lee16

Here are directions on how to change your air filters on a Mercedes e550 V8 5.5. I replaced mine with K&N filters.

Materials:
1. (2) K&N filters 33-2181 (e550 v8 5.5 motor)
2. Torx set



Open your hood



On the lower engine cover pull up on the left and right sides. The piece will pop off.



Take the lower engine cover and put it aside.



Pull the air intake hoses towards the front of the car.



Now to remove the top engine cover go to the top and push off the metal clip.



Now just like the lower engine cover pull upwards and the piece will come off.



Take the engine cover and turn it upside down. You will see the screws you need to loosen.



Remove the air intake covers and you will see the stock filter.



Remove the filter and clean the housing. Mine had lots of dust and dirt.





Insert the new K&N filters.



Reinstall everything in the reverse order.

ronsc1985

The part number for a 4.6 twin turbo E5550 is K&N 33-2474.

The part number you listed is for the 5.5 NA motor, which I assume from your profile, fits your 2010 E550 as do the instructions you published.

Caker

I'll have to do this, thanks!

lee16

No problem

Mye550coupe

Nicely done! Any difference in sound or performance?

lee16

I noticed the car gets better mpg. I used to get 19.2 mpg and now its 22 mpg!
Sounds a little louder. Pulls hard ha ha.

chrisdabeast7

interesting. does anyone know how often you have to change these K&N filters? or will they last a long time

lee16

They will last a million miles. You dont change them. They can be cleaned and reoiled. I do mine every 5000 miles.

theraven333

I tried the K&N filters in my 6 Series BMW and they offered no discernible benefit other than louder air intake and that they potentially last for a 1 million miles ???
The downsides are real, they do allow more micro dust across the Maf sensor to fail, there are plenty of people who will state that this is the case (K&N clearly deny this). I have watched a number of programmes were they tested many types of air filters and nothing made any increase in power or consumption to merit the change.
Having said all this it is every ones choice as to what they use or put on their cars, and good luck to them !!!

lee16

I had 170,000 miles on my last car, and I had a k&n filter since day one. I never had problems with my maf sensor. A friend of mine has a clk430 with over 200,000 miles, and he never had problem with his filters. BTW...its programs where not programmes were.

theraven333

Programs relate to computer programs----Programmes relates to TV programmes---- Where is a place----- Were is something in the past!!!! I hope this helps !!!!! trying to keep it simple !!! Americans took our language and then decided to alter many spellings and uses, but English is still English, spoken and spelt correctly by the English. Lol
I am quite sure there are wonderful success stories surrounding the K&N filters I was just expressing what I had seen and my own experience. I wonder why manufacturers never put those kind of filters in the cars in the first instance, if they are as good as it is claimed???

ronsc1985

Manufacturers don't use K&N filters for two reasons.
a. the initial cost is greater and
b. they then don't get to sell replacement filters

The 1 million mile spec is deceptive. You have to take them out to clean and re-oil them every now and then.

If un-oiled they do no better and probably worse then paper filters.

They are very popular in race cars as they actualy do flow more and filter better then paper filters but only if properly installed and maintained. I have actually observed this on several dyno runs of my race engines. The performance differential is not all that great and is probably of no real significance for a street car but in race cars every hp counts. The measured differential was about 3-4 hp on a 1000 hp motor. The comparison was apples to apples as the filter housing was built to accommodate both types in the same housing position.

One thing in favor of the K&N is if you are subject to any liquid ingestion in the intake tract a paper filter is pretty much destroyed while the K&N with oil stays intact. This is a big deal on road race and dirt track race cars. It may also be of some use on street cars which have their air intake relocated with some of the cold air intake aftermarket kits.

pimpin

where did you get your filters from?

lee16

Got them off ebay. They were $87 for the pair with free shipping and no sales tax.

lee16

Look out for my DIY for an oil change on the e550 soon. I went under the car today and discovered that the car does not have a oil drain bolt. As soon as my oil pump comes in..Ill make the DIY.

nauticalx

Thanks for the DIY with pics however, with all due respect, the fuel effects you mention are simply not possible. Yes, you can get more power with these but replacing air filters to gain fuel economy is a myth. There simply isn't the best of both worlds- i.e. more power and better fuel economy. The more air, the more fuel you need to combust it. It just cant run leaner (less fuel to air) and also give you more power- it just doesn't work that way. Plus, the ECU will adjust the fuel to air based on what's coming in from the air intake. Sorry to bust your bubble, but if fuel filters could give more power with less fuel usage, then manufacturers would ship the vehicles with these type air filters in them in their quest to meet new EPA mandated minimum fuel economy standards. Sorry but I just had to post since this is a very common misconception.

lee16

Prove that didn't go from 19.2 mpg to 22 mpg

Gerry_C

It might lead to less pumping losses, but I find it hard to believe anything over .1 MPG

marvinlee

Car manufacturers have generally good judgment on air filter designs and specifications. Note that some K&N air filters have fewer pleats than the original. If the filters flow more air with less restriction and with fewer pleats than the factory originals, that implies much less restriction per square inch of filtering area. If so, then equal or better engine life would require a major increase in filtering media. Yet, I've never read in K&N advertising any claims to filtering media breakthrough. Oil itself is a very, very, old approach to increasing air filter performance. Example: An old Mustang scooter I had, which required oiling of the mesh air filter.

Engine life claims may reflect a lack of harsh grit in the atmosphere, or be atypical of owner experience with non-stock air filters.

Anttribb

Glad you like it man! I'm not sure if the perceived benefits are worth the risk.

marvinlee

I concur, Gerry C. Improved gas mileage, as claimed, are compatible with light throttle use of the engine. At that power output level, the engine draws very little air and would not put much flow through the air filter. I suspect that a rigorous instrumented comparison would find zero mileage improvement by any aftermarket air filter. In short, I think the K&N air filter may marginally improve some engines maximum output, but would have no discernible impact on daily fuel economy. And that makes sense: Car makers are spending millions on research and design to eek out fractional improvements in fuel economy. They would hardly fail to consider the air filter as one of the factors affecting efficiency.

theraven333

The only discernible change when I put the K&N filters on was the sound, they have a different sound to stock air filters (louder), but I still maintain they are a waste of money on road cars, perhaps the only benefit is the lifetime claim, but you still have to maintain them.........

champaign777

nice thread for useless things
LOL

theraven333

Perhaps we should start a thread on the useless things people put on their cars

gavrocool

You should do that.