:mad:
wtf is up with these stupid dealerships??
first the guy brought me e36 microfilteres and said it would be $93 for 2.
I told him those are for a 318i; I need for a 318ti they are different! to which he goes no sir I'm pretty sure these are micro filters but ill go check. Then comes back with the right ones saying you were right i had them for a 318i. yet he says the bill is till $93 dollars!
I was like um that's because u charged me for 2 filters worth $43!
to which he said yes i have to charge you for 2 because it says 2 on the box. I tried to convince him but he wasn't budging so i stormed off.

can anyone give me some proof to take to him so he doesn't make me pay $93 for 2 microfilters??

The filters have gone up.
I was shocked when I bought mine.
When I was given the price I though it was for 2. :eek:

getbmwparts has them for 29.46 each.

No need to spend anything. Soaked mine with simple green, blew them out with an air compressor, then took them in the house and washed them with dishwashing soap and warm water in the sink, blew them out with the air compressor again and let them air dry. They look brand new! Definitely worth the 15 minutes it takes to clean them.

Dang, these things are getting way too expensive. I'm going to have to try to come up with a way to adapt the e-bay filters that don't really fit. hmmm.....

soap and water saved me 50 bucks:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/CIMG3616.jpg

I was even contemplating stuffing a fabric softener sheet between the pleats to make the air smell good, but decided against it as it might restrict the flow.

hmm i don't have an air compressor. will a vacuum cleaner work?

Just shake them out and let em air dry.

A shop vac will get quite a bit of moisture out, too... Don't use a regular vacuum.

Changed filters with pics
 

Got brave and changed the filters recently. They old ones were nasty!

Ultra-mega-ghetto-hack
 

The day after I ordered the E-bay filters, I read here that they wouldn't work. :mad: So, they sat here for months because I didn't want to ship them back and figured I would eventually come up with a way to make them work. A few days ago, I was half-way to the filters working on another project and was presented with an "opportunity" to go ahead and attempt to install the "non-working" filters. (I dropped something into the air plenum so I had to go in anyway. LOL)

The basic problem with the cheap filters is not that they don't "fit" but that they don't snap into place and stay there because they're missing some sort of lip around the outside edge. It's just a matter of making the flat filter stay in contact with the curve that it is supposed to fit onto.

I went the low-tech and ugly route of using some wire wrapped around the holder clips to hold the filter down in position. The wire came from a piece of telephone cord. If you open up the phone cord, there are 4 wires, black, yellow, green, and red. I chose red to coordinate with the Millpoint Red interior, but you can use any color you like. LOL So, yeah, it's ugly but it works.

One trick here... you have to get the wire (or whatever you use) pretty snug to make the filter bend to match the curve, but just be careful to not pull it so tight that you break the clips on the side.

Thus ends your MacGuyver lesson for the day. :biggrin:

Here's a photo.......

Bavarian Auto has them for $27.95 each. I just ordered 2 (sold individually) for 1997 Ti.


Part #: Item:
Price:

Qty:

Total Price:
64 11 8 363 274
Interior Cabin Air Microfilter - Activated Charcoal - Sold singularly - 2 required per car 1997 318ti
$27.95

2

$55.90

Cheers!

~Mike R~

Surprised you just didn't use gaffer's tape. :)

Oh, I definitely considered it since I had some on hand. But, I figured it would eventually dry out and leave a mess after it stopped being sticky.

FWIW: RM European has them for $21.86 each

http://www.rmeuropean.com/Part-Numbe..._FAE888E6.aspx

Old thread resurrection! Where does that plastic air baffle sit in there? I was just in there on mine the other day and didn't see anything like that.