Cabin Filter *Tutorial*

**pinoyesv6** · 01-08-2003, 10:28 PM

Im in a good mood so its time for a tutorial.

Introduction
The 1999-2001.5 Galants have on board cabin filters. These are HEPA filter that should be replaced every few months to promote maximum efficiency of your air condition system. The problem is the price. The average price is about 40-50 dollars for these filters. Another option is to clean them with bleach or whatever and reinstall them once they are dry. But the most efficient way i've found is to make a filter out of home AC filters. They aren't as good as the HEPA filters but they are a fraction of the cost and they are much better than not having one at all or having one thats clogged up.

Materials
4 Inch Zip ties

Disposable Pleated Air Filters 1 inch thickness. The bigger the filter, the more filters u can make

Tools
Phillips head screwdriver
Scissors
Cutting Pliers
Gloves if u have sensitive hands
Drill with a small bit

Removal
First open the glove box. pinch in the side and the glove box should drop down. Remove the glovebox from its hindges and set it aside. You will see a rectangular shaped object with two brass colored phillips head screws. Remove the two screws and pull out the tray with the filter. Now carefully remove the hepa Filter.

Making the new filter
First of all i will be referring to the measurements of the tray with two words. Depth and Width. Depth is how deep the tray is when nistalled. Width is the width of the tray when it is installed

Measure out the depth of the filter and mark it on the filter. Make sure that the pleats are parallel with the depth. Use a sharpie to mark the filter. Then carfully remove the pleated filter element from the cardboard frame. be careful not to make holes in the filter element and watch out for the mesh. it is sharp.

Now cut the filter element along that line u had made. If ur scissors are sharp, u can cut thru the element and the mesh at the same time. If u are using kiddie scissors, use the pliers to cut the mesh first.

Now its time to cut out for the width. measure the width and multiply that number by 1.5 and thats how long to cut the filter for the width. i multiply by 1.5 for i have more filter element on the tray so there is more surface to catch the dirt particles.

With the filter all cut, you could jsut place it on the tray and call it a day. but i take an extra step to make sure that the filter doesn't blow up into the ac system and cause restiction and bad filtering like it happened to me the first time.

I install the filter mesh side down so that i can use zip ties to secure it to the filter tray. I take my drill and drill holes on the sides of the tray to i can secure the filter to the sides so they don't scrunch up either.

With all that said and done, i call it a day and install it. If you want a hidden air freshner, the harware store has these scented sheets that u place on the air filter and blows scented air when the ac is on. you can use that in ur car, just place it between the filter and the tray so it down'st get sucked in.

Installation

INstallation is gonna be just like removal but in reverse. The tray might be a lil bit harder to put in cuz of the zip ties on the side but if u jiggle it, it should go in great.

Final Words
Good luck doing this, i enjoy fresh air coming outa my AC everytime i used it. But just remember, i ain't responsible if u fuck up something

**HeadAche** · 01-09-2003, 07:17 AM

Good job pinoy.. Just when i was about to go and get a HEPA filter u find a way to make one..good looks.

**Wintergalant** · 01-09-2003, 08:15 PM

Great job Pinoy!!!

Pulsar · 01-10-2003, 09:41 AM

Could someone please take a pic of what exactly Im looking for behind the glove box? I can see something the looks like where the cabin filter is kept, but I do not know how to take it off.

Pulsar · 01-10-2003, 11:57 AM

K.. apparently my car didnt come with one (2001 LS). There is no tray. I can see the 2 holes where those screws would be in..

**Ghost Beat** · 01-11-2003, 01:50 PM

every few months? ive had mine for more than 3 years lol better do this soon huh but i think id rahter just front up the 40 or 50 for the actuall hepa..

**pinoyesv6** · 01-11-2003, 06:54 PM

yea i was thinking about buying a hepa at first. but then when i took a look at the filter. it wasn't impressive at all. i was like "40-50 dollars for this piece of shit, hell no" and thats why i decided to make my own

rainfever · 03-03-2005, 10:04 PM

apparently i just bought a lot of this stuff (oops)

So if anyone wants to buy a sheet from me

feel free to contact

**o1naturalhigh** · 03-03-2005, 10:24 PM

pinoy...all the shit u be doing...u could either open up shop...or start a school on all this shit...dammit... :thumbsup:

rainfever · 03-26-2005, 09:15 AM

hey could you get a final pic up of your filter so i can see what the final product looks like?

**devgrp** · 03-26-2005, 04:19 PM

It should look exactly like the same, only difference is the middle piece got replaced with the new piece of filter that pinoy cut

**Cheekz185** · 03-26-2005, 11:00 PM

So the 2002's dont have ne sort of cabin filter??

**pinoyesv6** · 03-26-2005, 11:15 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheekz185)</div><div class='quotemain'>So the 2002's dont have ne sort of cabin filter??</div>

mitsubishi deleted it since it wasn't really needed and it just adds up to the maintenance costs of the car. the majority of the people who have them don't change them anyways.