Lycan

Out in the garage trying to get to the charcoal filters in the air boxes. I can't get to the fifth torx bolt due to the plastic MB engine shroud. The one with the MB logo. How does this piece snap off? I don't want to break it. The pieces is flimsy. Does this piece snap off or is there a hidden trick?

Yuille36

Lycan....I had to laugh at that one, the engine cover does in fact come off. Be gentle with it. Start at the front and gently pry it off, then work the back pieces. Trust me it comes off.

citylightva

Just crack it and get it done with...A tech will eventually anyways Like Yuille said, easy does it and it should pop right off

Lycan

Thanks guys. Ya I know it comes off:-). I'm trying my best not to crack the damn thing. Heavy fingers break stuff.

Thanks guys!

Lycan

Shhh I see how it snaps on now....boy do I feel dumb.

TTMotorsports

John-

Push from underneath the engine cover and the clips will snap out. It is a terrible design but just be gentle.

Yuille36

John, I tried calling you about 30 minutes ago, after seeing your post, to tell you that.

William

Lycan

William,

Thanks sir !!! I got the job done in about 10 minutes total. All it takes is to do it once and one could do it in under 5 min. I was surprised to find leaves and grass in the box, so I had to clean it out. Yes I saw that someone from 703 called...I had the phone upstairs.

I'm wondering if I should scrap the paper filters and throw in a K&N each side.

citylightva

The crap I find in my airboxes never ceases to amaze me...There's definitely not as much particulate in the air in VA/MD as DFW, but I end up cleaning my filters every 5-7K miles and they are filthy...Can't say I really noticed any difference with BMC's, but it nice to just pull em, clean em, dry em, and slap them back in

Pushing_Tin

You should snap a few pics for a DIY. I just ordered some K&N's and don't have a clue where to start to get at the stock filters.

Wow we have nearly the same cars, I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500, 50k miles.

citylightva

I love the Ram, but it's gotta go soon...I'm looking at a new Ford F150 Ecoboost...22mpg sounds a lot better than 12.5 w/ the AC on LOL.!! I've got 106K on the truck and it runs with no problems though. She's been super solid.!!

When you open your hood you see the piece with the MB Emblem on it. That is the part of the cover you need to pop off. Further back there are 2 silver rectangles. Those are your airboxes. You have to unscrew the 5 Torx screws that Lycan is talking about. Then pop the covers off the sensors that are on the inside over the intake manifold. Unclip those sensors and loosen the ring clamps at the rear of the airbox and VOILA.!! Filters will be staring at you :-). If it wasn't 110 every day here I'd open it up and pull them, but I'll be honest that the chance of that is close to 1%

Jon2007E63P30

I find that rmoving the trim piece works best as follows.

1. lift front center
2. push fingers under inside upper right and lift
3. push fingers under inside upper left and lift with a little help from your left hand on the outside.

Pushing_Tin

A brief youtube video of said procedure would be so sweet....

citylightva

It's way easier for me since a tech broke mine...It might be below 100 now...I'll try to snap some shots after I grab some food and Dos Equis

Lycan

When I get my new filters I'll snap some pics for a DIY thread. Very simple to do once you learn how not to break the front plastic shroud:-) Ultra simple.

citylightva

Here goes with some pics that are awful

Start off happy



Grab at these points and pull upwards firmly but smoothly. The side points are the same on right and left. I forgot to snap the pic near the rears of the cover once the front is out. Grab the side and the rear in the same fashion.




Here are the actual snap holes. Makes it easier to imagine once you seem them. Again left and right are the same.

Front

citylightva

Side



You can take out the Torx now. The front 3 are obvious. These are the semi-hidden rears.



Now undo the sensors clips after removing their covers (just pop up) Don't get too annoyed one is right side up and one is upside down. Upside down is a ***** without gloves if your engine is hot (like when you go to dinner at 10P and it's 100 out then park at home and take pics of removing it )



Now loosen the clamp ring shown below, pull the airbox cover towards you and up in the same motion.



I did not actually pull it off, being as it was assininely hot in there and my beer was getting really warm. VOILA, you have gained access to a veritable cornucopia of crap you can thank your filter for not letting in your intake Reverse the steps, though when reinstalling make extra certain your new filter is seated probably around the box, and breathe a sigh of relief that your M156 can breathe freely once again

And thank your tech when you eventually find this



I'm going to cut my fingernails now. These pics have made me very self conscious Good night

Lycan

Ha !!

The Most Interesting Man In The World...I knew it was you. The new line for Dos Equis can be "The air changes his filters".

Pushing_Tin

Wow great, thanks for taking the time to do that. I'm not particularly mechanical, well not at all actually so this is very helpful, especially since this is my first MB. Thanks again!

Meeyatch1

Thanks for the pictures.

Quick question. If there is so much crap stopped by those filters, then why do I read about so many people on here removing them completely?

citylightva

There's two filters in there from the factory. Your air filter and a secondary charcoal filter. Once you pull the air filter you will most likely see the charcoal, unless someone already took it out. It's framed into the air box, so just pop it out.

No problem guys, it gave me an excuse to have another beer..!

Lycan

My goal was to do away with the paper air elements. I've almost always gone with a K&N in my cars. I got the two K&N filters today shipped for $86 from Advance Auto. Ordered last night arrived today. The K&N is a much better unit than the stock paper. Is the change huge? Probably not, but they are better filters and getting rid of the charcoal filter only makes sense. Is it worth the $86 bucks? Well, you have to be the judge of that one.

Pushing_Tin

What is the purpose of the charcoal filter?

Lycan

Charcoal is used in many filtration units---I remember them back in the USMC gas masks. A charcoal filter is also used in the Cabin Air Filter. It's just another layer. But overall one good filter that will keep out dust and debris is all you need.

citylightva

I'm probably wrong, but I heard emissions and I'm sure to pull water vapor also. M5's have them too...i don't think they sap power in stock form...it seems to rev a little freer without them, but that could just be in my head...