads/ford/kkm/

After a week or so passed, I emailed him and asked if he had sent that bracket yet. As luck would have it, he said that he shipped the factory bracket out to me, along with this other bracket that he made for me. I asked him if he found an 02-03 Ford to measure it from, and he said, "nope, I just eyeballed it based off your pictures."

So, I got the new bracket, and I'll be damned if it doesn't fit perfect!! To be honest, I had to bend one of the ends up just a kiss to make it work, but it works. AND, it mounts to an available hole in my alternator! I was simply shocked that he was able to make one based off NO measurements! There were several twists and angles to it too. Very very impressive! Here are some pix of my newly mounted KKM:

http://www.jasonsheroan.com/uploads/ford/kkm-2/

As far as the filter itself goes, it's great. I can really hear my engine breathe, and I have experienced a HP boost for sure. At first I thought my gas mileage had increased by about a gallon or two, but now I'm not so sure that is the case. I think it's back to normal. But I really don't care about that. I did it for the health of my engine. Also, I really don't notice that whistle any more. And if I did, it's only for a brief second, and not all the time. Besides, it's not the filter's fault, it's just the way it is when the engine breathes more, from what I've gathered reading here.

Anyway, for the money, the KKM can't be beat!

The only thing that I would advise to anyone buying a filter such as this or the K&N, is when you oil it, don't OVER oil it. The oil will transfer from the filter to your MAF sensor and screw it up.

Thanks!
Jason