This afternoon, as I was getting ready to head to Wally World to get a few groceries I took a notion to check the air filter on my '95 Cutlass convertible. It looked kind of grimy so I picked up a replacement while I was there. Both the new filter and the old one are Fram but they couldn't be more different. The old filter turns out to be a Fram "Air Hog" reusable filter. The things were apparently discontinued years ago but the cleaning kits can still be had on eBay for about twice what I paid for a conventional paper filter. I'm not sure how many cleanings you get out of a kit, so it's hard to decide whether it's worth it. Nonetheless, I put the "Air Hog" filter in the new filter's box and stuck it in my tool shed pending a decision. I don't know whether I'll bother to clean it up and reuse it and with a brand new paper filter in place, I really don't feel much pressure to make a decision right now.

 

I have an Air Hog filter on my 71 98. I just use the K & N cleaning kits. It works great.

 

I've never seen a fram Air Hog, but if it's like the K&N filters, then reusing them is simple.
You can use any cleaner/degreaser - I use simple green. Spray it on the incoming air side, let sit for a bit, then GENTLY run water from the engine side of the filter to the incoming air side - flushing all the trash out. Don't use a pressure stream - that'll tear the filter.
Let it dry in the sun. Once dry, fog it with the K&N filter oil which you can get just about anywhere for cheap.

K&N's cleaning kit just adds their cleaner. It's nothing special and overpriced, so just use whatever you have. Even 409 or a kitchen cleaner will work fine.

 

From what little I've been able to gather about them, the Air Hog filters were Fram's attempt to compete with K&N's reusable filters. I remember seeing them advertised in the late '90s and early 2000s, but it seems they were discontinued around 2007, which would make the one I pulled out of the convertible more than a decade old. Good tip on the Simple Green. I'll give that a try and look at putting the Air Hog back in when the paper filter is ready for the bin.

 

I'm not a fan of the reusable filters as they don't filter as well as a paper one. I learned this from diesel truck articles.

 

I learned it from driving my Jeep out in the desert. With the K&N there was fine dust inside the air box (on the filtered side) and all the way through the air intake tube to the throttle body. I have never seen that when using a regular paper filter. This may not be a big deal in wetter areas that don't have the amount of dust that we have here in the desert.

 

I'll have to try the Simple Green, it would definitely be cheaper than the K&N kit. The only bad thing about using the K&N oil is that it's red and makes the Air Hog darker. I like the Fram orange.

 

I have one in my 442. It was a rock Auto closeout for $4

 

made for race applications, you tear them down a lot and rebuild them, it doesn’t matter, not for classics.
I stick with the 542, it has the oiled foam on too.

 

Human, it looks like you have the exact same car I just bought for my wife. Hers has the 3.4 and 26,000 original miles with original paint. She is the third owner. I looked for one of these cars a long time before the right one came along. I did have to put a battery in it yesterday and that is interesting.