Sand in the Air. Do you guys regularly blow out your Air Filters or otherwise?

[phantomias33]

I'm newer to the area and the sand in the air as of late has me wondering if I shouldn't remove air filter and blow it out with a compressor. Are there normal maintainance procedures you guys all do living out here in the desert?

Thanks for any input.

Matt

[Bruno]

just clean it every 2 months on average...

[vanhack]

I usually clean the air filters whilst the car is being wiped clean at the petrol station car wash, they let you use the compressed air hoses, better to go when not busy, morning before 10 is the best. I do this once a month, or if I have been in the dunes, within a week of the trip to the dunes. OEM air filters tend to hold more dust out of the engine, than aftermarket, as the filters are spec'ed for these conditions.

Also clean out the MAF with CRC clearner, should use MAF Cleaner from same manufacturer, but have not seen it here yet. Will give you better economy.

Also check your tyre pressures when cold, and add 2-3 psi when re-inflating. I like to keep the pressure 3-4 PSI higher than what the car manufacturer says, but below what the tyre manufacturers recommend ofcourse.

Keep an eye on the temperature of the water and if you have a OBD scan tool, like scangauge, tranny fluid temperature is also good to keep an eye on. I find that most manufacturers guidelines on life fluids/battery/tyres is about 15-20% lower in this heat. So prado has 100,000km life tranny fluid, I would change it at 80,000 kms as it would have lost it's viscosity in this heat by now.

We dont have issues with rust, unless the car is second hand and imported with the rust, not many places here that can fix rust, as it is not an issue. Try not to leave the car sitting for long periods of time in the sun, this will dry out rubber components, or make them brittle. you will notice after the 2nd summer your wiper blades will not clean as well, also batteries here suffer from heat, 2-3 years is good going, try not to use "expensive" battery, as they all suffer.

my 2 fils worth....