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How To: Install a Cabin Air Filter

105K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Dunmunro 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Howdy,

While I had it, my dash tore apart to install a uPAC iPod and Aux Input adapter. I figured that I would also perform a mod I have seen mentioned elsewhere, adding a Cabin Air Filter. In GM's wisdom, they use a lot of the same parts across several marques and models, and the CAF-equippable air box is one of them. If you looked behind your glove compartment, you would see this taunting you :



But what exactly do you need to do before and after cutting on the dashed line?

Required tools & equipment:

A really sharp knife or a Dremel tool with a saw attachment
A 10X20 or 10X30X1 air conditioning filter
A sharp pair of heavy-duty scissors
Duct, Gaffer's, or aluminum tape

Optional:
Glue or other adhesive
Carbon-impregnated pre-filter, cut to size.
Velcro to secure pre-filter to the main filter

How to do it:

1. Open the glove compartment and remove the contents. Squeeze the sides of the glove compartment inward so that you can clear the stops and lower the door.



2. Look carefully at the HVAC air box that is behind the glove compartment door. You will see an area surrounded by a dashed line that contains the message CUT ON DASHED LINE TO ADD FILTER. Using your knife (be careful, the plastic is thick and firm) or Dremel tool, cut along the dashed line. Note: in the picture below, the yellow circles and ovals highlight where the removable filter door attaches to the cars that are so equipped. I don't know the part number, but you might be able to find it by checking the Saab 9-3 parts manual, as it supposedly has a CAF.



3. Remove the cut piece. I used mine as a gauge to measure how deep the cutout is. It turned out to be 8 inches - but not according to this ruler:





4. Measure and cut your air filter to size. I recommend cutting it between 1/8 and 1/4 inch short.

UPDATE: Someone on the G6P forums did this mod and posted that the Fram CF10361 fits fine. Better than the hack job I did below!



5. Optional but recommended step: Cut a piece of heavy paper (I used the insert from the filter package), cardboard, or similar to form a complete frame for the filter. Another thing you could do is cut the filter about 9 inches long, cut the cardboard frame back to 8 inches, then shove the whole thing in to get a seal.



5a and 5b. I added a carbon-impregnated pre-filter to reduce noxious odors coming in from the outside. To do this, I added glued-on velcro tabs the media can grab. See the post below for images.

My final filter size, including the pre-filter, is 10 inches wide (the cutout width) by 8 inches (the depth) by 1 inch (most A/C filters are actually about 3/4" thick).

6. Install the filter into the air box. Note the airflow direction arrow on the filter should be pointing DOWN as the outside air comes in from the top of the box as it is drawn by the fan.



7. Seal the air box with your choice of tape. I used Gaffer's tape since it will leave far less residue than duct or aluminum tape and also will be easier to remove when it's time to change the filter.



8. Wrap the remaining filter up in plastic and save it for the future.



9. Enjoy your clean air!

~ MattInSoCal
 
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#6 ·
Even if you could find and purchase the door and corresponding air filter, you still need to cut out the opening in the air box. Unless of course you want to buy a new air box too.

But yeah, if anyone has the opportunity to research the 9-3 and see if it is truly the option, and best of all can find the part number, we'd have a truly nice add-on.

By the way, I updated the original post with the final filter size. The "official" filter with the cover is 10.05 X 8.75 or something close to it.

~ MattInSoCal
 
#8 ·
What exactly does this do?
 
#10 ·
It filters the incoming air to remove larger pollutants (dust and such), and depending on the filter you use, bad smells and maybe even pollen.

I thought the G6 didn't have a real cabin air filter and this filter isn't supposed to be replaced.
It doesn't have a cabin air filter at all. There's a screen on the intake side to filter out leaves and branches and such. Smaller particles like dust and even sand will pass right through.

~ MattInSoCal
 
#9 ·
I thought the G6 didn't have a real cabin air filter and this filter isn't supposed to be replaced.
 
#13 ·
Home Depot. Supposedly there is a commercially manufactured filter that fits correctly. Someone on the G6P boards mentioned they got it at Wally World and even gave a part number. I haven't logged in over there in the longest time but you should be able to find it in moments using search.

Sure was a beautiful day in San Diego today/yesterday!

~ MattInSoCal
 
#14 ·
Wow, that's freakin expensive

Update:

Today I went to Wally World to buy the Fram CF10361 filter. just shy of $30 out the door. It fits side-to-side but sticks out of the housing about 3/16". My ghetto Home Depot approach cost me less than $10 for 3 filters worth of material. The Fram filters (made in China, it says so) have paper on all four sides, no worse than the home-made job. So, use that information to decide how much money you want to spend. No matter what you do, note that the air flows from the top of the box down, so if your filter has an arrow to show the air flow it points to the ground.

BTW, the filter I made had collected quite a bit of dirt over the last year-and-a-half, definitely time to change it, and also proof that it really did work.

~ MattInSoCal
 
#15 ·
#16 · (Edited)
I'm not very mechanically inclined, but I would love to install this into my car, because I drive by manufacturing plants in the mornings, and they are the most god awful things I have smelled.

Can I cut into the plastic tubing, to the exact dimensions of this filter, put filter in cutout, and close everything back up???

Hopefully I will have someone more mechanically incline with me when I try this. I'd hate to not be able to close my glove compartment anymore because I could not get it to seal right or something.
 
#17 ·
There is no cut here for filter option? Do I need to take more of the dash apart?


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#18 ·
Nice write-up but having just replaced the CAF's in a Volvo S40 and Nissan Altima, I curse the person who invented the thing. It may help those with a pollen alergy but won't do much for industrial odors. It's more a profit source for dealers and repair shops who wanted over $100 for said cars to replace them.
 
#19 ·
Hi all.

My first post... I wanted to let everyone know that the Abbotsford BC Canadian Tire will install a Cabin Air Filter for you for less than a $100cdn and that includes the filter. The tech says that a G5/Cobalt filter is almost a drop in fit, with just a slight mod.

Thanks to the forum for putting me onto this idea. I had an 05 Pursuit (great car!) and the CAF saved me a lot of grief, in the summer, due to my allergies.

Lovin my new to me 2009 G6.

Duncan
 
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