Cabin air filter

In the nice weather the other day, I inspected the engine and passenger
compartment air filters on the '01 LW300.Both were very choked with leaves
and all manner of road debris. The engine filter cleaned up nicely after
vacuuming with the trusty shop vac. Cabin filter needed to be replaced.
One parts place didn't know what I was talking about so I was about to go to
Saturn parts. On a lark, I tried the local CarQuest dealer and they had the
filter for $12.

Nice that the HVAC system uses a filter. One more thing to plug up and
change. Still if you have ever tried to clean a heater core or evaporator
that became plugged with pine needles or leaf smutch, changing a filter is
far preferable.

Washed the car too. I bought a 1500psi pressure washer last year from Sam's
club for $120 (iirc?). This is the greatest thing since sliced bread for
cleaning brake dust off of the alloy wheels. Curious that the front brakes
seem to make far more dust than the rear. Both are disk but I guess that the
system is balanced to give more braking power on the heavier front wheels.

Oppie

 

Any idea on brand and part number? We have to replace ours, and saturn is
saying it's a $90 part!

 

Pretty much every car on the road today generates the majority of it's
braking power from the front brakes - much more downforce on the front
wheels, particularly when stopping and the car starts to nose dive.

 

|
| | > In the nice weather the other day, I inspected the engine and passenger
| > compartment air filters on the '01 LW300.Both were very choked with
| leaves
| > and all manner of road debris. The engine filter cleaned up nicely after
| > vacuuming with the trusty shop vac. Cabin filter needed to be replaced.
| > One parts place didn't know what I was talking about so I was about to
go
| to
| > Saturn parts. On a lark, I tried the local CarQuest dealer and they had
| the
| > filter for $12.
| >
|
| Any idea on brand and part number? We have to replace ours, and saturn is
| saying it's a $90 part!
|


Carquest part #89865
Lists for $19. (what you bill the customer for the part)
Net $11.80 (what it cost me)

The owner's manual has the instructions to get at the filter.
If you don't have the manual:
Open the hood and remove the gasket at the top of the firewall by pulling it
upwards starting at the sides. No need to completely remove it, just to
clear the center section. In the center, in front of the windshield, the
plastic cover is hinged, pry it up from the forward side. The filter is
directly below the opening. Release the two plastic side clips (moving them
to the sides) and pull the top of the filter forward to a vertical position
and then up to remove. Note the way the old filter was installed. The OEM
filter has arrows for airflow indication, the carquest one does not. FWIW,
the OEM filter is supposed to be a heppa type and the carquest is only a
plain pleated filter. Is it worth the additional $68? that's your call.

Also saw the set of torx sockets needed for some of the engine maintenance.
Lisle #STL26750 net $20.33

In all a worthwhile trip.

Oppie

 

Your dealer is either ripping you off or they made a mistake. My Saturn
parts dept. charged me $12 for the part only.

Dana
2002 LW300

 

$90 sounded excessive even for the dealer to install the filter...which is
why I try to do as much of my own work as possible.
Bob Oppenheimer
--
For valid response address, remove the '1' following oppie
_________________
| Your dealer is either ripping you off or they made a mistake. My Saturn
| parts dept. charged me $12 for the part only.
|
| Dana
| 2002 LW300
|
| --
| Dana C. Rohleder
| Port Kent, NY

 

I went to my dealer and paid $24 for a box (3 filters). They were definatly
ripping trying to rip you off.